African Union High Representative for Somalia, Ghana¹s Jerry John Rawlings
says the lack of proper implementation plans has in the past hindered the
success of peace agreements made on the Somalia crisis.
President Rawlings said such plans also lacked the necessary resources,
arbitration and monitoring mechanism to ensure that the accord was fully
implemented.
Speaking at the 10th meeting of the African Union Panel of the Wise in Addis
Ababa on Thursday, President Rawlings said: ³the reconciliation conferences
were often hijacked by individuals who had no real connection on the ground
and who were bent on keeping the real actors out of the process. As a
result, the reconciliation conferences were turned into power-sharing
conferences and political wrangling among the top leaders in the successive
Transitional Governments became the norm.²
The former President who was speaking on the theme, ³Building peace in
Somalia: Lessons Learned, Constraints and Challenges² stated that: ³As
Africans, we must speak with one voice and redouble our efforts to bring the
Transitional Federal Institutions to agree on actions to prepare for the
elections, ensure that the Transitional tasks will be implemented in the new
Transition and that the TFIs adopt an overall road map to end the Transition
that started in 2004.²
The AU High Representative called on the United Nations and other
organisations assisting with the peace process to double their efforts. He
lamented that though Somalia is facing a huge humanitarian crises brought
about by a prolonged drought, the support coming in was not significant
enough to avoid a major human catastrophe.
Find below the full text of President Rawlings address.
Remarks by the AU High Representative for Somalia
H.E, President Jerry John Rawlings,
Former President of the Republic of Ghana
Panel of the Wise Meeting
12 May 2011, Addis Ababa
Your Excellencies-
Distinguished Guests-
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the outset, allow me to express my pleasure to be here in the middle of
such distinguished personalities known for their stellar leadership in their
respective countries and on the continent and for giving the remarks opening
the debate on Somalia.
As you are all aware, I recently accepted the appointment by the AU
Chairperson, H.E, Dr Jean Ping to serve as the AU High Representative for
Somalia. Since then, I have spent time meeting experts, diplomats working on
Somalia and most importantly Somalis to try to understand the intricacies of
the Somali conflict. I admit that I am still not an expert and when it comes
to Somalia, everyday is a lesson!
The theme today is Building peace in Somalia: Lessons Learned, Constraints
and Challenges. I will not attempt to give you a History lesson on the
conflict in Somalia but I will share with you some of my observations since
taking my responsibilities.
The 2008 Djibouti process, which has the support of the international
community, is the 16th attempt in the broader process of political
settlement and peacemaking in Somalia, which began almost immediately after
the outbreak of the civil war in 1991.
It builds upon the achievements of the earlier efforts but the challenge, as
always, is to cement the gains that have been made, and to draw others into
a constructive dialogue and out of a cycle of violence.
The question is why all these efforts have not yielded any tangible results?
From our observation, the various peace attempts were not Somali owned,
inclusive and there was always questions surrounding the legitimacy of some
of the participants.
Secondly, the reconciliation conferences were often hijacked by individuals
who had no real connection on the ground and who were bent on keeping the
real actors out of the process. As a result, the reconciliation conferences
were turned into power-sharing conferences and political wrangling among the
top leaders in the successive Transitional Governments became the norm.
In addition, once an agreement was sealed, it lacked an implementation plan,
the necessary resources and arbitration and monitoring mechanism to ensure
that the accord was fully implemented.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that all the
reconciliation conferences happened in a regional context where external
actors would use the processes not only to further their own agenda but also
to wage proxy wars in Somalia.
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Djibouti Peace Agreement did not escape this cycle and we are once again
at risk of reversing the gains recorded in the last two years.
The prevailing political developments, the challenging security situation
and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the country, in spite of our
collective efforts requires that we further intensify our efforts in
Somalia.
As Africans, we must speak with one voice and redouble our efforts to bring
the Transitional Federal Institutions to agree on actions to prepare for the
elections, ensure that the Transitional tasks will be implemented in the new
Transition and that the TFIs adopt an overall road map to end the Transition
that started in 2004.
We must also mobilize the necessary resources to allow the new Institutions
to function. It is unimaginable that a Ministry with a yearly budget of
12,000 USD/year can be expected to deliver on its mandate. We cannot expect
the Government to deliver on the Transitional tasks, provide services to its
population and address the numerous challenges facing Somalia when State
institutions have completely collapsed. In a fluid situation like Somalia we
need assistance that is flexible, predictable and timely for the Government
to efficiently execute its mission.
In the end the overall objective is to give back the peace process to the
Somali people so that there can be genuine reconciliation. The scourges of
Piracy and Terrorism are only the symptoms of a conflict that has dragged on
for too long.
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
AMISOM which has been doing an excellent job on the ground must be fully
supported. AMISOM is not only a regional affair; it is first and foremost an
African affair! Other African countries are not doing enough not only in
terms of providing troops but also other support.
We cannot expect AMISOM that is in Somalia on behalf of the International
Community to deliver on its mandate when we do not have enough boots on the
ground and other enablers and multipliers.
The United Nations responsible for world peace must do more! According to a
UN official, the United Nations is only providing 50 percent to the AMISOM
forces when they would otherwise support them 100 percent if the troops had
blue berets. That is why we need to continue pushing for a re-hating of
AMISOM forces.
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentleman,
Somalia is now facing its worst humanitarian crisis in decades. Hundreds,
perhaps thousands, are sure to perish unless more international relief comes
quickly. I recently called on donor nations and multinational organizations
to establish immediately an emergency trust for aid in Somalia.
The humanitarian agencies in charge of assisting Somalia are not doing
enough and to be frank, it doesn¹t make sense to support certain United
Nations agencies that are not producing much on the ground while others are
doing the heavy lifting with little resources. Your support in this endeavor
would therefore be greatly appreciated!
Let me say a few words about the current debate about the end of the
Transition. As we focus on the end of the Transition on 20 August 2011, we
must continue to encourage the leaders of the Transitional Federal
Institutions to prioritize dialogue because it is through an agreed process
between the Executive and the Parliament that we will end the current
political paralysis over the elections. We must concentrate our efforts on a
win-win situation and avoid a zero-sum game that would make it difficult to
achieve key tasks in the new Transition.
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentleman,
Let¹s make no mistake, though the majority of Somalis agree with us that the
current crisis is a major threat to the existence of the Somali people, the
region and the international community in general, there are some who would
like to current situation to continue.
Some politicians in the Government find this state of affairs lucrative
while the status quo also allows extremists to mobilize for religious wars
indefinitely, collect revenues from the 8 regions they control and avoid
difficult decisions that come with administering populations. The
International Community must send strong signals to the spoilers that
sanctions are available and ready for use!
.
Finally let me conclude by saying that the Somali crisis is very much part
of broader regional conflict complex. Tackling some of the issues plaguing
the Horn of Africa would go a long way to creating a more conducive regional
environment to resolve the Somali crisis.
I thank you.
