STATEMENT BY SIR JOHN SAWERS, UNITED KINGDOM PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS, IN SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATE ON SOMALIA, 20 NOVEMBER 2008

Thank you Mr President and can I join others in thanking our briefers today, perhaps above all the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation whose presence today is very welcome - thank you for your contribution.

We have had the Secretary-General’s report.  It gives us a thorough and realistic analysis of what is clearly a very bleak picture on the ground in Somalia.  And that situation on the ground seems to be getting worse in three different dimensions:

First, the security on land.  Our hopes had been raised by the Djibouti Agreement.  The preliminary work to implement it was moving forward, but the hope that Somalia was finally turning a corner after some 17 years of violence has not been followed through on the ground.

Despite the best efforts of the Special Representative, Mr Ould Abdullah, in mediating dialogue, the political process now looks fragile, not helped, it has to be said, by the divisions that have opened up within the Transitional Federal Government.  And the recent reports of heightened violence and territorial advances by the Shabaab suggest a worsening security situation.  So the situation on the ground in Somalia is getting worse, not better.

Secondly, security at sea is also getting dramatically worse as colleagues have said.  The incidents of piracy off the Somali coast have reached new heights in the last weeks.  We deplore those acts of piracy, which can only make it even more difficult to bring stability to Somalia itself.  The United Kingdom is playing a full part in the international deployments to try to combat this.  We have a frigate of the Royal Navy dealing full time with piracy and two other frigates deployed in the area ready to act and we have also offered to support the upcoming European Union Mission by providing the operational headquarters and commanding the operation.

We have got Resolution 1816 which is due for renewal next month which authorises these operations.  We need to look at that carefully to ensure that the mandate for the naval operations gives those in the field the means needed to suppress and deter piracy.  Addressing the piracy problem cannot wait until peace and harmony returns to Somalia.

Thirdly, as the Secretary-General’s report notes, the humanitarian situation is getting worse again.  Over 3 million Somalis are now dependent on food aid and securing humanitarian access is going to remain a pressing and difficult challenge.  We would welcome advice from OCHA in the near future on how to address this problem.

So, what do we do in the face of these difficulties?  Well, I agree with my colleague Ambassador Kumalo that the problem with Somalia isn’t going to be solved solely by addressing the issue of piracy or tackling the humanitarian problem on the ground.  But equally, as we have so often said in this Chamber and as we have heard again today from several delegates, we can’t just address this with a military solution - there has to be a political framework.  So, from our perspective, we believe the Council should send a clear message that the best way forward for Somalia is through the full implementation of the Djibouti Agreement, which would give the space for the international community to assist.   But we do have to deal with the Somalia that we find, the Somalia that exists, and not the Somalia that we would like to see.  And that has to shape our approach to the idea of an international force on the ground.

Frankly, Mr President, it is hard to envisage a traditional UN peacekeeping force having the capabilities or the mandate required to deal with the challenges that Somalia currently poses.  And this Council should not mandate a force which we do not think is up to the task.  We must learn the lessons from elsewhere of what happens when we send an under-equipped force into a theatre where conflict persists.

We therefore encourage the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to identify states willing to contribute to a Multi-National Force as soon as possible.  In doing so, he will need high level political support from the Council members.  And we have heard some fine words around this table today and let’s hope that Delegations can take the steps necessary to turn those fine words into hard offers of military contributions.

We’d also welcome further work by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to prepare for the time when a peacekeeping operation is feasible, including being ready to conduct a technical assessment mission as soon as conditions on the ground allow.

Mr President,

Somalia is arguably the intractable challenge facing the Security Council in the period ahead.  I know that all of us around this table feel the need to act and to take our responsibilities here, but we have to learn the lessons of experience, not only in Somalia, but elsewhere, including, for example, Darfur.

The Secretary-General’s report may not satisfy all of us in all respects, but it is a sober and responsible effort to identify the very limited options that are available to this Council and we believe that we should proceed with our deliberations on its basis.

Thank you Mr President.

