Mogadishu(SONNA):Marking this year’s United Nations Day, the world
body’s top officials in Somalia today flagged some of the support being provided to and
challenges faced in assisting Somalis on their path to peace and stability, while also re-
affirming their commitment in line with the organization’s founding principles.
“The United Nations was created as a vehicle of hope for a world emerging from
conflict. And now, 76 years later, it continues to serve the peoples of the world. Some of
the challenges it was created to address have not changed, unfortunately. Conflict,
poverty, hunger at the same time, new challenges have arisen COVID-19 and climate
change, to name just two examples,” the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative
for Somalia, James Swan, said at a virtual press conference in Mogadishu.
“Here in Somalia,” he continued, “the United Nations has been a steadfast partner of
the country since its independence, dating back decades, and we expect the partnership
with Somalia to continue across a wide range of areas in the future.”
The senior-most UN official in Somalia was addressing the media two days after UN Day,
which is observed annually on 24 October.
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Franscisco at the UN Conference on
International Organization to draw up the UN Charter, which is the founding document
of the United Nations.
The UN Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 and came into force on 24 October that
year, when it had been ratified by a majority of signatories – and officially bringing the
UN into existence. Since its founding, the UN’s mission and work have been guided by
the purposes and principles contained in the Charter.
Mr. Swan was joined by the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for
Somalia, Anita Kiki Gbeho; the Head of UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), Lisa
Filipetto; the Country Representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and acting
Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Ayaya; and the Resident Representative of the UN
Development Programme (UNDP) and acting Resident Coordinator, Jocelyn Mason.
In his opening remarks, the UN Special Representative said the world body’s
involvement with the Horn of Africa country includes support for security, state-
building, humanitarian needs and development, assistance with local governance,
service delivery, human rights, the inclusion of women and youth, and ensuring the
representation of minorities and other marginalized groups in political processes and
decision-making.
