UN Peacekeeping Should Be Deployed To Somalia

UN peacekeeping operation should be deployed to Somalia, Foreign Minister says

The Foreign Minister of Somalia today decried slow international action in response to the crisis in his country and urged the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation there to restore stability.

"Regrettably, we feel that our major efforts in nation-building and State institutions development were confronted with an unreceptive response and reticence of an inexplicable nature," Husein Elabe Fahiye told the General Assembly's annual high-level debate. "Collective action by this world body was less consistent and devoid of vigour, until very recently, to come to the rescue of a nation in dire need of help."

He said an example of this was the "dragging" action on a resolution on the deployment of a peacekeeping mission to Somalia.

Should this continue, he said, "it will only reveal a lack of commitment and indirect acquiescence to prolong the agony of the Somali people."

He called on the UN to support "without delay" the deployment of multinational forces to Somalia, where currently the African Union has fielded a mission known as AMISOM.

Somalia's National Reconciliation Conference had reached a successful conclusion "despite disruptive intimidations by terrorist elements who tried to hijack the proceedings," he said, paying tribute to the Ethiopian forces which have backed Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) as well as AMISOM, which "effectively dealt with these terrorists who are gradually fading away."

The Foreign Minister also advocated the convening of a pledging conference on Somalia, appealing to donors "to show serious commitment in organizing and convening" the event in coordination with the TFG.

"We appeal to the world community to provide generous contributions and to work closely with the Somali authorities to ensure that humanitarian access is provided to the most vulnerable populations," he said.

"Meeting these humanitarian obligations will ultimately provide a strong foundation from which recovery, reconstruction and development can develop in the future."

ENDS

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