The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, says the Obama administration is committed to supporting international peacekeeping operations, including reforms to address issues such as misconduct by peacekeepers. Rice also addressed specific trouble spots in Africa, including the conflict in Somalia.Ambassador Rice said the Obama administration is moving ahead on several fronts to support peacekeeping, including working with Security Council members on a better process of formulating credible and achievable mandates for U.N. operations.
The United States is contributing $2.2 billion of a $7.8 billion U.N. peacekeeping budget for 2009.
Rice said the United States strongly supports reforms that will save money, strengthen oversight, transparency, accountability and planning, reduce deployment delays, and prevent fraud and abuse, including a zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation by peacekeepers. "It [rape as a crime of war] is prevalent in Congo and Liberia, Sudan and elsewhere. And these need to be addressed in a very serious way when they are committed by combatants as well as peacekeepers," she said.
The situation in Somalia, as well as challenges facing U.N. peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region, emerged as a key a focus of questioning by lawmakers on the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Rice said the ability of the U.N. force in Darfur to do its job has been made worse by the Khartoum government denying access to and expelling humanitarian workers and blocking delivery of critical support.
"While President [Barack] Obama's special envoy on Sudan, General Scott Gration, helped persuade the government of Sudan to let four new humanitarian NGO's [non-governmental organizations] in, we continue to urge Khartoum to fill the gaps in critical humanitarian aid services and to improve its cooperation with UNAMID," she said...more..http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-07-29-voa59.cfm
Somali government threatened by extremist groups: UN
UNITED NATIONS, July 29 (Xinhua) -- The UN special representative for Somalia told the Security Council on Wednesday that the Somali transitional government is on its heels trying to thwart repeated attempts by extremist groups to overthrow it.
"Despite multiple constraints, the government is resisting and repelling multiple attempts to overthrow it and seize power illegally by force," Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah said.
Repeated attacks by Al-Shabaab and Hizbul-Islam militants have sent the Horn of Africa nation into chaos, with refugees fleeing by the thousands. Both extremist groups are severely bent on trying to overthrow the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which is Somalia's 14th since 1991.
In an opinion piece published the same day as al-Shabaab broke into UN offices on July 20, Abdallah noted efforts to impose sanctions on those responsible for the coup attempts, which he called "externally funded." .more..http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/30/content_11794957.htm
U.S.' U.N. Envoy Warns Eritrea Over Somalia Rebels
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eritrea has only a short time to stop undermining security in Somalia or face possible U.N. sanctions, Washington's ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said on Wednesday.Rice told a congressional committee the United States was "deeply concerned and very frustrated" with Eritrea's behaviour in Somalia, including arming and funding Islamist insurgents"It is unacceptable, and we will not tolerate it, and nor will other members of the Security Council," she told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The U.N. Security Council warned Eritrea this month it would consider action against anyone undermining peace in Somalia...more..more ..http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/07/29/world/international-uk-somalia-eritrea-un.html
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