Speech by H. E. Abdihakim M. Haji Fiqi, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Somalia
Joint Security Committee Meeting, Entebbe, Uganda – 23 June 2011
Minister of Justice and Deputy Minister of Interior and National Security
H. E. Ambassador Augustine Mahiga, SRSG
H. E. Ambassador Diarra,
Excellencies, distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me take this opportunity to thank the People and the Government of Uganda for hosting this important JSC meeting and the two days workshop on defectors. I will also want to thank the SRSG and his office UNPOS for organizing the meeting.
It is my great pleasure to also thank H.E. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed the outgoing Prime Minister of Somalia, who without his guidance and leadership we would not have been able to accomplish the security success in both Mogadishu and other regions during his tenure.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our new Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali. His appointment is a sign that President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed wants continuity and that we will further pursue our progress towards security, political outreach and completing all transitional tasks including the draft constitution.
I also want to thank Gen. Nathan Mugisha for his leadership during his tenure as the AMISOM Force Commander in Somalia. Gen. Mugisha made a real difference to the people of Mogadishu. He was passion for the people and he is a real friend to all of us. He has made vast improvements towards partnership working with us (TFG).
We wish him all the best for his future, and I am sure, he will still continue to helping Somalia by becoming an ambassador for the people of Somalia. AMISOM was also instrumental for humanitarian assistance to Somalis in Mogadishu, when civilians need medical treatment they all want to be taken to AMISOM hospital and this shows AMISOM’s commitments to the people.
Gen. Mugisha was also helping the local administration in Mogadishu to providing service delivery to the people of Somalia. I would also like to welcome his successor Gen Fred Mugisha and we will look forward to working with him and I can assure you that we will be your credible partner.
In Somalia, it is increasingly evident that progress in security sector development is indispensable in meeting the vastly complex set of risks, threats and challenges to consolidating the political progress. We are grateful to the United Nations, the United States, European Union, African Union, Italy, Sweden, UK, Norway, Japan, IGAD, and the international community at large for standing with us in all these difficulty years. Only God knows what would have become of our nation without such a great support.
Excellencies and distinguished participants,
We have to bring excellent partnership working among us. We should support each other and consider the bigger picture which is helping the people of Somalia and to bringing peace and stability in the country.
We are facing the dual threat of violent extremism and piracy. And no country can remain secure without a national army to protect it.
We are in the middle of reorganization, training and deployment of our Security Institutions- police, national army, homeland security apparatus, and judicial system. We are in the process of integrating various army units trained in various countries under various programs, and we are in the process of centralizing the command between the Somali National Force and other armed groups in support of the TFG.
Somalia has its first time submitted Universal Periodic Review Report on Human Rights to the UN Human Rights Council on 3rd May 2011. The TFG made its commitment to ensuring that all human rights violations are not allowed to continue within our country. The TFG aims to develop child soldier policy in line with the International laws on child protection.
TFG has recently experienced an influx of young people running away from extremist groups. Currently we are hosting over 200 young men between the ages of 13-35 former fighters who defected from al-Shabaab. In light of that the TFG has appointed a task force to deal with this issue. We would like to see this program expanded, and we certainly like to see more involvement from the international community.
Since the last JSC meeting, there has been a good development. The Somali security forces re-inforced by AMISOM continue to make striking military gains over the extremist Alshabab. This has lead to the liberation of a number of territories which were under the control of the extremists Al-Shabaab and as said this morning by the TFG Chief of General Staff and General Nathan
MogushaCompared to the armed violence incidents in 2010, the level of violence, including suicide attacks and bombing has considerably declined in Government/AMISOM controlled districts and communities. As a result the civilian casualties have gone down considerably.
However, we are facing huge challenges that require our attention. Al-Shabaab has already changed their tactics by committing suicide bombings. Recently we have lost our Minister of Interior and National Security in a suicide bombing. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family, friends and the people of Somalia for his loss. He was really doing his best to bringing peace and stability in Somalia.
