{"id":401350,"date":"2020-10-25T14:32:34","date_gmt":"2020-10-25T11:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/?p=401350"},"modified":"2020-10-25T14:40:35","modified_gmt":"2020-10-25T11:40:35","slug":"un-reaffirms-world-bodys-commitment-to-somalia-now-and-going-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/un-reaffirms-world-bodys-commitment-to-somalia-now-and-going-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"UN reaffirms World Body\u2019s commitment to Somalia now and going forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mogadishu (SONNA)<\/strong>-On the occasion of United Nations Day, the UN envoy to Somalia today highlighted the long-running partnership between the world body and the country, and reaffirmed the organization\u2019s support for Somalis now and into the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United Nations, though we are focused on it today because it\u2019s UN Day, is here in a supporting role. It\u2019s here in a collaborative role \u2013 fundamentally to assist Somali institutions, the Somali national government, Federal Member States and other entities in addressing the needs of the people,\u201d said the UN Secretary-General\u2019s Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are committed to strong cooperation and alignment, and support for national priorities and objectives,\u201d he added in a virtual press conference held in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.<\/p>\n

The date of 24 October has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948; it marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being.<\/p>\n

In his remarks, the UN envoy spoke of the world body\u2019s multifaceted role which combines it being a set of principles enshrined in the UN Charter and other documents outlining how countries should interact and meet collective aspirations, a grouping of specialized institutions with expertise in areas important to global progress, and its role as a gathering of its Member States coming together to make decisions collectively.
\nLong partnership<\/b><\/p>\n

Mr. Swan noted that Somalia\u2019s involvement with the United Nations goes back to even before its independence, while the world body has been a resolute partner and constant presence.
\n\u201cSomalia has been a proud and full member of the United Nations since its independence 60 years ago. Both the UN and Somalia have worked together throughout that time, and even before as the United Nations supported progress towards independence in 1960,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would note,\u201d he added, \u201cthat the United Nations has been here in Somalia through good times and bad. Even in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when there were very few other external actors operating in Somalia, the United Nations was steadfast through its agencies, funds and programmes, and through an ongoing small, political office to continue engagement and to try to support improvement during that period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking forward, the UN Special Representative noted how the world body\u2019s activities in the Horn of Africa country are aligned with its national priorities, as set out in the Somalia Partnership Forum held in Mogadishu last year, as well as the recent signing with the Federal Government of the UN Sustainable Development Country Framework (UNCF).<\/p>\n

The UNCF represents the Federal Government\u2019s and the UN\u2019s collective commitment to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone everywhere, and were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda, which sets out a 15-year plan to achieve the SDGs.<\/p>\n

In particular, the UNCF outlines ways in which the United Nations intends to support government-owned and government-led priorities. The UNCF\u2019s main pillars of activity directly mirror those of Somalia\u2019s ninth National Development Plan (NDP-9), namely, inclusive politics and reconciliation; security and the rule of law; economic development; and social development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an effort for us to work together, to be partners, and that is our intent today and going forward,\u201d Mr. Swan said.
\nOn this note, he noted that the United Nations has more than 20 agencies, funds and programmes, as well as two Security Council-mandated missions \u2013 the UN Support Office for Somalia (UNSOS) and the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), the latter of which he also heads \u2013 operating in Somalia, supporting activities across the full range of interests and concerns of the Somali authorities and people.<\/p>\n

National elections<\/b><\/p>\n

During the press conference, the UN Special Representative fielded questions which included the world body\u2019s position on Somalia\u2019s national elections.<\/p>\n

The envoy noted that the United Nations and a wide array of international partners had advocated for a \u2018one person, one vote\u2019 model, as enshrined in the Somali Constitution and supported over many years by Somali leaders, as well as endorsed by the UN Security Council. However, the recent meetings held by Somali leaders in Dhusamareeb and Mogadishu had led to agreement on an indirect model which has received support from a broad array of the country\u2019s political actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to believe that Somalis deserve the opportunity to vote for their leaders,\u201d Mr. Swan responded. \u201cSo our view is that while disappointed that it does not represent \u2018one person, one vote,\u2019 we nonetheless want this agreed model to succeed. No one has any interest in a failed political process in Somalia.\u201d<\/p>\n

He expressed the hope that adjustments made to the agreed model would indeed be respected, including the commitment to 30 per cent women\u2019s representation in the federal parliament, and that the conduct of the selection process in held a way that adds to the diversity of the selection process, involving civil society, community leaders and Federal Member States, for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also, of course, want to make sure that the process proceeds with maximum transparency and accountability,\u201d Mr. Swan added.<\/p>\n

Democratic steps
\nIn his remarks to the media, the UN Special Representative emphasized that there are other steps Somalia could make progress on in on its path to greater democratization.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond the elections that will take place in this cycle\u2026 it\u2019s important to remember that democracy is more than just elections. It\u2019s about building a set of institutions in the country that can support giving people a voice and role in selecting their leaders,\u201d Mr. Swan said.<\/p>\n

In this vein, he noted the importance of efforts to secure elements of the country\u2019s revised Constitution that could be agreed upon, including a number of technical provisions that could garner broad support, as well as the establishment of other institutions of government, such as human rights and judicial services commissions.
\n\u2018One person, one vote\u2019<\/b>
\nMr. Swan also said now was the time to start preparing for a \u2018one person, one vote\u2019 electoral model for Somalia\u2019s next national elections cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be important to begin already looking at what are the measures that need to be put in place in order to prepare for \u2018one person, one vote\u2019 in 2024 or 2025. Those measures need to be identified now and put on the calendar and, ideally, agreed on by key political stakeholders right away,\u201d Mr. Swan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ambition remains what we think is the ambition of Somalis: to get to \u2018one person, one vote,\u2019\u201d he continued. \u201cThere\u2019s work to be done right now to make this process as good as possible, but then we need to urgently look ahead to the next cycle and help Somalis put in place systems that ensure we do get to \u2018one person, one vote\u2019 in another four years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mogadishu (SONNA)-On the occasion of United Nations Day, the UN envoy to Somalia today highlighted the long-running partnership between the world body and the country, and reaffirmed the organization\u2019s support for Somalis now and into the future. \u201cThe United Nations, though we are focused on it today because it\u2019s UN Day, is here in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,78],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-401350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401350"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":401357,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401350\/revisions\/401357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonna.so\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}