Somalia, 2014

It is a pleasure to join the

Assembly today. Yesterday a journalist asked me to

describe Somalia in 15 seconds. First, let me say that

Somalis are great storytellers, so asking a Somali to say

anything in 15 seconds is very difficult. I really had to

think about where to begin. I told him that if he could

think of a problem, then Somalia has it, and often at the

same time as other problems — war, piracy, extremist

terrorist groups, famine, droughts, floods. But that was

the Somalia of yesterday, not the Somalia of today.

I fear that many people’s experience of Somalia is

confined to films — such as the recent Captain Phillips

and re-runs of Black Hawk Down — or YouTube scenes

of the horrific Westgate Mall incident in Kenya, or an

ever-growing number of titles on library bookshelves

that include the words “failed State”, or references to

a long war. But if we shrink our perspective to just

that glimpse, we miss the beauty of the very different

picture that we are painting right now in Somalia. The

Somalia I lead as President is a very different country.

My Somalia is not a 15-second summary of problems.

It is not a Somalia of failure.

We may still be fragile, but we are no longer a

broken State. September of 2012 marked a milestone

for Somalia with the establishment of a new Federal

Government built on national consensus and universally

recognized by the international community. At its start,

the Federal Government of Somalia faced multiple

complex challenges, a stark lack of resources and only

very basic institutional and Government structures. The

country was divided, with no clear path to unification.

Al-Shabaab and other militia groups controlled most of

our territory. The task ahead of us was daunting and the

expectations from both our people and our international

partners were very high. Everything was a priority,

from security to political inclusivity, and from health

care and education to private-sector development and

basic economic reform.

We faced the significant challenge of having to

build frameworks and institutions while simultaneously

delivering immediate, tangible benefits for our people,

in the form of schools, hospitals, roads and more. We had

to deliver on that long list of interrelated priorities while

simultaneously dealing with a politically fragmented

environment and fighting a war against terrorist

groups. And we have succeeded. The foundation for the

future has been laid through our clear military defeat

of Al-Shabaab, which has been made possible only

through the joint efforts of the Somali National Army

and the African Union Mission to Somalia. More than

70 per cent of Somalia’s southern and central regions

has now been liberated from the scourge of Al-Shabaab

and restored to the control of the Federal Government

of Somalia.

Over the past two years we have focused on building

foundations and laying the groundwork for reform.

We have developed legal frameworks, governance

structures and public financial management reform

processes. We have formalized Somalia’s presence

in the international community, strengthened our

relationships with neighbouring countries, restructured

key institutions, established forums for dialogue,

developed a path for political reform and put in place

the architecture for linking international support to our

priorities through the New Deal Somali Compact.

We have made major progress in reforming

public financial management, putting in place better

accountability measures, controls and governance

structures. Key legislation has been drafted, budget

policy developed and the capacity of the offices of the

Accountant General and Auditor General strengthened.

An annual budget, developed with the implementation

of Government-wide work plans and priorities in mind,

has been delivered. A new governor and board of

directors have been appointed for the Central Bank of

Somalia, which we launched from scratch. A financial

governance committee, constituting an advisory body

held jointly by the Federal Government and international

financial institutions, has been established to provide

greater transparency and oversight of financial

transactions in Somalia.

We can take heart in the fact that distinct progress

has been made in moving the country from failed-

State status to that of a nascent nation with functioning

institutions. Today, in September 2014, I am confidently

able to say that, with the support of the Somali people

and the engagement of the international community,

Somalia has undergone a remarkable transformation.

Today we have a country that is beginning to unite as

a nation, behind a vision that in 2016 will see a federal

and united Somalia, a Somalia that will meet our

aspirations for a better future.

