Lawlessness and suffering still reign in many parts of Somalia many years after the collapse of its central government in the early 1990s. Since that time, the United Nations has continued to provide aid to the Somali people and to search along with others for a political solution that could finally reconcile this shattered nation in the Horn of Africa.

The Department of Political Affairs provides support and political guidance to the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), established in Nairobi in 1995, to help advance peace and reconciliation through its contacts with Somali leaders and civic organizations, and to support the peace initiatives carried out by Member States and regional organizations. UNPOS also helps to coordinate international political support and financial assistance for peace and reconciliation efforts, and monitors and reports on developments on the ground.

UNPOS is currently headed by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, a position held since September 2007 by Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah.  Current efforts on the political front are focused on promoting a viable peace process between Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government and opposition groups.  The United Nations has conducted contingency planning for a possible UN peacekeeping operation. In response to agreements reached between the Somali parties, the United Nations is also working to mobilize international commitments to the establishment of an international stabilization force that can help to secure peace in Somalia. 

(UNPOS’ most recent efforts to promote peace in Somalia were highlighted in the Summer-Fall 2008 issue of DPA’s bulletin, Politically Speaking.)