11/11/2005
Security Council Condemns Increasing Violations Of Somali Arms Embargo

Stressing that any resort to military force to solve the current differences between Somalia’s transitional federal institutions is unacceptable, the United Nations Security Council this week strongly condemned the increased inflow of weapons into the Horn of Africa country and the attempted assassination of the Prime Minister .

The condemnation came in a presidential statement read by Ambassador Andrey Denisov of Russia, who holds the rotating Council presidency for November, after a closed briefing by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, François Lonsény Fall.

“ The Security Council condemns the increased inflow of weapons into Somalia and the continuous violations of the United Nations arms embargo,” the statement said.

The Council reminded all States of their obligation to comply fully with the measures imposed on them by the embargo resolution and urged them to take all necessary steps to hold violators accountable.

“ The Security Council expresses its concern over recent reported military activities and hostile rhetoric and emphasizes that any resort to military force as a means for dealing with the current differences within the transitional federal institutions is unacceptable. The Council condemns in the strongest terms the assassination attempt on 6 November 2005 against Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi in Mogadishu,” it said.

The Council emphasized that the primary responsibility for restoring an effective functioning government lay with the leaders and members of the Somali transitional federal institutions and expressed “its concern and disappointment over the lack of progress in ameliorating the contention between the leaders of the transitional federal institutions, and over the non-functioning of the Transitional Federal Parliament, which has an essential role in promoting the peace process.”

The UN has been leading international efforts to find a peaceful solution, but tensions between Jahwar-based Prime Minister Gedi and President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed on the one hand, and Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan and ministers based in Mogadishu, on the other, have been exacerbated.

The Security Council also called on national and international organizations to address the increasing incidents of piracy off the Somali coast and the recent hijackings of vessels in the area, particularly of ships carrying humanitarian supplies to Somalia.

“ The Security Council expresses its growing concern over the situation of 1 million Somalis in a state of humanitarian emergency or suffering from severe livelihood distress and the rising civil and food insecurity in parts of Southern Somalia, where malnutrition levels have increased,” it said.

The Security Council commended the neighbouring countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU), the League of Arab States, the European Union (EU) and concerned Member States for their keen interest and persistent efforts in supporting the country’s peace process.

In a press encounter after the Council meeting, Mr. Fall said warring factions in Somalia had to engage in dialogue to resolve their impasse and move the political process forward.

The Security Council had said that it would take some action against the piracy, which it did not specify, he said, adding that exceptions had already been made to the embargo to allow for the training of Somali police. Such training was taking place in Uganda and Kenya and plans were being made to bring that training to Somalia, he said.

The Council would also have to find a solution to the problem that countries in the region were shipping arms to Somali factions, he said. Meanwhile, it had asked IGAD and the AU to work out an agreement on the composition of their upcoming peacekeeping operation, the IGAD Peace Support Mission to Somalia (IGASOM), Mr. Fall said.