It is a pleasure to join the
Assembly today. Yesterday a journalist asked me to
describe Somalia in 15 seconds. First, let me say that
Somalis are great storytellers, so asking a Somali to say
anything in 15 seconds is very difficult. I really had to
think about where to begin. I told him that if he could
think of a problem, then Somalia has it, and often at the
same time as other problems — war, piracy, extremist
terrorist groups, famine, droughts, floods. But that was
the Somalia of yesterday, not the Somalia of today.
I fear that many people’s experience of Somalia is
confined to films — such as the recent Captain Phillips
and re-runs of Black Hawk Down — or YouTube scenes
of the horrific Westgate Mall incident in Kenya, or an
ever-growing number of titles on library bookshelves
that include the words “failed State”, or references to
a long war. But if we shrink our perspective to just
that glimpse, we miss the beauty of the very different
picture that we are painting right now in Somalia. The
Somalia I lead as President is a very different country.
My Somalia is not a 15-second summary of problems.
It is not a Somalia of failure.
We may still be fragile, but we are no longer a
broken State. September of 2012 marked a milestone
for Somalia with the establishment of a new Federal
Government built on national consensus and universally
recognized by the international community. At its start,
the Federal Government of Somalia faced multiple
complex challenges, a stark lack of resources and only
very basic institutional and Government structures. The
country was divided, with no clear path to unification.
Al-Shabaab and other militia groups controlled most of
our territory. The task ahead of us was daunting and the
expectations from both our people and our international
partners were very high. Everything was a priority,
from security to political inclusivity, and from health
care and education to private-sector development and
basic economic reform.
We faced the significant challenge of having to
build frameworks and institutions while simultaneously
delivering immediate, tangible benefits for our people,
in the form of schools, hospitals, roads and more. We had
to deliver on that long list of interrelated priorities while
simultaneously dealing with a politically fragmented
environment and fighting a war against terrorist
groups. And we have succeeded. The foundation for the
future has been laid through our clear military defeat
of Al-Shabaab, which has been made possible only
through the joint efforts of the Somali National Army
and the African Union Mission to Somalia. More than
70 per cent of Somalia’s southern and central regions
has now been liberated from the scourge of Al-Shabaab
and restored to the control of the Federal Government
of Somalia.
Over the past two years we have focused on building
foundations and laying the groundwork for reform.
We have developed legal frameworks, governance
structures and public financial management reform
processes. We have formalized Somalia’s presence
in the international community, strengthened our
relationships with neighbouring countries, restructured
key institutions, established forums for dialogue,
developed a path for political reform and put in place
the architecture for linking international support to our
priorities through the New Deal Somali Compact.
We have made major progress in reforming
public financial management, putting in place better
accountability measures, controls and governance
structures. Key legislation has been drafted, budget
policy developed and the capacity of the offices of the
Accountant General and Auditor General strengthened.
An annual budget, developed with the implementation
of Government-wide work plans and priorities in mind,
has been delivered. A new governor and board of
directors have been appointed for the Central Bank of
Somalia, which we launched from scratch. A financial
governance committee, constituting an advisory body
held jointly by the Federal Government and international
financial institutions, has been established to provide
greater transparency and oversight of financial
transactions in Somalia.
We can take heart in the fact that distinct progress
has been made in moving the country from failed-
State status to that of a nascent nation with functioning
institutions. Today, in September 2014, I am confidently
able to say that, with the support of the Somali people
and the engagement of the international community,
Somalia has undergone a remarkable transformation.
Today we have a country that is beginning to unite as
a nation, behind a vision that in 2016 will see a federal
and united Somalia, a Somalia that will meet our
aspirations for a better future.
