The United Nations and the African Union will hold a high-level
meeting in a few days to review efforts to achieve peace, security and
reconciliation in strife-torn Somalia, which has been suffering
through two decades of conflict and numerous humanitarian challenges.
The meeting will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the sidelines of
the African Union Summit which opened today, and will be jointly
convened by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Jean Ping, Chairman of
the AU Commission.
Mr. Ban's Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine P. Mahiga,
<"http://unpos.unmissions.org/Portals/UNPOS/Repository%20UNPOS/PressReleases%20Eng/03%20-%20110126%20Transiton%20Must%20End.pdf">noted
that the meeting comes at a very crucial juncture, given that, under
the Transitional Federal Charter, the interim authority's mandate is
set to expire in August.
"We have less than seven months before the end of the transition, and
yet a lot still has to be done," he stated in a news release issued by
the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS).
Several tasks remain to be completed such as continuing initiatives on
reconciliation, building civilian and security institutions and the
completion of the constitution-making process.
Mr. Mahiga announced that the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) –
which is supported by a UN-backed AU peacekeeping force, known as
AMISOM – has come up with a road map, outlining priority tasks which
it will have to achieve towards the end of the transition.
"There was unanimous agreement, both inside and outside Somalia, that
the transitional period has to end in August as envisaged under the
Djibouti Peace Agreement," he said, referring to the UN-facilitated
peace process that began in 2008.<br>
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"In the meantime, consultations are underway to develop a consensus
on how to end the transition and on the nature of post-transition
political arrangements," he added.
Somalia – which has not had a functioning central government since
1991 – has been torn apart by decades of conflict and factional
strife, more recently with al-Shabaab Islamic militants. The country
is also facing a dire humanitarian crisis in which 3.2 million people,
more than 40 per cent of the population, is in need of aid.
Mr. Mahiga called for internal consultations among the Somalis
themselves to build consensus on the way forward.
"It is critical that the consensus-building process ensures that the
gains made so far are sustained and entrenched beyond the end of the
transition," he stated. "After two decades of suffering, the time has
come for Somalia to return to a nation in which its citizens are
allowed the opportunity to live a fruitful life in peace and
security."
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