Over 80% of the population of Mogadishu now lives in areas controlled by the Government and AMISOM. In essence, public perception, opinion, trust and confidence have greatly improved in support of the Government and AMISOM troops. These good developments should be mainly attributed to the improved donor assistance, both to AMISOM forces and to the TFG security sector institutions in Somalia.
Since the appointment of a new cabinet in November 2010, the TFG continues to participate in regular and periodic meetings of the JSC and its technical working groups; cabinet ministers attended senior leadership seminars on security decision making processes in Djibouti, January, 2011. The decisions at the JSC have lead to the development and adoption of a draft cabinet paper (Action Plan) outlining the immediate SSD priority actions that need to be implemented by the Government in the next six months.
The Somali Government continue to attend and co-chair the JSC technical working group meetings; including the Task Force on Defectors. However, we must regularly and continually meet in order to ensure that we fully implement all outstanding issues in the security sector. We should meet every two months.
With international assistance, the Somali Government led Security Sector Scoping Assessment Mission (SSSAM) Report, 2011, based upon findings and recommendations of former senior Somali security and military experts. The mission to Mogadishu was conducted in January and February 2011.
The findings and recommendations of this SSSAM report together with an earlier Security Sector Assessment published in 2010 will inform the process of revising the 2009 National Security and Stabilization Plan (NSSP).
The SSSAM was conducted as a collaborative effort by members of the Government, United Nations, US Government, European Union, African Union, IGAD, World Bank,
civil society organizations and other stakeholders. It is expected that the NSSP will be revised and adopted before August 2011.
The military operational effectiveness has dramatically improved, as the current strength of the Somali National Security Force has increased from approximately 8,000 in 2010 to 10,106 in 2011, excluding friendly militia forces such as Al Sunna Wal Jamal (ASWJ), and the 2nd batch of recruits currently undergoing training support by the EU training mission in Kampala, Uganda.
As we march forward, we resist to be blinded by any grandiose ambitions; therefore, in all fronts especially the security sector we resolved to measure our successes by one small positive accomplishment at a time.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your participation and lively discussions during the session. I hope that all your contributions, exchanged of ideas will further enhance the security improvements in Somalia.
Thank you,
UN Security Council calls for comprehensive peace strategy in Somalia
Joint Security Committee Meeting, Entebbe, Uganda – 23 June 2011
Minister of Justice and Deputy Minister of Interior and National Security
H. E. Ambassador Augustine Mahiga, SRSG
H. E. Ambassador Diarra,
Excellencies, distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me take this opportunity to thank the People and the Government of Uganda for hosting this important JSC meeting and the two days workshop on defectors. I will also want to thank the SRSG and his office UNPOS for organizing the meeting.
It is my great pleasure to also thank H.E. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed the outgoing Prime Minister of Somalia, who without his guidance and leadership we would not have been able to accomplish the security success in both Mogadishu and other regions during his tenure.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our new Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali. His appointment is a sign that President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed wants continuity and that we will further pursue our progress towards security, political outreach and completing all transitional tasks including the draft constitution.
I also want to thank Gen. Nathan Mugisha for his leadership during his tenure as the AMISOM Force Commander in Somalia. Gen. Mugisha made a real difference to the people of Mogadishu. He was passion for the people and he is a real friend to all of us. He has made vast improvements towards partnership working with us (TFG).
We wish him all the best for his future, and I am sure, he will still continue to helping Somalia by becoming an ambassador for the people of Somalia. AMISOM was also instrumental for humanitarian assistance to Somalis in Mogadishu, when civilians need medical treatment they all want to be taken to AMISOM hospital and this shows AMISOM’s commitments to the people.
Gen. Mugisha was also helping the local administration in Mogadishu to providing service delivery to the people of Somalia. I would also like to welcome his successor Gen Fred Mugisha and we will look forward to working with him and I can assure you that we will be your credible partner.
In Somalia, it is increasingly evident that progress in security sector development is indispensable in meeting the vastly complex set of risks, threats and challenges to consolidating the political progress. We are grateful to the United Nations, the United States, European Union, African Union, Italy, Sweden, UK, Norway, Japan, IGAD, and the international community at large for standing with us in all these difficulty years. Only God knows what would have become of our nation without such a great support.