But we cannot rest there. Somalia has always had
an enormous capacity for playing a long game, and now
more than ever we must stay our course. Somalia is
at a critical juncture in its efforts to achieve security
and stability. This past year has seen a rise in terrorist
groups and activities around the world. Today, the reach
of terrorists is not confined to one country; it is a global
issue that requires global action. More than any other
fragile State today, Somalia has significantly advanced
in its fight against terrorism. We are winning the war,
but we must also win the peace. President Obama spoke
earlier this week of being at a crossroads of war and
peace (see A/69/PV.5). As Somalis, we know better
than any other nation the truth of that statement. We
are at that juncture.
That is why we know that solutions cannot be only
military in nature. Yesterday we were reminded of the
origins behind the establishment of the United Nations.
We were reminded of the power of peaceful political
reconciliation. Military intervention can end war, but
it cannot propagate peace. Dialogue, reconciliation,
forgiveness — those are the tools of peacebuilders, the
tools of nation-builders.
As President of Somalia, I reaffirm our commitment
to denying extremist ideology and its servants any
hiding place in Somalia. Somalia’s strategic location
makes it a gateway between the Arabian peninsula and
the African continent. We cannot defeat Al-Shabaab
only to allow other extremists, such as the militant
group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, to
find fertile ground. Although the security situation in
Somalia is improving and Al-Shabaab is becoming a
spent force, we cannot afford to rest until we achieve
a final victory. We must strengthen Somalia and
make it into a firewall, both for security purposes and
ideologically. Somalia must be strengthened in order to
prevent the African continent from being once again
invaded by violent extremists who target innocent
civilians, spreading their ideology of death. Solutions
must be sought by applying the rule of law, pursuing
human rights and affording access to justice. People
must be allowed to determine their own future and to
find their own place in that brilliant future.
We must not forget the importance of political
reconciliation and reform in maintaining long-term
stability and creating an enabling environment for
development gains. Two years ago, it quickly became
clear that the formation of a unified and federal Somalia
was the key to delivering peace and building sustainable
security. The Vision 2016 framework was developed
to encapsulate that important national goal. Vision
2016 outlines the framework for federalism through
reconciliation, the adoption of a revised permanent
constitution through a referendum and the path to
democratic elections. It is a tall order that cannot be
overstated.
The Federal Government has undertaken to revise
our Provisional Constitution by 2016 and adopt it by
means of a public referendum. We have undertaken to
deliver a federal Somalia made up of member states. We
have undertaken to deliver credible, national elections.
We have not failed on the side of ambition, and we
must not fail to deliver on our ambition. And we are
delivering. Led by the Federal Government, together
with existing and emerging regional stakeholders
inside Somalia, we have made significant progress in
the formation of interim regional administrations in
the south-west and central regions of Somalia through
dialogue and consultations.
The Constitution Review and Implementation
Commission was set up in May 2014 and started work
on reviewing the current Provisional Constitution of
Somalia. The approval and adoption of the Provisional
Constitution is critical to an inclusive political
settlement that paves the way for sustainable security
and development in Somalia.
In order to create a federal State, it will be
essential to ensure the full participation of subfederal
administrations in the political transformation of
Somalia. The Boundaries and Federation Commission
will be established and will devise the mechanisms
for supporting the process of federating Somalia. The
National Independent Electoral Commission will be
endorsed by Parliament by the end of 2014. The Federal
Government is committed to inclusivity and, while
observing the principles of Somali-Somali dialogue, is
taking concrete steps to engage all Somalis, including
women and minority groups, in the political process
of nation-building. We have seen great progress in
connecting the Government to the Somali public, thanks
to the improvement of service delivery, particularly in
the area of education. In two years we have enrolled
close to 100,000 students in public schools and
appointed 2,000 teachers.
We are investing in the strengthening of our Somali
national forces. The Somali National Army is a key
element in defeating Al-Shabaab, and we are working
with our international partners to ensure that we have
a well-trained, well-equipped, integrated national army
and other defence institutions in place, so that Somalia
will one day be well able to defend its own peace and
participate in international peace.
