Somalia, 2008

I take this opportunity to

add my voice to those of numerous speakers who

extended their warmest congratulations to Mr. d’Escoto

Brockmann on his assumption of his responsibilities as

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-third

session. I am confident that this world body will

benefit from his rich experience and wise guidance.

I also appreciate the Secretary-General’s

commitment to putting Africa’s urgent needs at the top

of his agenda during his term in office, and particularly

his untiring efforts to assist Somalis in finding a lasting

solution to their conflict.

In that connection, I propose to confine my

remarks first to what I consider to be the most

important issues surrounding the development needs of

Africa and the implementation of the Millennium

Development Goals. Secondly, I will raise some of the

major concerns we have about the current situation in

Somalia. In recent years, a great deal has been said

about Africa and its problems regarding development

needs and policy implementation. I would like to dwell

briefly on three particular areas: aid, the debt burden

and trade.

On the issue of aid to Africa, we are mainly

concerned with its quantity, relevance and quality. Of

course, we support any measure, be it bilateral or

multilateral, likely to increase the effectiveness,

coordination and coherence of aid. With regard to the

quantity of total official development assistance, most

observers would agree that total aid to Africa in the

coming years is not likely to increase and may even

decrease. Therefore, it would be unrealistic to entertain

exaggerated hopes for development through aid. Most

donor countries have yet to reach the United Nations-

recommended target of dedicating 0.7 per cent of their

gross national income to official development

assistance.

With regard to the debt burden of many countries

in Africa, especially the so-called highly indebted poor

countries, we believe that the international community

should be doing far more than has been attempted or

achieved in recent years. For one thing, the process of

reducing debt should be accelerated to give credence to

our recognition of the existence of an urgent crisis. We

believe that, in respect of the least developed and low-

53 08-52265

income countries, outstanding debts should be totally

cancelled. We need to free resources for growth and the

achievement of national development goals, including

the Millennium Development Goals.

With regard to the achievement of the

Millennium Development Goals, we need to take a

closer look at our development policies and institutions

with a view to effecting urgent reforms. Corruption

needs to be controlled and better governance given a

real boost and not just lip service. Priority attention to

agriculture should be reinstated. Africa can and should

produce more food.

We are convinced that Africa has enormous

potential. We believe that its greatest potential is in the

sphere of trade, and less as a recipient of aid or debt

relief. In that connection, trade barriers against the

agricultural products of Africa should be removed from

the markets of the European Union and North America

if the developed countries are really serious about

aiding the less developed.

As we are all well aware, the Doha Round of

negotiations is still at an impasse due to the divergence

of interests between the developed and developing

members of the World Trade Organization. At the heart

of the impasse is the existence of huge subsidies given

to farmers in the European Union and North America.

Unless those subsidies are totally eliminated or

substantially reduced, there is little hope for Africa and

developing countries elsewhere to compete in the

markets of the developed countries.

I would now like to move from major issues

facing development in Africa to the specific problems

and prospects of Somalia. We wish first to reaffirm that

the Transitional Federal Government of the Somali

Republic is fully committed to the implementation of

the road map envisaged under the Somali Charter

adopted in 2004, despite daunting natural and man-

made challenges.

With regard to reconciliation, we wish to point

out that a peace and reconciliation agreement was

agreed upon and signed between the Transitional

Federal Government and the opposition alliance on

19 August 2008 in Djibouti. We are now in the process

of implementation, we hope without undue delays. But

we are also mindful, after 18 years of conflict, that

delays could occur as a result of the tactics of those

who have developed a vested interest in anarchy and

chaos. It is also important that the leadership, both on

the Government side and on the opposition side, show

resolve and leadership if the process is to succeed —

and succeed it must. We are also determined to ensure

that the efforts of saboteurs and spoilers will not keep

hostage the whole Somali nation and peace in the

region. We hope that we can count on the unambiguous

support of the members of this United Nations body

and the Security Council.

The situation in Somalia has been on the agenda

of the Security Council for a long time. We urge the

United Nations and the Security Council to play their

part and not to allow opportunities to be lost through a

policy of wait and see. Ultimately, history may not be

very kind to the way the Security Council has been

handling the Somali case when compared to the ways

that it has responded to other crises in comparable

situations. We urgently need the deployment of a fully

fledged United Nations peacekeeping force to restore

peace and stability and to create a secure environment

for institution-building and socio-economic development.

Let me draw to the Assembly’s attention the

increasing acts of piracy and armed robbery against

vessels in Somali and adjacent waters, which have

resulted in the loss of both human life and property.

My Government has strongly condemned those

criminal acts, which violate international law and the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of

l0 December 1982. Those criminal acts of piracy are

unacceptable and should be put to an end. Since

Somalia has no capacity to interdict vessels or patrol

its long coastline to ensure the security of the sea lanes,

we call on the international community to cooperate

with the Transitional Federal Government in the fight

against sea piracy, in conformity with the provisions of

paragraph 7 of Security Council resolution 1816

(2008). We stand ready to cooperate with all Member

States as well as with the United Nations in

implementing that resolution.

We believe that the time has come for the world

to take resolute action against the piracy off the coast

of Somalia and to put an end to these criminal acts. It

is unconscionable that, at the dawn of the twenty-first

century, piracy on such a scale has been left unchecked

for so long. We applaud the efforts of the Government

of France, particularly President Sarkozy, in the fight

against the piracy and armed robbery off the coast of

Somalia.

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Finally, I would like to touch on the dire

humanitarian situation in Somalia, which is the result

of conflict, drought and acts of piracy, as well as

flooding in some regions. I appeal to the international

community to provide more humanitarian aid to the

Somali people. I wish to thank the Governments of

France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Canada for

escorting ships carrying humanitarian aid to Somalia. I

would also like to express our profound thanks to all

countries that are currently providing humanitarian aid

to our country.

Permit me to conclude by emphasizing the

importance of conflict prevention, conflict resolution

and conflict management, not only in Somalia, but also

throughout Africa and the developing world. It is hard

to imagine that any meaningful socio-economic

development could take place without peace or

security. It is not realistic to expect countries in a state

of conflict to achieve all or any of the agreed-upon

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Therefore, it

is incumbent upon all developing countries, the United

Nations and the Security Council to promote the

conditions for effective development. Otherwise, the

MDGs will appear to be an exercise in wishful

thinking.