World united in protecting Somalia peace efforts

The world has united in cautioning individuals and groups against sabotaging efforts to restore order in Somalia.

The United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the Inter-governmental Agency on Development (Igad), stated in a joint statement Tuesday that Somalia’s peace process had entered a critical juncture.

However, the signatories expressed worries that some individuals and groups, in and outside Somalia, were bent on undermining the progress being made.

The Somalia stabilisation roadmap, agreed on last September 2011, aims at securing the transitional status to a permanent government by August 20.

However, the international agencies were concerned that spoilers could jeopardise the progress towards such benchmarks as the convening of a constituent assembly, adoption of the federal provisional constitution and selection of a new parliament.

“Non-compliance with or active obstruction of the roadmap for ending the transition in Somalia will be referred to the Igad ministers with our recommendations for the immediate imposition of specific measures and restrictions,” warned the signatories to the communication.

The initiators of the declaration referred to UN Security Council Resolution 1844 (2008), calling for measures to be taken against those who seek to prevent or block a peaceful political process, who threaten the Transitional Federal Institutions of Somalia by force or who take action that undermines stability in Somalia or the region.

Civil war

The document was signed by Dr Augustine Mahiga, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Somalia; Mr Baubacar Diarra, the Special Representative for the AU Commission for Somalia and Mr Kipruto arap Kirwa, the Igad Facilitator for Somalia Peace and National reconciliation.

“Request for further sanctions against spoilers may further be referred to the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea in order to open an investigation under the terms of UN Security Council resolution 1844 (2008),” stated the communication.

Meanwhile, TFG’s spokesman Abdurahman Omar Osman, said the government planned to pass on to the international community a list of those engaged in spoiling the progress.

“During the London Conference (on February 23, 2012), the international community promised to take actions against those intending to undermine the TFG,” said Mr Osman.

The warning by the UN, AU and Igad and the caution from the Somali government come at a time a good number of politicians, especially former warlords and their supporters in Mogadishu, had been publically criticising the draft constitution.

Some even envisioned a resumption of full scale civil war if the document was approved.

Understandably, Al-Shabaab, the radical Islamist movement that merged with Al-Qaeda in February, promised the assassination of any person supporting the draft constitution.  

On April 22, Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali announced that the draft constitution was ready for adoption by a constituent assembly in mid May.