However, it grieves me to report today that
the humanitarian situation in Somalia is extremely
critical. About 3.2 million Somalis need life-saving
or livelihood assistance right now. A terrible mix of
drought, rising food prices, increasing malnutrition
and insecurity is plunging Somalia into a humanitarian
crisis not dissimilar to the horrific famine of 2011. Out
of a population of 12.3 million in Somalia, more than
1 million people face acute food insecurity today and an
equal number of people are internally displaced. Three
months ago the humanitarian community and the Federal
Government sounded the alarm about the impending
crisis. Humanitarian response plans were prepared
and launched. Swift action by the Federal Government
to set up an interim interministerial committee and
interventions with humanitarian partners and donors
has mitigated the current crisis. However, a sustained
and scaled-up response is required now to prevent a
free fall. The humanitarian appeal for Somalia remains
severely underfunded. Only 32 per cent of the requested
$933 million has been received. This situation must be
addressed urgently. As we enter the last third of the
year, more than half a billion dollars is still required
for life-saving activities. Over the past 18 months,
Somalia has seen a significant amount of progress in
its political, economic and development sectors. If the
current humanitarian situation deteriorates into a crisis,
all those gains will be undermined. We have come too
far to allow that to happen.
It is clear that, despite challenges, Somalia is
moving forward on the path of integration, inclusivity
and peace. We are leaving behind the disorder and
discord spread by a distorted ideology. I was told
a remarkable story recently, a true story that I think
illustrates perfectly the power of reconciliation and the
triumph of compassion over brutality. One of our Somali
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is running a
social reconciliation programme in some remote areas
of Somalia. It consists of 12 weeks of intense facilitated
discussions about truth, designed to disrupt the cycle
of violence and create a safe space where people can
tell their stories and, through that exercise, nurture
understanding. A young man whose family had moved
to another country when his father was murdered by
another man from his village heard of the programme.
He heard that the Somali NGO was training programme
facilitators, people who would be able to move freely
from one village to another and teach others the way of
peace and reconciliation. Rather than as an opportunity
to pursue peace, this young man, filled with anger at his
father’s murder, saw it as the ideal way for him to exact
revenge. He would return to Somalia, undertake the
training course, gain access to his family’s old village
under a false pretext, and while there he would kill his
father’s murderer.
He therefore came home to Somalia, bought a
weapon, underwent the training and went to the village.
He made sure that his father’s murderer attended the
training, while harbouring the destruction of his
father’s enemy in his heart. But then, something started
to happen. As he helped the villagers tell their stories of
violence, of the endless cycle of horror, of the terrible
choices they had had to make, his heart softened. He
understood that any choice that involved violence was a
not a choice at all. One day he stood up at the training
centre, addressed his father’s murderer, explained that
he had plotted to kill him and begged his forgiveness.
In a way, this one man’s story echoes the national
history that we are beginning to tell in Somalia today,
namely, that our future will not be built on the ashes of
revenge. It will not be built on the stones of violence.
We reaffirm our choice of peace. We reaffirm that
reconciliation, the path that we have chosen, will be
won through dialogue, through inclusive politics,
through creating a shared vision of what Somalia can
be in the future. Our success requires the support of
our international partners, but most of all it demands
the ownership and the commitment of the Somali
people, which we are assuring. As we continue towards
democratization, now is not the time for scepticism. We
have laid out our plans, and we need to stand together
to execute and deliver.
Our achievements and progress have been made
possible by the determination of the Somali people.
We welcome and acknowledge the strong support
of our international partners and look forward to
their continuing engagement behind our nationally
led agenda. I acknowledge the commitment and
the sacrifice of our Somali defence institutions and
grieve the loss of our soldiers and security staff who
died in pursuit of peace. I renew my commitment to
serve the Somali people. Somalia is indebted to their
resilience and perseverance in the face of extraordinary
challenges. Somalis look forward to walking, together
with the nations assembled here, towards a peaceful,
prosperous future for the nation call Somalia. We are
very much indebted to the family of the United Nations.