Hazel Foster (Miss)
Third Secretary Press
United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations
One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
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Visit our blogs at http://blogs.fco.gov.uk

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So, South Africa’s Ambassador to the UN, Mr.Dumisani S. Kumalo says that solving the piracy issue is not the answer - more is needed. To be exact - “the problem with Somalia isn’t going to be solved solely by addressing the issue of piracy or tackling the humanitarian problem on the ground”

Did anyone ask him where the hundreds of millions of dollars went that were already paid in ransom for pirated ships?

Clearly, he does  not think that the poor in Somalia are starving because the rich countries do not send them help.

Does he think that outsiders would be welcome even if they come loaded with help?

Does he think that without an African real leadership there will be anything better then a future Blackwater fleet just killing anyone who will dare to use a speed boat and will not be lily white?

So, in effect, is there much difference between Somalia and other failed States - in major part this goes also for Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, like Iraq, Somalia is an agglomeration of different parts into one official State.

Would it not be better to agree that Somaliland is an independent State from Somalia? Let the local governing body get the responsibility to run their own business? Then we are left with the Southern two sections of Somalia and the claim that some of the tribes have on Ethiopian land. This is still very complicated, but it moves the problem at least away from a major part of the sea shore.Whatever - the grand piracy issue no less then a mega-tanker has finally landed the problem on the UNSC table.

Somalia, like Sudan, like much of Sub Sahara Africa, former colonies that nili-wili became States, have structural problems that are not of the IMF kind. That Is The Real Issue That Should Be Put On The UNSC Table.

The Drylands, Deserts, and Desertification - 2008 Conference. December 14-17, 2008, Sede Boqer Campus, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Israel.

www.desertification.co.il

THE PROGRAM As Available on November 18, 2008. There might be still Changes and Additions, as well -  further Poster Sessions.

Download this schedule: detailed_program_sessions_1611_publish.doc

Please note that the list of presentations is still not final.

COTE D’IVOIRE- Agreement Paves the Way for the Socio-Economic Reinsertion of Former Combatants- IOM has signed a comprehensive agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide sustainable socio-economic reinsertion assistance to former combatants and ex-members of self-defence groups.

The USD 1,4 million, six-month programme, funded by the UN’s Peacebuilding Fund, aims to provide vocational training and in-kind assistance to set up the first 250 of 1,000 micro projects that will benefit 1,300 individuals who are currently demobilized in the Central and Western departments of Séguéla, Duekué and Guiglo.

The micro-projects will seek to support agricultural, cattle farming, small business and retailing activities, through the provision of a reinsertion kit, which will include a set of essential equipment and tools.

Priority will be given to former combatants and members of self-defence groups who choose to work together on common income-generating projects.

“Cote d’Ivoire is currently in a post conflict phase with elections scheduled for the coming months,” says Jacques Seurt, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Abidjan. “It is therefore critical to ensure the sustainable reinsertion assistance for former combatants, particularly in areas that have been worst affected by the conflict”

To date, some 10,000 ex-combatants have been disarmed, demobilized and regrouped throughout the country. A further 34,000 combatants and 20,000 members of self-defence groups are still in need of disarmament and demobilization assistance.

For more information, please contact Jacques Seurt at IOM Abidjan, Tel: +225 22 52 82 00, Email  jseurt at iom.int
***
LIBERIA – Reintegrating Ex-Combatants – Two hundred former combatants of the conflict in Liberia will be given an opportunity to not only earn a living and complete their reintegration into society, but also to make a difference in reducing pollution and improving the health and living conditions of the most vulnerable communities in the capital, Monrovia.

The former combatants will take part in a new IOM programme funded by the German government which will help municipal authorities re-start and manage a comprehensive waste management system in Monrovia.

The fourteen year conflict which killed more than 200,000 people and displaced another one million also destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, contributing to the spread of poverty and disease.
A middle-income country before the conflict began in 1989; seventy-five per cent of Liberia’s population now lives on less than a dollar a day.