But we cannot rest there. Somalia has always had

an enormous capacity for playing a long game, and now

more than ever we must stay our course. Somalia is

at a critical juncture in its efforts to achieve security

and stability. This past year has seen a rise in terrorist

groups and activities around the world. Today, the reach

of terrorists is not confined to one country; it is a global

issue that requires global action. More than any other

fragile State today, Somalia has significantly advanced

in its fight against terrorism. We are winning the war,

but we must also win the peace. President Obama spoke

earlier this week of being at a crossroads of war and

peace (see A/69/PV.5). As Somalis, we know better

than any other nation the truth of that statement. We

are at that juncture.

That is why we know that solutions cannot be only

military in nature. Yesterday we were reminded of the

origins behind the establishment of the United Nations.

We were reminded of the power of peaceful political

reconciliation. Military intervention can end war, but

it cannot propagate peace. Dialogue, reconciliation,

forgiveness — those are the tools of peacebuilders, the

tools of nation-builders.

As President of Somalia, I reaffirm our commitment

to denying extremist ideology and its servants any

hiding place in Somalia. Somalia’s strategic location

makes it a gateway between the Arabian peninsula and

the African continent. We cannot defeat Al-Shabaab

only to allow other extremists, such as the militant

group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, to

find fertile ground. Although the security situation in

Somalia is improving and Al-Shabaab is becoming a

spent force, we cannot afford to rest until we achieve

a final victory. We must strengthen Somalia and

make it into a firewall, both for security purposes and

ideologically. Somalia must be strengthened in order to

prevent the African continent from being once again

invaded by violent extremists who target innocent

civilians, spreading their ideology of death. Solutions

must be sought by applying the rule of law, pursuing

human rights and affording access to justice. People

must be allowed to determine their own future and to

find their own place in that brilliant future.

We must not forget the importance of political

reconciliation and reform in maintaining long-term

stability and creating an enabling environment for

development gains. Two years ago, it quickly became

clear that the formation of a unified and federal Somalia

was the key to delivering peace and building sustainable

security. The Vision 2016 framework was developed

to encapsulate that important national goal. Vision

2016 outlines the framework for federalism through

reconciliation, the adoption of a revised permanent

constitution through a referendum and the path to

democratic elections. It is a tall order that cannot be

overstated.

The Federal Government has undertaken to revise

our Provisional Constitution by 2016 and adopt it by

means of a public referendum. We have undertaken to

deliver a federal Somalia made up of member states. We

have undertaken to deliver credible, national elections.

We have not failed on the side of ambition, and we

must not fail to deliver on our ambition. And we are

delivering. Led by the Federal Government, together

with existing and emerging regional stakeholders

inside Somalia, we have made significant progress in

the formation of interim regional administrations in

the south-west and central regions of Somalia through

dialogue and consultations.

The Constitution Review and Implementation

Commission was set up in May 2014 and started work

on reviewing the current Provisional Constitution of

Somalia. The approval and adoption of the Provisional

Constitution is critical to an inclusive political

settlement that paves the way for sustainable security

and development in Somalia.

In order to create a federal State, it will be

essential to ensure the full participation of subfederal

administrations in the political transformation of

Somalia. The Boundaries and Federation Commission

will be established and will devise the mechanisms

for supporting the process of federating Somalia. The

National Independent Electoral Commission will be

endorsed by Parliament by the end of 2014. The Federal

Government is committed to inclusivity and, while

observing the principles of Somali-Somali dialogue, is

taking concrete steps to engage all Somalis, including

women and minority groups, in the political process

of nation-building. We have seen great progress in

connecting the Government to the Somali public, thanks

to the improvement of service delivery, particularly in

the area of education. In two years we have enrolled

close to 100,000 students in public schools and

appointed 2,000 teachers.

We are investing in the strengthening of our Somali

national forces. The Somali National Army is a key

element in defeating Al-Shabaab, and we are working

with our international partners to ensure that we have

a well-trained, well-equipped, integrated national army

and other defence institutions in place, so that Somalia

will one day be well able to defend its own peace and

participate in international peace.

