Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Somalia at "Security Council VTC meeting on "The Situation in Somalia".
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia at "Security Council VTC meeting on "The Situation in Somalia”.
Monday, February
22nd, 2021
Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Ladies, and Gentlemen,
Allow me to begin by congratulating you, Madam President, on assuming the presidency of the Security Council for the month of February and wish you and your delegation success. I also commend the Permanent Representative of the brotherly country of Tunisia for his exemplary leadership at the helm of the Council last month.
I acknowledge the
presence of Mr. James Swann, Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Somalia
(UNSOM), Mr. Francisco Madeira, Special Representative of the African Union
Commission Chairperson for Somalia (SRCC), Madame Rita Laranjinha, European
Union Managing Director for Africa and thank them for their briefings.
It is a great honour to be addressing the UN Security Council on Somalia’s progress and remaining challenges. The UN Security Council members, alongside the majority of other partner nations within the UN family, continue to play an important role in Somalia’s development alongside our resilient People and Government both bilaterally and multilaterally.
The Somali Government
takes note of the report of the Secretary General, H.E. Antonio Guterres, on
the situation in Somalia which was presented to the Security Council today.
The report captures succinctly the political, security, and socio-economic challenges the Somali nation must overcome in order to continue our path to deepening democracy, development, stability and security for Somalia.
It is important to note, the Somali People will be forever indebted for the support and multifaceted partnerships that continue to contribute to our national progress, especially, as we navigate forward to a better future. A bright and confident future anchored in the undying belief we are the masters of our own destiny.
Political Developments
Madame President,
On the present
political impasse on the implementation of the 17 September agreement, context
is important. The Federal Government of Somalia has worked consistently in a
determined manner to hold a Federal election as stipulated by the provisional
constitution. It should be noted soon after the commencement of this
administration, work to implement the holding of OPOV began, simply, in order
to ensure the widest participation of citizens to choose their leaders for the
first time in 50 years.
A practical model for realising this goal was designed and negotiated with the FMS before they and the FGS signed an agreement in 2018. I’m very much aware of this because I led on the negotiations on behalf the Federal government and as a member of the Federal Negotiation technical committee (FNTC) working closely with the FMS.
After this agreement
a draft law was formulated by the executive branch based on the agreement and
was presented to the federal parliament for legislative scrutiny and voted on
before the president accented it in to law in February 2020.
As stipulated both by the political agreement and the subsequent election law, the process was to be led by the National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC). However, within a short period the FMS leaders reneged on the early agreement on OPOV and instead expressed a preference for a selection model, similar to the one used in 2016, were the leadership of the FGS and FMS in effect choose the members of both houses the Federal Parliament who would then become the electors of the president and speakers.
The selective process has, rightfully, earned the label of an incubator for levels of corruption, irregularities and patronage favoured by elites whose sole interest is to hold the future of Somalia to ransom and maintain patronage for the few.
Despite the moral and
political imperative to implement the agreed election model, Somalia’s
international partners pressured the government to compromise with the Federal
member state, once again, and as a result of a series of consultation with the
FMS leadership, held in Dhusamareeb, known as the Dhusamareeb conference I II
and III.
A final meeting of
the National Consultative Council in Mogadishu reached a political agreement on
the new modalities of election on September 17th 2020.
It’s to be noted that the Federal Government, in agreeing to this selected model, has not only compromised on OPOV but it also had agreed to the following as demanded by FMS:
● For each seat the FGS wanted 301 individuals to vote for each respective parliamentary seat but the FMS wanted 101 the FGS agreed.
● The FGS proposed elections should be held in up to four or minimum of three locations in each FMS, in order to seek greater legitimisation of the new parliament, the FMS leaders wanted two locations, the FGS again accepted their wish.
The pen holders of this agreement were the FMS leaders, in particular, the presidents of Jubaland and Puntland and led to the agreement being welcomed, celebrated and endorsed by all prospective presidential candidates, the FMS leaders, International community and by all relevant political actors.
Regrettably after all of this they, the penholders of this agreement continue to refuse to implement the political agreement requesting further concessions after another to address perceived concerns with regards to the Gedo region and the election committees.
This was also accepted
by the FGS and a technical committee representing all stakeholders, including
ministerial representatives from both Jubaland and Puntland finalised the
outstanding issues in Baydhabo on the 16th February.
After two days of discussions the Baidao technical Committee’s announcement an agreement and welcomed by all including the International Community, H.E. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Famaajo extended an invitation to the Federal Member state leaders to meet at National Consultative Council on February 18th in Mogadishu to conclude the FGS/FMS Technical Committee’s work and fully implement the 17th September agreement, so that the process of elections can begin without any further delays.
Madam President,
Regrettably, the two
FMS leaders, who were the pen holders for the 17th September political
agreement and have remained a constant obstacle to its finalisation once again
refused to attend the meeting, once again choosing to hold to ransom the
aspirations of the Somali people for stability in an effort to achieve a
transition in an undemocratic manner.
In fact, rather than
travel to Mogadishu to attend the planned National Consultative Council’s
meeting, the two FMS leaders chose to offer a tacit support to a planned
protest by prospective presidential candidates which the FGS accepted provided
that it adheres to public health and is held in a peaceful manner as our
constitution stipulates.
The Government fully recognizes the right to peacefully demonstrate as a right guaranteed by the Constitution. We are committed to providing the Somali people with the opportunity to express themselves and their demands without undermining public order or destroying public or private property.
However, the
prospective presidential candidates not only disregarded the Government’s
measures but chose a clear path of illegality and insurrection. They chose to
bring forth a militia out on to the streets of Mogadishu and in fact the head
of this militia openly stated in public and I quote "there is no government,
and we are taking control”.