The capital in particular is facing particular stress. Monrovia has more than tripled in size since 1989 and is now home to a third of the country’s total population. One million people are living in an over-crowded city severely lacking in key infrastructure including a waste management system.

Efforts to bring the country back to normal are dependent on the successful completion of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants, more than 103,000 of whom have been registered so far through a national demobilisation programme. Monrovia itself has large numbers of unemployed former combatants on its streets with the national unemployment rate estimated as being as high as 85 per cent.

Coordinating the programme with Monrovia’s Municipal Public Works (MPV), the World Bank and the International Labour Organization (ILO) which are also supporting and carrying out projects focused on addressing unemployment and waste management issues, IOM will help restart a waste collection and management service.

The Organization will provide technical assistance to local authorities; create the necessary premises to implement a waste collection system; identify, recruit, train and manage a local workforce from among unemployed former combatants and devise information campaigns aimed at raising awareness among the city’s population of environment and health-related issues.

For further information, please contact Ferdinand Paredes at IOM Monrovia, Tel: + 231 6 448 129 or +231 666 5950, Email:  fparedes at iom.int

From:    Jeremy.Houssin at erm.com
Subject: CASCADe - Call for projects (CDM & Voluntary Carbon Market) for Senegal - Technical support and training co-finaced by the UNEP - Dakar from the 8th to the 12th of september
Date: August 27, 2008

ERM and UNEP organise a training workshop in Dakar, Senegal, from the 8th to 12th of September 2008, to help African project sponsors. You will find below and attached to the mail a call for CDM projects and projects in the Voluntary Market.

 CASCADe Workshops in SENEGAL – From the 8th to 12th of September 2008

A Call for CDM projects and projects in the Voluntary Carbon Market for project sponsors in Senegal who want to participate in a Capacity Building workshop.

Types of projects eligible:
The workshop is open to project sponsors who work on Agro forestry, reforestation, avoided deforestation, and bioenergy (e.g., cogeneration, renewable energy linked to agriculture and reforestation).

The workshops
The workshops are composed of three training days focusing on CDM (Clean Development Mechanism in Kyoto protocol) and the Voluntary Carbon Market; followed by two days devoted to face to face discussion with experts to provide technical support.

Workshop financing:
The workshop is financed by the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).

Registration:
As a result of a limited number of spaces available for project sponsors, registration is to be done by sending a file introducing the project, to:
Jeremy Houssin:  Jeremy.Houssin at erm.com
or
to the Senegalese Designated National Authority of (DNA) : Miss Madeleine Diouf Sarr -  mad1 at sentoo.sn

For the project sponsors who are already registered by the UNEP for the Africa Carbon Forum, please indicate your UNEP registration number.

Programme objectives:
CASCADe primarily aims at enhancing expertise to generate African carbon credits in LULUCF as well as bioenergy activities. The programme will provide institutional support, training workshops, and both regional and international knowledge transfer.

Pilot projects and case studies in asset classes such as plantation forestry, agro forestry, and bio fuels will open up opportunities for African participation in the CDM and the voluntary carbon markets. In addition, the project will facilitate the establishment of a stakeholder network for technical cooperation and linkages between carbon buyers and sellers. The programme’s findings will also serve to contribute to the policy debate towards a post-2012 climate regime, casting light on key issues such as eligibility of avoided deforestation and land degradation projects in CDM-type initiatives.

CASCADe Project in Senegal and Benin:
As far as Senegal and Benin are concerned, the CASCADe project is managed by ERM France and in particular by its Energy and Climate Change team leader, Robert Vergnes supported by his teams in France, Senegal, and Benin. In the sixteen months that follow, ERM France and UNEP, working in partnership with local governments, NGOs, and industry will organise training modules, workshops and provide technical support to help local actors to develop PDDs (CDM and Voluntary Projects in AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses), Energy and Bioenergy).

For more information :
>> http://www.unep.fr/energy
>> http://www.uneprisoe.org
>> http://www.cd4cdm.org

Houssin Jérémy
Energy and Climate Change consultant