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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
SOMALIA: Interview with UN Representative Maxwell Gaylard
NAIROBI, 17 April 2003 (IRIN) - Maxwell Gaylard is the UN Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. He recently visited Mogadishu with high level representatives of other UN agencies to assess the humanitarian and security situation there. Here, he tells IRIN about the UN's work in the city and his meetings with the Transitional National Government (TNG), faction leaders and civil society.
QUESTION: How does the security situation in Mogadishu affect your work?
ANSWER: The security situation affects all that you want to try to do in Mogadishu. Obviously in the first instance, it affects the people of Mogadishu because they live there. For us trying to help the Somalis, the security situation which is not very good -- it's problematic and there is fighting and there is crime and there is kidnapping -- this severely affects the ability of the international community to do anything very meaningful in Mogadishu at the moment.
Q: Do you expect any results from your meetings?
A: Yes, I do expect results to come out of our meetings, and in fact this was a particular visit to Mogadishu. Of course we see these leaders from the political and the business and the civil society elsewhere, in Eldoret and now in Mbagathi [near Nairobi], and inside Somalia in other places. So Mogadishu, it's not a one-off visit, it's part of a pattern of visits and cooperation and liaison with the Somalis.
Q: The sides have signed a ceasefire agreement, yet fighting continues. Do you believe they are sincere?
A: The signing of any agreement is the first or second step after consultations. From that point on, in the Somalia context, I think it's up to all of us - those who sign the agreement, those who observe the agreement, and everyone with an interest and a stake in Somalia - to keep the pressure on, to see that if the agreements aren't being observed we do our best to ensure that those in control will do so. So the trip to Mogadishu was also a part of that process.
In the first instance we wanted to see the humanitarian situation, we wanted to make a judgement about security, which is good in some areas and not so good in others. And we wanted to emphasise to the leaders that if we are to help them help their people then we need safe access. And safe access in the first instance is absence of conflict. So you are quite correct - they have signed an agreement, now we and they have to do our best to see that they stick to it.
Q: At a recent meeting, the TNG president and faction leaders in Mogadishu said they would re-establish order and reopen the airport and seaport. Would this help humanitarian access?
A: From the point of view of myself, as UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, an extra seaport and an extra airport has to be able to facilitate humanitarian assistance. In principle it can do a lot more than that - it can stimulate trade, stimulate business. It can also stimulate conflict if it's not handled in the right way. I think the bottom line with the seaport and the airport is that the Somalis themselves, and particularly the people of Mogadishu, they have to figure this out - when it's feasible, how it should happen, how you do it without conflict. And indeed, if you are going to open the seaport and the airport, you would hope to do it in the promotion of peace.
Q: What are the humanitarian priorities?
A: Apart from physical protection which in itself is fundamentally important - you know, you would hope that these people, the IDPs [internally displaced people] and the most vulnerable are going to be protected by the various leaders of factions, religious leaders, business leaders and so on - the very practical requirements are clean water, adequate health services, sanitation and basic education. Now to most of the IDPs and vulnerable groups in Mogadishu, those things are not available - the water's dirty, the schools aren't big enough to accommodate them, sanitation is very poor or nonexistent and so on.
Q: You said it was up to everyone, especially international community, to continue pressure for implementation of ceasefire agreement. How?
A: Whether it's Somalia or any other country in conflict, the signing of a peace agreement or a cessation of hostilities is the beginning, not the end. And then there comes a process. That is happening. My colleagues in the international community and from within Somalia are putting pressure on the signatories to the cessation of hostilities agreement. In my capacity as UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator I put pressure on and add to what everyone else is doing.
And just in very general terms, you know the signs are not all bad for Somalia by any means. There's a peace process going on. It's had its rocky periods, it is still there, it is still unfolding. There are many peaceful areas inside Somalia itself. Probably much more than 50 percent of the country is actually at peace and people get on with their lives. And I think, particularly speaking for the UN, over the years to come we can do a lot to help the Somalis get it back together again, either on the peace process side where other colleagues of mine are working with the international community, or on the operational side which is my responsibility.
Themes: (IRIN) Conflict
[ENDS]
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