Somalia, 2005

On behalf of the Republic of

Somalia I am very pleased to address this summit here

in New York marking the sixtieth anniversary of

United Nations and the fifth anniversary of the

Millennium Summit, which agreed on a number of

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce

poverty by 50 per cent by the year 2015. We believe

that the eight MDGs are desirable and lofty ones, and

we fully endorse them. Unfortunately, given the

circumstances of conflict in Somalia, we are unlikely

to attain all of them. However, we are confident that

some progress will certainly be made.

With regard to the reform of the United Nations,

Somalia has committed itself to the position taken by

the African Union (AU) at Sirte, Libya.

I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm

Somaliaís appreciation for, and approval of, the United

Nations 60 years of progressive work to maintain peace

while concurrently achieving incremental progress

towards a more equitable and liveable world. The

history of the United Nations involvement in Somalia

is a good example of its invaluable role in helping the

emerging nations of the world. Despite momentary

setbacks, the United Nations has taken a laudable role

at each juncture of Somaliaís history, from colonialism

to independence and throughout our nationhood.

Nothing better demonstrates the importance of

the United Nations than the nurturing role it played

during the sad days of our 15-year-long civil war.

While assisting the destitute and providing safe

sanctuary for an exodus of Somali refugees to

neighbouring countries and elsewhere, the United

Nations had the political will to invoke the morally

compelling doctrine of humanitarian intervention,

thereby successfully reversing a calamitous famine that

could potentially have wiped out millions of Somalis.

Moreover, during the two years that the Somalia

National Reconciliation Conference met at Nairobi,

Kenya, the United Nations played a helpful role in

successfully finding a lasting and comprehensive

settlement to Somalia's political crisis. The current

Transitional Federal Government of Somalia is the

outcome of that political settlement. Allow me to

restate here Somaliaís indebtedness and profound

appreciation to those who selflessly helped us during

the Somali National Reconciliation Conference, as well

as to those who continue to help us in our current

pursuit of a peaceful and well-governed Somalia.

Among others, special gratitude goes to the African

Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on

Development, the League of Arab States and the

European Union, as well as to the Government of

Kenya, for patiently and generously hosting and paying

for our long peace process.

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With regard to relocating to Somalia, the nascent

Transitional Federal Government could not just sit by

and wait until the international community acted. It

therefore took the daring unilateral initiative, on

13 June 2005, to relocate itself from Nairobi to

Somalia with minimal help. To the dismay of most

sceptics, the massive relocation scheme was completed

without any incident. The entire Government is now on

Somali soil. It is my judgement that we owe a status

report to those who earnestly wanted to witness the rise

of Somalia from the ashes. That report will also be

useful to those who may continue to doubt the

effectiveness of the Transitional Federal Government

in extricating Somalia from its current predicament of

chaos and lawlessness.

The Government has continued to tackle the

daunting tasks inside Somalia at a much faster pace

than the international community could have

anticipated. What is significant here is that the

Transitional Federal Government is being helped by a

hidden hand that most observers and political analysts

of Somalia have typically regarded as a wild card or a

totally incalculable factor. They have never clearly

understood the importance of correctly accounting for

the level of popular support that the new Somali

Government enjoyed upon relocating to Somalia. The

high popularity of the Transitional Federal Government

within Somalia turned out to be so strong that the

Government owes its very survival to the admiration

and active support it receives from the local

population. That factor alone has proven to be more

crucial to the survival of the Transitional Federal

Government than any other form of assistance.

With the support of its citizens, the new

Government has already proceeded to consolidate the

gains and the outcome of the reconciliation process,

with the aim of addressing the formidable expectations

of the Somali people. As a result, I can confidently

report to the Assembly today that our efforts at

reclaiming Somalia from its lawlessness are already

under way and have already produced concrete results

on the ground.

The Government has made phenomenal progress

in the little more than three months since its relocation.

Progress has been made in the recruitment and training

of a modest security force comprised of personnel from

all of Somaliaís regions; in the extension of State

authority over much of Somalia; in winning the

allegiance and support of regional leaders and the

Somali public at large; in earning and assuming the

moral leadership of the nation through responsible

governance and peaceful means; and in creating

overarching political momentum that powerfully

augurs for the sure attainment of durable peace and

continuity in Somalia.

