Istanbul: A high-level conference on Somalia next week will put the international spotlight on efforts to end anarchy and restore a functioning government in the Horn of Africa nation.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the top U.N. envoy for Somalia, said Wednesday that the conference — to be held in Istanbul — will demonstrate political solidarity with the suffering Somali people.
It will not seek new funds for Somalia but will tackle security issues and global threats including piracy, and provide a platform for Somalia’s private sector, international business, and governments to launch new initiatives for reconstruction and job creation, he said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Turkish government are co-hosting the conference in Istanbul from May 21-23. It will be attended by Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, a number of foreign ministers and about 70 Somali business leaders, including representatives of the Coca-Cola Co. which has two plants in the country, Ould-Abdallah said.

He told the U.N. Security Council that the support of the international community, which pledged $213 million a year ago at a donors conference, “is equally needed” to make the Istanbul conference a success.
“Despite some suggestions that it is either too early or too late for such a high-level gathering, we should all recognize that, after years of anarchy, there will never be a right time in Somalia,” Ould-Abdallah said. “We have to act now.”

Anarchy has reigned in Somalia since 1991, when warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other.
The weak Somali government controls only a small bit of the capital, Mogadishu, and is battling Islamic insurgents. The lawlessness has allowed the piracy trade to flourish off Somalia’s coastline.
U.N. political chief B. Lynn Pascoe said the Istanbul conference is important in the long-term effort by Somalis and the international community to restore peace, stability and a functioning government.
“It will give us an opportunity to look at how far we’ve come and what still needs to be done,” he told reporters.
Ould-Abdallah called for stepped up international training and equipment for Somalia’s army and national police and greater attention to the “horrendous” humanitarian situation in the country.
In a report to the Security Council circulated Wednesday, Ban said the overall security situation in Somalia “remains highly volatile and unpredictable.”
The World Food Program has delivered food to some 700,000 Somalis every month, mainly in Mogadishu, central and northern Somalia but 3.2 million Somalis urgently need humanitarian aid, he said.
Ban said allegations of politicization, misuse and misappropriation of humanitarian aid by the U.N. panel monitoring sanctions against Somalia “have been taken seriously” by the U.N. team in the country which has agreed to develop a database of U.N. service providers and contractors, and new controls over contracting activities and cash transfers.

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Source: The Canadian Press.

Bartamaha, Nairobi office.

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