Real Audio      Requires Real Player

MP3

28 September 2006 - Programme Number 119

Kenyan Foreign Minister Calls for Urgent Action to Resolve Somalia Crisis;
Independent Expert Says Conflict Has Negative Impact on Human Rights in Somalia;
Ongoing Crisis Forces Somalis to Flee to Kenya

The Foreign Minister of Kenya Raphael Tuju says the international community should do more to help Somalia resolve its political crisis. Mr. Tuju, whose statement to the General Assembly focused on Somalia, told UN Radio that if nothing is done to help Somalia, the country may become a haven for criminals and terrorists:

"If the situation deteriorates so that it becomes that enclave where criminal elements, terrorist elements may go and hide, then what is going to happen in the future, anyway, is that the international community is still going to have to intervene but the international community will be intervening when it is too late."

In Geneva, the UN independent expert on human rights in Somalia, Ghanim Alhajjar, tells the UN Human Rights Council that events during the past six months in Somalia have had serious implications for the human rights of the Somalis.

In Kenya, the World Food Programme warns that the increasing number of Somali refugees is putting a strain on the food stock for the refugees who are already in camps in Kenya. WFP spokeswoman Penny Fergusson says that if the agency does not get additional funding, it may have to cut its food rations in November:


"The number of new arrivals coming across the border from Somalia into Kenya has been high this year and is rising exponentially. Everyday, there are between 300 and 400 people arriving."

Transcript

Inquiries / Comments