Contrary to the fears some may have had,

therefore, the advent of the Transitional Federal

Government did not turn out to be some kind of cruel

hoax or yet another false start for Somalia. The

sensible actions undertaken by the new Government

inside Somalia have already established its legitimacy

and the kind of moral leadership it enjoys inside

Somalia. The Government is serious and committed to

the basic social contract it made with its citizens,

namely, to guarantee peace and security to its people in

return for the allegiance they have already conferred

upon their Government.

There is clearly a unique chance for the

Transitional Federal Government to restore normalcy,

legitimacy and lasting peace to Somalia. Regrettably,

however, the situation is not tenable in the long term.

The challenges that are hampering the Governmentís

efforts on the ground are all related to the indifference

of the international community. We believe that the

international community has a moral obligation to help

the new Somali Government in its quest for peace,

stability, territorial integrity and unity in the country in

a manner consistent with the United Nations Charter.

Now is the time when the international community

must assist Somalia in a strong and decisive manner by

addressing the following three challenges.

One of the challenges for the new Government is

that most of the international community has yet to

honour its obligations with regard to ensuring a

peaceful and well-governed Somalia. Even much of its

initial cheerful pledges to provide material and

financial support to the Government have yet to reach

us. Consequently, its actual role in our efforts on the

ground remain very confusing to us. We do not

understand the new ambivalence of the international

community, which seems to have moderated its initial

enthusiasm to offer Somalia a consolidated rapid

assistance programme.

In order to address that situation, the international

community must help Somalia by providing the

necessary financial and political support for the rapid

rehabilitation of infrastructures to house the new

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Government, to provide for budgetary and other

administrative expenditures, and to tackle the security

issues such as recruiting a national police force,

pacification programmes and the implementation of

demobilization, disarmament and reintegration

programmes.

Another puzzling and more serious problem for

the new Government of Somalia is the United Nations

arms embargo on Somalia. The embargo directly

undermines the Governmentís genuine efforts to form a

national security force ó to which it has an inherent

right in order to protect the public and keep the peace

by enforcing law and order throughout Somalia. In

addition, it discourages friendly countries that are

willing to offer help to Somalia from doing so,

especially in the areas of security and the rule of law.

Moreover, the embargo has delayed the formal

deployment of the African peace support mission in

Somalia, whose mandate is to protect the Government

and its premises during its capacity-building stage as

well as to help the Government form and train national

security forces.

It does not make sense to help Somalis reach a

comprehensive political settlement of their long

conflict while at the same time denying them the

ability to build the institutions through which they can

overcome lawlessness in their country. With the

creation of the new Government and its relocation to

Somalia, the political conditions and realities that

prompted the United Nations to impose an arms

embargo no longer prevail. Whose interests and

purposes does the embargo continue to serve now that

there is a legitimate Government functioning in

Somalia? In the same vein, in reflecting on the absurd

position of a nation or Government whose capacity to

institute its own law enforcement bodies is neutralized,

one wonders what the political or moral relevance of

keeping Somalia handcuffed by the old embargo can

possibly be? To address that predicament we call on

the Security Council to assist the efforts of the

Transitional Federal Government to stabilize the

country by reviewing the merits of the arms embargo

on Somalia and promptly lifting it.

Finally, the disintegration of the State and the

absence of law and order have led to widespread

criminal activity by individuals and groups for

financial gain, including by war profiteers and

terrorists. Those individuals and groups believe that the

status quo in Somalia favours them, and they will

therefore do whatever they can to resist the return of

law and order to Somalia, including by renewing active

hostilities. To address that possible scenario the United

Nations must establish punitive and targeted sanctions

against those who try to spoil Somaliaís chance for

lasting peace by undermining the ongoing efforts to

pacify the country and by frustrating the effectiveness

of the Government in upholding the primacy of the rule

of law.

The cost of the prolonged Somali civil war is

enormous in terms of its direct social, economic,

political and environmental impacts. There is now

clearly a rare chance for my country to overcome those

negative impacts. The performance of the Transitional

Federal Government on the ground and the overall

political environment in Somalia are very promising.

Both Africa and the region have been very forthcoming

in helping Somalia. It is imperative that the rest of the

international community extend its help to Somalia by

adopting the three proposals just outlined, thereby

effectively ending the plight of Somalia once and for

all.

Allow me here to make my personal appeal to the

world summit not to leave Somalia out in the cold in

this crucial period of its pacification and nation-

building. While many of the countries of the world are

struggling to meet their Millennium Development

Goals, Somalia is struggling to stand on its feet. It

would be grave negligence on the part of the

international community if it fails to fulfil its

obligations towards Somalia in a timely and decisive

manner.