International day of Peace
21 September 2006
Statement by Ambassador François Lonseny Fall, UN Special Representative for Somalia, on the International Day of Peace, 21 September 2006
Twenty five years ago today, the nations of the world voted for an International Day of Peace – a day of ceasefire when guns would fall silent and all communities and nations in conflict would suspend their differences. Somalia has brought passion, born out of violence and deep personal experience, to the commemoration of Peace Day. Year after year, through 16 years of civil war, without national institutions, civil society has rallied and put on a brave face.
Peace Day activities are scheduled in most major population centres in Somalia again this year. Women and youth groups traditionally lead these community activities in the form of sporting events, peace marches, public discussions, music and dance; and so it will be again this week. But the events of Baidoa and Mogadishu and other recent targeted attacks in the country, are a disturbing sign of what may lie ahead.
I appeal, as I have on many occasions, to those who lead competing visions for Somalia, to pause and consider the consequences of an escalating cycle of violence on the nation’s fragile social fabric.
Two particularly violent events this week have pushed peace deeper into the shadows. The murder on Sunday 17 September of Sister Leonella, a Catholic Nun who had served the needs of children in Mogadishu and the assassination attempt on President Abdullahi Yusuf in Baidoa the following day, introduced a new dimension of violence in the form of a car bomb attack..
I wish I could paint a bright picture for Somalia today, but there are too many clouds, too many uncertainties on the horizon. And there are far too many competing interests that have too little to do with the profound humanitarian needs of the civilian population and the development of the country.
Nature has not been helpful to Somalia this year. Drought, followed by floods, has taken a heavy toll in the central and southern regions in particular, drawing emergency responses from the United Nations and the International Community. The worst drought in 10 years has left 2.1 million people dependent on outside assistance.
This is both a moment of hope and a time of apprehension for Somalia. Hope that the parties can see a larger, brighter future for their children in peace and reconciliation. Apprehension that if they choose to follow in the failed tracks of violence, Somalia’s suffering will continue.
There are 17 UN offices at 28 locations throughout Somalia, responding wherever they can to the needs of the affected communities. Their presence and the success of mass vaccinations against polio and other diseases and the delivery of food and technical assistance, is proof that “Peace Works”. We have been able to support administrative institutions in policing, in providing water, health and education services. Almost 70,000 more Somali children were able to attend school last year. This is not just good for the children, but it is the critical foundation we need for peace and reconciliation. Wherever security opens humanitarian space for the international community, the population can draw the benefits.
I am in almost daily contact with Somalia’s leaders and with those who lead the major regional groupings and countries in the near neighbourhood. My constant appeal to them is for dialogue and reconciliation and, on occasion, one feels hopeful for Somalia, as I want to feel on this International Day of Peace. Goodness knows this country deserves it. And I must say that many are struggling to achieve it.
The Transitional Federal Institutions are working to re-establish functional state institutions and to address some of the more difficult challenges facing the country today. I am heartened by early signs of stability in Mogadishu, with the banishment of warlords and the restoration of security for the local population. And I see an economic revival in Somaliland and Puntland where peace and stability have given the people faith in what they can achieve.
We have also seen the beginning of a more productive dialogue at Khartoum between the Transitional Federal Government which is temporarily located in Baidoa and the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts in Mogadishu. Hopes today are riding on Khartoum III and the prospects for peaceful resolution of the tensions and differences that exist between the two sides. Two rounds of dialogue in Khartoum under the sponsorship of the League of Arab States have won acknowledgement of each party’s legitimacy and the need to agree on a more productive way forward for future generations.
I appeal once again to everyone with interest in a better future for Somalia, to give this peace process a chance. I strongly believe that ‘Peace Works’. Experience has proven elsewhere that dialogue and consensus followed by international support for reconstruction and development, are the only way to lift countries in crisis out of conflict and poverty.