Next round of talks to cement UN-backed Somali peace deal announced

Welcoming continuing regional efforts to support the recent accord aiming to bring peace to war-torn Somalia, the top United Nations envoy to the Horn of Africa nation today announced upcoming talks between two key committees set up as part of the agreement.

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah said that the third round of talks of the Joint Security Committee, tasked with implementing security arrangements, and the High Level Committee, dealing with political cooperation, justice and reconciliation, will be held on 25-26 October in Djibouti.

Mr. Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, led the talks that resulted in the Djibouti Agreement signed in August, under which the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the rebel Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) formally agreed to end all armed confrontation between them.

The Joint Security Committee has been meeting over the past week in South Africa to plan for the next set of meetings, assisted by the UN and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The UN and the World Bank will convene an international donors’ gathering early next year to raise funds for a one-year Somali recovery programme, he said.

“I hope the conference will have a positive outcome which will help the Somali people to benefit from working towards peace,” the official said.

Somali refugees taking shelter in Dadaab in north-eastern Kenya recently expressed to him their desire to return to their home country. “However, the continuing violence means that instead, thousands are fleeing their homeland every month,” he noted.