UN / SOMALIA
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STORY: UN / SOMALIA
TRT: 3.00
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / RUSSIAN / NATS
DATELINE: 10 MARCH 2011, NEW YORK CITY/ FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN building
10 MARCH 2011, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“The situation in Somalia requires urgent attention. The military gains by the Transitional Federal Government and AMISOM are fragile. The humanitarian situation is dire. Violence continues to rage. And given the calls for good governance and a decent life in North Africa and the Middle East, public expectations are likely to be growing in Somalia, too. If we act now, we can consolidate recent gains and set Somalia on a more promising course.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed Abdulahi Mohamed, Prime Minister of Somalia:
“We are in the fist line of defence against two evils, the scourge of piracy and the plague of terrorism. We need to defeat these at their source and this needs cooperation and collaboration between us and the international community. ”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed Abdulahi Mohamed, Prime Minister of Somalia:
“We will regain our land, our identity and our dignity from the extremists. We will not compromise the interests of our nation or the future of our children. We will do what it takes to regain our status as a state that protects its borders from enemies, foreign and domestic, ends all forms of piracy, protects its citizens, and produces a nation in peace with itself and it neighbours.”
9. Med shot, delegates
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Boubacar Diarra, African Union Special Representative for Somalia:
“In spite of the gains we have recorded in Somalia, I must emphasise that the armed group, al Shabaab, is still fighting to remove the TFG and AMISOM from Somalia in order to continue to rein terror on the Somali people and even far beyond as they did in Kampala, Uganda. The situation in Somalia clearly presents a threat to international peace and security. A robust response from the international community is therefore needed.”
11. Med shot, delegates
12. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vitaly Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations:
“The problem of piracy continues to worsen. Seamen die and the counter-piracy measures clearly don’t keep up with developments. The Security Council needs to take urgent and decisive steps that would prevent a further worsening of the situation. The Russian delegation intends in the near future to submit a draft resolution on piracy that is aimed at a comprehensive decision to this problem, including such an important area as fighting impunity.”
13. Wide shot, Security Council
The Security Council today (10 March) held a debate focused on seeking an appropriate solution to the Somali issue through a comprehensive strategy.
The long-standing civil war in Somalia exacerbated by an ongoing drought has caused a humanitarian crisis, with 2.4 million in need of assistance. Piracy off the coast of Somalia is another major issue on the Council’s agenda.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, addressing the meeting, stressed that the situation in Somalia “requires urgent attention”, and noted that military gains combating Al-Shabaab insurgents are “fragile.”
He added that “the humanitarian situation is dire” and “violence continues to rage.”
The Secretary-General said that “given the calls for good governance and a decent life in North Africa and the Middle East, public expectations are likely to be growing in Somalia, too” and concluded that by acting now recent gains can be consolidated, setting Somalia “on a more promising course.”
Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdulahi Mohamed, updated the Council on developments and progress made by the Transitional Federal Government’s (TFG) in the first 100 days in office and the appointment of a new streamlined cabinet.
Abdulahi Mohamed said that Somalia is in “the fist line of defence against two evils, the scourge of piracy and the plague of terrorism.” He called on the international community to cooperate and collaborate in defeating them “at their source.”
The Prime Minister vowed to “regain our land, our identity and our dignity from the extremists” and to “do what it takes to regain our status as a state that protects its borders from enemies, foreign and domestic, ends all forms of piracy, protects its citizens, and produces a nation in peace with itself and it neighbours.”
Somalia is scheduled to hold legislative and presidential elections later this year, before the TFG ends its mandate.
The Special Representative of the African Union (AU) for Somalia, Boubacar Diarra, reported that
In spite of recent gains in fighting the insurgency al Shabaab is still fighting to remove the TFG and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) from the country “in order to continue to rein terror on the Somali people.”
He added that the situation in Somalia “clearly presents a threat to international peace and security” and “a robust response from the international community is therefore needed.”
At the beginning of the year, the Council approved a 50 per cent increase for AMISOM’s force to 12,000 troops, but those additional troops have not yet been deployed.
AMISOM backed Government troops recently made a major push against the al-Shabaab insurgency, making some territorial gains in Mogadishu.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin emphasised that “the problem of piracy continues to worsen” as counter-piracy measures “clearly don’t keep up with developments.”
He called on the Security Council “to take urgent and decisive steps that would prevent a further worsening of the situation” and announced that the Russian delegation is planning to submit a draft resolution on piracy “aimed at a comprehensive decision to this problem, including such an important area as fighting impunity.”
Despite international efforts to fight piracy off the coast off Somalia, the problem has worsened in recent years. The level of violence employed by the pirates is increasing and their areas of activities are expanding
The Council issued a presidential statement stressing the need for a comprehensive strategy to encourage the establishment of peace and stability in Somalia through the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders.