Focusing on strengthening regional governments may offer an alternative to the enduring chaos
By Francis Matthew, Editor at Large
Image Credit: ©Gulf News
Somalia is the Arab world's one complete failure. Following the end of the rule of the former dictator, Mohammad Siad Barre, in 1991, all semblance of national government collapsed, tens of thousands of people have been killed in fighting over 20 years of civil war, and hundreds of thousands have starved to death and more than 13 million people have been affected by famine and drought over Somalia and its neighbours.
The country has become a byword for disaster, and numerous attempts to restore national governance have totally failed. Given this miserable situation, it is surprising that last week's London Conference on Somalia raised any expectations of improvement. But British Prime Minister David Cameron was supported by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when he spoke enthusiastically about a plan which included action on security, piracy, terrorism, humanitarian assistance, local stability, reinvigoration of the political process and international cooperation. He also welcomed the UN Security Council's decision to increase the number of African Union peacekeepers from 12,000 to 17,000, with an expanded mandate.
The UAE represented the Arab world at the conference, and Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan welcomed the coherent and collective steps decided by the conference to counter the very difficult humanitarian and political conditions. During the conference Shaikh Abdullah reported on the success of a special Arab League meeting on Somalia the previous week in Cairo, and emphasised that the UAE is working on invigorating the role of Arabs, and Gulf Cooperation Council states in particular, to achieve a deeper understanding of what will be required to help Somalia come right.
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/somalia-needs-global-help-1.988252
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