Excellencies and distinguished participants,
We have to bring excellent partnership working among us. We should support each other and consider the bigger picture which is helping the people of Somalia and to bringing peace and stability in the country.
We are facing the dual threat of violent extremism and piracy. And no country can remain secure without a national army to protect it.
We are in the middle of reorganization, training and deployment of our Security Institutions- police, national army, homeland security apparatus, and judicial system. We are in the process of integrating various army units trained in various countries under various programs, and we are in the process of centralizing the command between the Somali National Force and other armed groups in support of the TFG.
Somalia has its first time submitted Universal Periodic Review Report on Human Rights to the UN Human Rights Council on 3rd May 2011. The TFG made its commitment to ensuring that all human rights violations are not allowed to continue within our country. The TFG aims to develop child soldier policy in line with the International laws on child protection.
TFG has recently experienced an influx of young people running away from extremist groups. Currently we are hosting over 200 young men between the ages of 13-35 former fighters who defected from al-Shabaab. In light of that the TFG has appointed a task force to deal with this issue. We would like to see this program expanded, and we certainly like to see more involvement from the international community.
Since the last JSC meeting, there has been a good development. The Somali security forces re-inforced by AMISOM continue to make striking military gains over the extremist Alshabab. This has lead to the liberation of a number of territories which were under the control of the extremists Al-Shabaab and as said this morning by the TFG Chief of General Staff and General Nathan
MogushaCompared to the armed violence incidents in 2010, the level of violence, including suicide attacks and bombing has considerably declined in Government/AMISOM controlled districts and communities. As a result the civilian casualties have gone down considerably.
However, we are facing huge challenges that require our attention. Al-Shabaab has already changed their tactics by committing suicide bombings. Recently we have lost our Minister of Interior and National Security in a suicide bombing. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family, friends and the people of Somalia for his loss. He was really doing his best to bringing peace and stability in Somalia.
Over 80% of the population of Mogadishu now lives in areas controlled by the Government and AMISOM. In essence, public perception, opinion, trust and confidence have greatly improved in support of the Government and AMISOM troops. These good developments should be mainly attributed to the improved donor assistance, both to AMISOM forces and to the TFG security sector institutions in Somalia.
Since the appointment of a new cabinet in November 2010, the TFG continues to participate in regular and periodic meetings of the JSC and its technical working groups; cabinet ministers attended senior leadership seminars on security decision making processes in Djibouti, January, 2011. The decisions at the JSC have lead to the development and adoption of a draft cabinet paper (Action Plan) outlining the immediate SSD priority actions that need to be implemented by the Government in the next six months.
The Somali Government continue to attend and co-chair the JSC technical working group meetings; including the Task Force on Defectors. However, we must regularly and continually meet in order to ensure that we fully implement all outstanding issues in the security sector. We should meet every two months.
With international assistance, the Somali Government led Security Sector Scoping Assessment Mission (SSSAM) Report, 2011, based upon findings and recommendations of former senior Somali security and military experts. The mission to Mogadishu was conducted in January and February 2011.
The findings and recommendations of this SSSAM report together with an earlier Security Sector Assessment published in 2010 will inform the process of revising the 2009 National Security and Stabilization Plan (NSSP).
The SSSAM was conducted as a collaborative effort by members of the Government, United Nations, US Government, European Union, African Union, IGAD, World Bank,
civil society organizations and other stakeholders. It is expected that the NSSP will be revised and adopted before August 2011.
The military operational effectiveness has dramatically improved, as the current strength of the Somali National Security Force has increased from approximately 8,000 in 2010 to 10,106 in 2011, excluding friendly militia forces such as Al Sunna Wal Jamal (ASWJ), and the 2nd batch of recruits currently undergoing training support by the EU training mission in Kampala, Uganda.
As we march forward, we resist to be blinded by any grandiose ambitions; therefore, in all fronts especially the security sector we resolved to measure our successes by one small positive accomplishment at a time.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your participation and lively discussions during the session. I hope that all your contributions, exchanged of ideas will further enhance the security improvements in Somalia.
Thank you,
UN Security Council calls for comprehensive peace strategy in Somalia
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