UN chief urges new Somali President to prioritize national reconciliation

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged newly elected President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed of Somalia to reach out to all people and parties in the strife-ridden country.

The Secretary-General congratulated the recently expanded Somali Parliament for the successful conclusion of its presidential election, saying that its political leaders had taken a major step forward towards national reconciliation.

“The United Nations has supported this process and stands ready to help the new Government in its efforts towards national reconciliation and the establishment of effective security,” Mr. Ban said in a statement attributable to his spokesperson.

For its part, he stressed that the UN will provide logistical support to the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM and help strengthen Somalia's own security forces.

Violence has continued in Somalia despite the signing in June 2008 of the UN-facilitated Djibouti Agreement by the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS), in which they agreed to end their conflict.

Mr. Ban called on President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who heads the ARS, to include all parties still outside the Djibouti Agreement in the political process in an effort to improve the security situation in the Horn of Africa country, as well as aid the humanitarian relief work.

“The Security Council will decide in the months ahead, the appropriateness of a UN peacekeeping operation to support the Somali political, economic, and social development,” Mr. Ban said.

The new President is expected appoint a prime minister and form a government of national unity, in a bid to bring stability to a nation that has not had a functioning central government since 1991 and has been plagued by violence and humanitarian suffering.