This is of no surprise because on the night of February 8th, the opposition group leaders declared that there is no government in Somalia, which is not true given parliament passed the election law based on the political agreement which under article 3 clearly states the legislative and executive branches of government have full authority and furthermore, the executive is responsible for managing the election precisely in order to avoid a vacancy of power.
These acts have led to loss of life of members of our security personnel who have taken an oath to protect the Somali nation from enemies both foreign and domestic, and I extend my condolences and the gratitude of the nation to their families and loved ones. – and wish those injured speedy recovery.
The Somali people are tired of war and yenning for stability, security and a government which truly represents their aspirations and key to achieving this is holding a free and fair elections as agreed by all the parties on the 17th of September and finalised by the Baydhabo technical committee no more than a week ago.
Madam President
Denying the truth
doesn’t change the facts. And I’m afraid what we have here is an opposition
whose only interest, at the behest of external forces, is to create red-herring
from the fact that their sole political goal has always been to cause political
crisis in order to foment constitutional disorder.
The only way to have a political transition is through election, not threats or outlandish claims of political and social regression to a painful era the Somali people will never accept returning to.
The simple truth is, no amount of undemocratic calls for removal of a sitting president without election, the foreign axis of instability supporting the opposition nor the threat of violence will determine the destiny of the Somali nation.
Somalia’s destiny
will be determined by the Somali people who have the confidence, experience and
resolve to ensure what lies ahead for Somalia will never be the pain of the
past.
Unfortunately, the Somali Federal Government strongly believes there is blatant foreign interfere in the internal political affairs of Somalia from those who claim to be helping to stabilise Somalia to those who offer princely reward in order to intentionally sabotage and prolong the electoral process in the hope of leadership change.
This axis of foreign
influence clearly has a strategy of prolonging the holding of elections by
forcing the remaining two FMS leaders to refuse the agreement in order to
provide space for prospective presidential candidates in an attempt to create a
narrative of discord. Only today, the prospective presidential candidates have
announced the holding of a demonstration next Friday and are clearly timed to
coincide with this meeting in the hope of instilling a fear of Armageddon.
Rest assured, the
prospective presidential candidates have and will continue to be provided the
freedom and political space to express their views and government bodies, as
well as security forces will fulfil their statutory duty to protect the public
against the dark forces of extremism and the silent enemy of the pandemic while
they express their views openly.
However, the security and wellbeing of the Somali people will remain paramount and no armed insurrection under the guise of a political demonstration will be accepted.
There is no doubt elections will happen once the final two FMS leaders endorse the finalization of the 17th September agreement negotiated by their respective technical representatives. Upon the agreement of these two FMS leaders the FGS is willing and able to begin the holding of the election within the month.
The President of Somalia once again invites the leaders of Puntland and Jubbaland to join the Consultative meeting in Mogadishu, to finalise the recommendations of the technical committee. The completion of the electoral process based on dialogue and compromise is vital for the peace and prosperity of the Somali people.
Madame President,
On security
developments, defeating Al-Shabaab remains Somalia’s key security priority. We
have been engaged in a successful fight against a determined international
terrorist organization with regional and global ambition. Thanks to the courage
and sacrifices of the Somali National Army and AMISOM troops, AlShabaab has
been reduced to carrying out opportunistic attacks on soft targets. Many plots
to kill innocent people were foiled and many AlShabab operatives have been
killed, captured or arrested.
Despite the courage
of AMISOM soldiers in Somalia, it is imperative that we continue to work with
our international partners to nurture and develop a well-trained, equipped and
funded Somali National Army and Police Force to protect our citizens and contribute
to the strengthening of regional stability. We are thankful to all partners who
are actively assisting us to work towards and realise this fundamental goal.
Indeed, 2021 will be a pivotal year for Somalia we have completed and revised Somalia’s Transition Plan, which was UNSC and lays out a clear path for Somalia to transition security away from AMISOM to Somali Security Forces
It’s important AMISOM is fit for purpose and able to meet the present challenges and by this we mean, firstly, the realisation of a reconfigured AMISOM force that is more mobile and agile enough to support the Somali Security Force’s offensive capabilities. Secondly, a move away from a single sector presence of TCC forces to a mix TCC forces presence in all sectors to improve command and control.
Finally, greater
coordination and joint operations between AMISOM and the Somali Security forces
to enable Somali leadership. To put it simply the upcoming AMISOM CONOPS must
reflect effectively the aim of the Somali Transition Plan.
Madame President,
With regards to
economic development, the Somali Federal Government has prioritized economic
reforms to ease the unsustainable national debt burden from the Somali people.
Through great national effort and in partnership with bilateral and
multilateral partners, Somalia completed successive economic reform programs
guided by the International Monetary Fund to reach the Decision-point under the
Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) in early 2020.
This was a huge
achievement which is now followed by a sequel program, Extended Credit Facility
(ECF) which continues to build on the foundations of strengthening Public
Financial Management, Raising Domestic revenue towards fiscal sustainability,
managing expenditure to a sustainable level, good governance and financial
sector reforms.
Moreover, we have put
in place laws and regulations to institutionalize good governance and
sustainable economic management to cement the economic reforms.
We are determined to remain on the right reform trajectory to reach the Completion Point, and hopefully attain complete debt forgiveness. This coupled with the lessons we have learnt and the systems and processes we have built through the economic reform journey, should lead Somalia on the road to sustainable development, opportunity and prosperity.
Madame President,
Alongside the political, security and economic progress presented so far, Somalia has also been making steady progress in the state building process particularly through the constitutional review process and the prevention and resolution of conflicts. Somalia has also been effectively responding to the triple threat of locust, flooding as well as the global COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to have a severe impact on the health and economic stability of Somalia and its people. Somalia continues to call for global solidarity and equitable access to vaccines at this extremely difficult and vulnerable time for all populations.
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