However, it grieves me to report today that

the humanitarian situation in Somalia is extremely

critical. About 3.2 million Somalis need life-saving

or livelihood assistance right now. A terrible mix of

drought, rising food prices, increasing malnutrition

and insecurity is plunging Somalia into a humanitarian

crisis not dissimilar to the horrific famine of 2011. Out

of a population of 12.3 million in Somalia, more than

1 million people face acute food insecurity today and an

equal number of people are internally displaced. Three

months ago the humanitarian community and the Federal

Government sounded the alarm about the impending

crisis. Humanitarian response plans were prepared

and launched. Swift action by the Federal Government

to set up an interim interministerial committee and

interventions with humanitarian partners and donors

has mitigated the current crisis. However, a sustained

and scaled-up response is required now to prevent a

free fall. The humanitarian appeal for Somalia remains

severely underfunded. Only 32 per cent of the requested

$933 million has been received. This situation must be

addressed urgently. As we enter the last third of the

year, more than half a billion dollars is still required

for life-saving activities. Over the past 18 months,

Somalia has seen a significant amount of progress in

its political, economic and development sectors. If the

current humanitarian situation deteriorates into a crisis,

all those gains will be undermined. We have come too

far to allow that to happen.

It is clear that, despite challenges, Somalia is

moving forward on the path of integration, inclusivity

and peace. We are leaving behind the disorder and

discord spread by a distorted ideology. I was told

a remarkable story recently, a true story that I think

illustrates perfectly the power of reconciliation and the

triumph of compassion over brutality. One of our Somali

non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is running a

social reconciliation programme in some remote areas

of Somalia. It consists of 12 weeks of intense facilitated

discussions about truth, designed to disrupt the cycle

of violence and create a safe space where people can

tell their stories and, through that exercise, nurture

understanding. A young man whose family had moved

to another country when his father was murdered by

another man from his village heard of the programme.

He heard that the Somali NGO was training programme

facilitators, people who would be able to move freely

from one village to another and teach others the way of

peace and reconciliation. Rather than as an opportunity

to pursue peace, this young man, filled with anger at his

father’s murder, saw it as the ideal way for him to exact

revenge. He would return to Somalia, undertake the

training course, gain access to his family’s old village

under a false pretext, and while there he would kill his

father’s murderer.

He therefore came home to Somalia, bought a

weapon, underwent the training and went to the village.

He made sure that his father’s murderer attended the

training, while harbouring the destruction of his

father’s enemy in his heart. But then, something started

to happen. As he helped the villagers tell their stories of

violence, of the endless cycle of horror, of the terrible

choices they had had to make, his heart softened. He

understood that any choice that involved violence was a

not a choice at all. One day he stood up at the training

centre, addressed his father’s murderer, explained that

he had plotted to kill him and begged his forgiveness.

In a way, this one man’s story echoes the national

history that we are beginning to tell in Somalia today,

namely, that our future will not be built on the ashes of

revenge. It will not be built on the stones of violence.

We reaffirm our choice of peace. We reaffirm that

reconciliation, the path that we have chosen, will be

won through dialogue, through inclusive politics,

through creating a shared vision of what Somalia can

be in the future. Our success requires the support of

our international partners, but most of all it demands

the ownership and the commitment of the Somali

people, which we are assuring. As we continue towards

democratization, now is not the time for scepticism. We

have laid out our plans, and we need to stand together

to execute and deliver.

Our achievements and progress have been made

possible by the determination of the Somali people.

We welcome and acknowledge the strong support

of our international partners and look forward to

their continuing engagement behind our nationally

led agenda. I acknowledge the commitment and

the sacrifice of our Somali defence institutions and

grieve the loss of our soldiers and security staff who

died in pursuit of peace. I renew my commitment to

serve the Somali people. Somalia is indebted to their

resilience and perseverance in the face of extraordinary

challenges. Somalis look forward to walking, together

with the nations assembled here, towards a peaceful,

prosperous future for the nation call Somalia. We are

very much indebted to the family of the United Nations.