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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 14 July 2006

SOMALIA: Gov't welcomes UN statement on revising arms embargo

NAIROBI, 14 Jul 2006 (IRIN) - Somalia's transitional government on Friday welcomed a statement by the United Nations Security Council that the world body was ready to ease the arms embargo on the Horn of Africa country to pave the way for the deployment of an African peacekeeping force.

"The TFG [Transitional Federal Government] welcomes the statement from the UN Security Council. It is a very positive step in the right direction," said Abdirahman Dinari, the government's spokesman. The move would enable the government to "restore law and order throughout the country", he added.

The Security Council expressed on Thursday its willingness to amend the arms embargo, imposed in 1992, if it would help Somalia's Transitional Federal Institutions (TFI) restore law and order.

"The Security Council expresses its readiness to consider a limited modification of the arms embargo to enable the TFIs, on the basis of a sustainable peace process, to develop Somalia’s security sector and national institutions capable of responding to security issues," the council said in a statement read by its president for July, ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sablière of France.

"The Security Council emphasises, however, the continued contribution made to Somalia’s peace and security by the arms embargo, and calls on all to comply with it. The Security Council reiterates its intention to consider urgently how to strengthen the effectiveness of the arms embargo," the statement added.

The council also reiterated its support for the TFG and called for the strengthening of broad-based institutions in the country.

"The Security Council supports the Transitional Federal Government and Transitional Federal Parliament as the internationally recognised authorities to restore peace, stability and governance to Somalia. It notes the importance for stability in Somalia of broad-based and representative institutions and of an inclusive political process, as envisaged in the Transitional Federal Charter."

The TFG, based in Baidoa, northwest of the capital Mogadishu, favours a quick deployment of an African peacekeeping force to help it establish authority. However, the Union of Islamic Courts, which controls Mogadishu and a number of other areas in the south, opposes the deployment of foreign troops in Somalia.

The TFG was created in Kenya in 2004 after lengthy reconciliation talks hosted by the Intergovernmental Authority of Development (IGAD), which comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.

IGAD and the African Union have urged the United Nations to revise the arms embargo to enable the interim government to set up law-enforcement institutions with the help of an African peacekeeping force. Strife-torn Somalia has had no effective national government since 1991 when the administration led by Muhammad Siyad Barre was overthrown.


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This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006