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As UN expands work in Somalia, UN official warns of growing security demands
4 October -- As the United Nations deepens its engagement in humanitarian activities in Somalia, security remains a very difficult and sensitive issue, a UN senior official warned today.

"We are willing to create and to extend our operational commitments but at the same time, this inevitably will cause tensions that only more effective security can deal with," Randolph Kent, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, told journalists at a press conference in New York. "I hope that donors understand that more security assistance is needed for us and for our NGO [non-governmental organization] colleagues who are working in Somalia."

According to Mr. Kent, the UN now has 60 international staff based in Somalia, with an additional 200 going in and out of the country. Their efforts are complemented by the work of 1,000 national staff working for UN agencies throughout Somalia. "Our ambition is that this engagement will increase," he said, stressing that "as we increase our staff, as we increase the engagement in terms of operational activities, we also must increase security."

Noting that Somalia is undergoing a transition "from a point where it was a struggle for survival now to a point where it is a struggle for peace," Mr. Kent said the UN would work to consolidate the gains achieved so far. "There are some who say we just have to wait and see how this process will turn out," he said. "I think from an operational perspective, what the UN is saying is we have to remain committed to see how we can support this peace effort."

In particular, he expressed the UN's determination to help Somalia's Transitional National Government, which emerged from a "difficult and complex process in Djibouti." The UN, working with its partner NGOs, would help with demobilization, administration and basic infrastructure. "While this process will be difficult, we have no alternative but to see how best we can support peace," he stressed.