United Nations – New York:-
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I want to express my sincere appreciation to our partners for joining us at this timely Somalia Security Conference at the United Nations in New York today. On behalf of the Federal Government of Somalia, we hope that this conference will present our vision for developing our security sector and a pathway to achieving an effective transition to Somali security ownership.
The conference is coming at the heels of significant achievements, with the recent lifting of the Arms Embargo, the achievement of debt relief under HIPC, acceptance into the East African Community (EAC) and the commencement of constitutional review process initiated by key political agreements at the national level. These achievements demonstrate the commitment of Somalia to reform and state-building efforts spanning more than a decade and under three administrations. This signifies our strong national commitment to stay the course and deliver for our people.
State building in a post conflict context like Somalia is neither linear nor completely perfect. Accordingly, we have learned from the challenges of state-building over the past decade and we recognize that durable peace and security rests on addressing political and social reconciliations at all levels.
To this end, I brought together Somalia’s political leaders under the National Consultative Council (NCC) and forged long awaited political agreements on power-sharing, fiscal federalism, judicial model, national security architecture, and an electoral model that will take us to universal suffrage.
These transformative political agreements are now awaiting deliberations before Parliament prior to adoption as legislation. The importance of these developments is two-fold. First, it solidifies the federal architecture outlined in the Somali constitution. Secondly, it formalizes Somalia’s electoral process, shifting from a closed elite system to one that allows the Somali people to directly elect their representatives. This is the only way to strengthen democracy and achieve inclusive governance in Somalia.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This journey was not without setbacks, with Somalia facing numerous challenges, including violent extremism, conflict, poverty, and drought followed by floods brought on by El Nino. Somalia is among the most vulnerable nations to the climate crisis despite making among the least contribution to international greenhouse emissions. Climate shocks are further exasperated by the ongoing insecurity, which undermines the development of much needed resilient infrastructure and livelihoods. Both climate change and terrorism are global issues, but we are disproportionately bearing their burden locally while global responsibility is lagging.
The people of Somalia have endured immense hardships, yet they have shown remarkable resilience and determination in the face of adversity. This resilience is hardwired into the Somali spirit and has been boldly demonstrated, especially over this past year.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Last year marked a turning point for Somalia’s security as communities came together in an unprecedented manner to fight alongside the Somali National Armed Forces and liberate dozens of communities from Al-Shabaab in the central regions of the country. This would not have been possible without the support of ATMIS and other key international partners.
As in all wars, there are challenges and setbacks, and this is no exception in Somalia as we fight a violent and morally bankrupt enemy. We recently suffered a few setbacks, including the attacks on our forces. As a result of our internal stock-taking from these incidents, we are revising some of our military tactics as we continue the offensive.
On the financial front, we have strengthened anti money laundering and countering of finance terrorism policies which have resulted in hundreds of Al-Shabaab-related bank accounts to be frozen. Ideologically, we have also mobilized local communities across Somalia to publicly reject Al-Shabaab and brought together religious scholars who unanimously denounced the ideology and practice of Al-Shabaab as un-Islamic.
The role of the Somali state is now focused on strengthening the linkage between government and citizens. Accordingly, we are currently implementing over 200 stabilization activities focused on addressing urgent humanitarian needs and facilitating local-level dialogues. For example, in the coastal town of Haradheere, which served as an Al-Shabaab stronghold for more than a decade, girls and boys are now going back to primary and secondary school. I am determined to ensure that every child in every region has equal access to basic public services including education and health.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are cognizant and very appreciative of the fact that our success to date would not have been possible without the support of our international partners and the sacrifices made by ATMIS troop and police contributing countries, our Somali Security Forces and the Somali people. In Somalia’s pursuit of a peaceful and stable future, your countries have been indispensable in providing us with your time, resources, and your very lives. We honour your sacrifice, and we assure you that it will not be in vain.
