S/PV.6158
6158th meeting
Thursday, 9 July 2009, 10 a.m.
New York
The situation in Somalia
Mr. Dabbashi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): I wish to thank Under-Secretaries-General Pascoe and Malcorra for their briefings this morning. My thanks go also to the Permanent Representative of Somalia for his statement.
The Security Council is meeting once again to discuss the situation in Somalia. That situation constitutes a tragedy that has persisted for nearly two decades. During those two decades we have seen fighting among brothers and unjustified bloodshed. They have been two decades of chaos, with ordinary Somali civilians dying either from weapons or from a lack of food and medicine. They have been two decades of continuous displacement and lack of security, two decades of fighting fuelling further fighting and of growing hatred among tribes, with those able to work facing no alternative but to join the ranks of the fighters.
These have been long years marked by human rights violations and by the international community’s inability to intervene effectively and firmly. Unfortunately, they have also been marked by interference — whether with good or bad intentions — from international and regional forces, which has served only to intensify the conflict and increase the number of victims.
What is happening in Somalia makes us wonder why the international community has taken no effective action. Where is the responsibility to protect, which was endorsed by the 2005 World Summit? Does the Somali people not deserve protection from its tormentors? Does the legitimate Government resulting from the Djibouti agreement not deserve the support it needs from the international community? Does the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) not deserve financial support and equipment from the United Nations budget? How can the United Nations fail to allocate the funds and equipment necessary to help African States that are willing to contribute troops to bring AMISOM up to its goal of 8,000 troops? Why do some States oppose this, even though they rushed to deploy their warships to the waters off the Somali coast — at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars — when they felt that their own interests were being threatened, while no State has acted to protect Somali fish stocks, which continue to be plundered under the protection of international naval forces for the enjoyment of restaurant-goers in wealthy countries?
What is happening in Somalia cannot be resolved through small measures; these might salvage the Government headquarters or repel an attack by the opposition. No, this requires full and robust United Nations engagement in support of the Government in order to confront those seeking to undermine that Government. That can be achieved only through the Organization’s regular budget, because the Government and AMISOM cannot wage this war on the basis of voluntary contributions alone.
The international community had a golden opportunity to resolve the problem of Somalia and restore peace following the election of Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as President of Somalia and the formation of the Transitional Federal Government. But unfortunately, hesitation in supporting the new Government only encouraged the opposition to work to topple it, and they almost succeeded in doing so.
The time has come for us to learn the lesson and take the opportunity to restore peace to Somalia. To achieve this, the Security Council must take the necessary measures to prevent access by Somali opposition forces to weapons, funds and foreign fighters. Support must also be offered to the Transitional Federal Government in order to establish a national army and capable security forces and to help the Government impose State control throughout the country. We believe that this goal can be achieved only by offering support to AMISOM and transforming it into a United Nations mission as soon as possible. At the same time, we must continue with the political process within the framework of the Djibouti Agreement and draft a permanent constitution for the country.
As for the issue of piracy, in order to eliminate this phenomenon and enable the Somali people to benefit from their marine wealth, the international forces deployed off the Somali coast must protect Somali marine wealth and combat illegal fishing operations carried out by foreign companies in areas under Somali sovereignty. These forces must help Somali fishermen to carry out their marine activities freely. There is no doubt that this would contribute to resolving the hunger problem in Somalia.
In closing, I commend the great efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Mr. Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, in facilitating the political process within the framework of the Djibouti Agreement. I would also like to commend the role being played by AMISOM and to thank the troop-contributing countries, namely Uganda and Burundi, for their sacrifices and their continued commitment to maintaining the presence of AMISOM in Somalia.
