Lack of security exacerbates humanitarian crisis in Somalia

Somalia is suffering one of the world’s most serious humanitarian crises today. More than 3.2 million people are in acute need of emergency relief and more than a million have been forced to flee their homes.

“It is vital to improve the security situation so that emergency relief can be brought in,” said Raymond Johansen, State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The prevalence of road blocks, kidnappings, looting and killings makes Somalia one of the most dangerous places in the world to provide emergency relief.”

On Monday, Mr Johansen met UN Special Representative for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah in connection with the UN General Assembly in New York. Among the issues they discussed was the agreement that the transitional government and the opposition group ARS (Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia) recently signed in Djibouti.

“Security and access for humanitarian actors must be given high priority in the implementation of the agreement. We must hope that the parties are able to translate the political agreement from Djibouti into a real ceasefire on the ground. As soon as we see a positive development on the ground, the international community must take rapid action to deploy a stabilisation force,” Mr Johansen continued. This would make it possible for Ethiopia to withdraw, and would hopefully reduce the tension between the various groups in Somalia.

The International Contact Group for Somalia (ICG) met in Djibouti on Tuesday16 September. The ICG was founded in 2006, and this was the first meeting to be chaired by the UN Special Representative. One of the main issues on the agenda was the implementation of the Djibouti agreement, and Norway has earmarked NOK 5 million to support the implementation efforts. The total Norwegian assistance to Somalia for 2008 will amount to more than NOK 270 million, of which NOK 180 million will be in the form of emergency relief.