Together, we have accomplished much and have demonstrated that African solutions are the key to addressing our shared problems.
The drawdown of ATMIS we are witnessing today is a testament to the progress we have made together in building a more stable Somalia with a stronger security apparatus working towards transitioning full security responsibilities to Somali forces. We completed phase one of the transition and phase II will be completed in the next couple of weeks.
We have taken major steps on the security sector reform agenda in Somalia, and the passing of the revised National Security Architecture in March 2023 will set the path for reforms and strengthen our security institutions further. In addition, the crucial enactment of key enabling security-related legal frameworks has set the foundation for strengthened civilian oversight, accountability and transparency.
I also welcome the historic UN Security Council decision to lift the Arms Embargo on Somalia. This is a milestone for Somalia, representing significant improvement in our weapons and ammunition management capacity and it also enables us to have the capacity to equip the Somalia Armed Forces as ATMIS forces draw down.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We know that it is time for Somalia to take up full responsibility for its security. The achievement of this objective will not only benefit Somalia but it will also contribute to regional and global peace and stability.
In this regard, we have laid out an ambitious reform plan and goals for the security sector for the coming 6 years. We are cognizant of the level of effort required, the risks that may influence the pace of reforms, and the resource challenges we are facing to achieve these goals – we have no illusions of how easy this will be.
At the same time, we need to have this level of ambition to achieve the transformational change we want in the security sector. Today we will present our phased approach for building capable, accountable, and affordable Somali security forces. The first phase of the plan begins with immediate priorities of generating sufficient, trained, and equipped security forces to meet the demand of offensive operations and hold territory.
Phase 2 is focused on building capabilities and sustaining gains, responding to evolving threats, transferring security responsibilities from the military to the police, and creating more robust systems of oversight and support.
Finally, the Phase 3 of the plan will involve continuing to build and expand the capabilities of the security sector into maritime and air, given Somalia’s strategic location and a greater focus on policing and justice to enhance and sustain peace.
We understand the challenges of the simultaneous demands on our security forces as we are engaged in active offensive operations, while holding territory, taking over responsibilities from ATMIS and undertaking capability building.
Our plan recognizes these challenges and proposes a post ATMIS framework consisting of a limited and new multilateral mechanism to provide protection of strategic population centers and key infrastructure while providing critical enablers for the Somali forces. This would allow space and time for our forces to continue to conduct operations and build base capabilities.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At this critical juncture, where Al-Shabaab has experienced the longest sustained pressure and strategic defeats, we need to ensure that we don’t lose the momentum to eliminate the group from Somalia.
The security of our capital city has improved and now is a vibrant place with the hum of construction noise everywhere, streets buzzing with business activities, the diaspora returning to help rebuild, and the hope and aspirations of a new generation echoing across the streets. It is a testament to what investments in peace can bring.
Our successes in the past year have shown us that the strategy of containment is no longer viable, and we must plan to defeat Al-Shabaab. To achieve this, it is crucial now, more than ever, for the international community to support Somalia in building the required capabilities.
We recognize that we are operating in a resource constrained environment, but investments in Somalia – especially when viewed against the backdrop of the current significant challenges – have yielded results.
Therefore, given the Somali security sector is embarking on a new phase of its development, there must be a shift in the modalities, nature and focus of international support. This will enable Somalia to play the primary role in its implementation. As such, the next phase of development should be marked by greater focus on using country systems and building the capacity of national institutions.
I hope this conference will provide more clarity on how our international partners can continue to support our government in building an efficient, effective and accountable Somalia security forces as per the prioritized needs in the Security Sector Development Plan.
As we commence this conference amongst friends and partners today, we must remember the people of Somalia who yearn for peace and security. The continued strategic support from our partners and, more importantly, the strong determination of the Somali people will be the decisive factor in our future success story.
Let us maintain our focus on our shared aspiration — a secure and prosperous Somalia.
Thank you for your attention and I wish you all a successful deliberation today.
