AYOUB Posted January 29, 2011 New York, United States - The UN and the African Union (AU) will hold high-level talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to review efforts to achieve peace, security and reconciliation in strife-torn Somalia, which has suffered two decades of conflict and humanitarian challenges. The Pan African News Agency (PANA) learnt that the meeting would be held on the sidelines of the AU Summit which opened on Wednesday. UN Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, said in a statement obtained by PANA in New York that the talks would be attended by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Jean Ping, Chairman of the AU Commission. He said that the meeting would also be graced by African leaders attending the summit. Mahiga noted that, ``the meeting comes at a very crucial juncture, given that, under the Transitional Federal Charter, the interim authority’s mandate is set to expire in August'. ``We have less than seven months before the end of the transition, and yet a lot still has to be done,” he stated. According to him: ``Several tasks remain to be completed such as continuing initiatives on reconciliation, building civilian and security institutions and the completion of the constitution-making process'. Mahiga also disclosed that the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which is supported by a UN-backed AU peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM, had come up with a road map, outlining priority tasks which it will have to achieve towards the end of the transition. ``There was unanimous agreement, both inside and outside Somalia, that the transitional period has to end in August as envisaged under the Djibouti Peace Agreement,” he said. PANA recalled that the UN-facilitated Djibouti peace process began in 2008. The UN envoy in Somalia, also added that, ``in the meantime, consultations are underway to develop a consensus on how to end the transition and on the nature of post-transition political arrangements'. Mahiga further called for internal consultations among the Somalis themselves to build consensus on the way forward. ``It is critical that the consensus-building process ensures that the gains made so far are sustained and entrenched beyond the end of the transition. ``After two decades of suffering, the time has come for Somalia to return to a nation in which its citizens are allowed the opportunity to live a fruitful life in peace and security,' he stated. Somalia, which has not had a functioning central government since 1991 has been torn apart by decades of conflict and factional strife, more recently with Al-Shabaab Islamic militants. The country is also facing a dire humanitarian crisis in which 3.2 million people, more than 40 per cent of the population, is in need of aid. Pana 27/01/2011 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Che -Guevara Posted January 30, 2011 What dismal stint for Sharif-sad letdown for those who invested in him and in a way sad letdown for Somalia. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
