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A week in the Horn April 24, 2009 |
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Prime Minister Meles made it clear that Ethiopia fully supported the new government as it had done since its inception. Ethiopia agreed that security and finance were the priorities and the government needed to generate revenue. Ethiopia was fully prepared to assist in training in finance, tax collection, customs and similar areas, together with other IGAD member states. It was also prepared to continue to train security forces. Ethiopia agreed Al Shabaab posed the greatest threat to the government and the government needed international community assistance in the security area as a matter of urgency. Foreign Minister Seyoum emphasized that Ethiopia would fully honor its commitments to provide capacity building to the new government. He pointed out the need to enable Somalia to manage its own affairs and urged the international community to redouble its assistance, noting that the fight against piracy should go hand in hand with practical moves to build up the government’s capacity. In the discussions, Prime Minister Shermarke also emphasized the government’s interest in reconciliation and said it was working on the integration of the former TFG, ARS-Djibouti, Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamma, former ICU and different clan militias. He said the Government was engaging with Hizbul Islam but had given up hope of rapprochement with Al-Shabaab. Hizbul Islam is made up of four factions, one being the Asmara-based faction led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir ‘Aweys’. Sheikh ‘Aweys’ unexpectedly arrived back in Mogadishu on Thursday, flying down from Asmara where he has been for the last two years. His arrival underlined the Somali Government’s need for increased security. Despite claims that he might be prepared to talk to the new government, Sheikh ‘Aweys’ appears to be intransigent towards his former ICU allies, taking his tone from the statements of President Issayas. He has already denounced the government of Sheikh Sharif as infidels and declared they should be wiped out, and said the fight against AMISOM should be continued. Addressing a supporter’s rally, he said talks with “our deceived friends, government officials”, could only take place once AMISOM had left Somalia. “AMISOM”, he added, “is not a peacekeeping force…they are the bacteria in Somalia. Somalia has not yet reached peaceful agreement. So be patient. We are left with little time to fight and achieve our Islamic objective.” Paradoxically, in Brussels on Thursday, the international community was talking about strengthening AMISOM and the TFG with impressive sounding pledges of funding, but saying nothing about the specific and looming danger posed by the arrival of Sheikh ‘Aweys’ in Mogadishu. The joint United Nations, African Union and European Union Conference on Somalia was co-chaired by UN Secretary General, Ban ki-Moon and African Union Chairperson, Dr. Jean Ping, and hosted by the EU. Among those attending in Brussels were President Sheikh Sharif of Somalia; Amre Mussa, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States; Professor Ekmelledien Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Conference; Javier Solana, the EU High Representative of Common Foreign and Security Policy; and Louis Michel, the EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. On Wednesday afternoon the conference was briefed by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, the UN Special Representative for Somalia, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, the AU Special Representative to Somalia, the AMISOM Force Commander and the Somali Minister of Defence. Delegates spoke of the prospects for a “new chapter” and a “brighter future” for Somalia, and the conference came up with pledges of over US$250 million to cover security and law enforcement, humanitarian aid and, possibly, a coast guard. This was US$90 million more than expected. However, it remains to be seen how far these pledges will be redeemed and how quickly. There is a significant disconnect between the international community discussions in Brussels and the situation on the ground in Mogadishu. The international community has so far shown no sign of facing up to the immediate challenge now facing the TFG in Somalia. As he emphasized, Somalia’s Prime Minister does most certainly need concrete and immediate support on a large scale. Meanwhile, in a report to the UN Security Council dated April 16, Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, responding to a January request from the Security Council to develop a mandate for a UN force in Somalia, proposed a three stage UN approach to Somalia. The Secretary-General notes that the plan for a UN peacekeeping operation of some 22,500 troops outlined in his report of March 9 remains a “high risk option”. He therefore recommends an incremental approach incorporating some of the other options he has put forward. The first step would be support for AMISOM coupled with UN assistance to build up some security institutions, support political reconciliation and provide humanitarian assistance. Mr. Ban ki-Moon said he anticipated this lasting for three or four months and being followed by a “light UN footprint” in Mogadishu, including direct assistance from the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS). Then after reference back to the Security Council, then and only then, the Secretary-General would be prepared to propose a full-fledged peace keeping operation to replace AMISOM. The Secretary-General regards this as a carefully calibrated and flexible approach. He also emphasizes the need to prevent “minority groups pursuing a hard-line approach” from disrupting progress, and for the TFG to be able to sustain its reconciliation efforts and extend its authority on the ground. All this, of course, looks very theoretical, even abstract, in the light of events on the ground in Somalia. **********
The main achievement of the High Level Joint Commission has been the establishment and institutionalization of three committees namely a Political Committee, a Trade, Finance and Economic Committee and a Social Affairs Committee. This is an important step towards producing an effective mechanism to cover the multi-faceted, multi-sectoral, relations between Ethiopia and Sudan. The three committees have agreed to prepare an action plan for 2009/10 starting in June, and also to develop a three-year general plan. The Joint Border Development Commission, which provides a forum for the adjacent regional states along the common border, is another of the mechanisms of the Joint Ministerial Commission. A joint follow-up Committee to be chaired by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries has now been established following a recommendation by the Ministerial Commission that it should have the responsibility for coordinating all areas of cooperation and follow up implementation of agreed activities. The Summit endorsed the Joint Ministerial Commission report. At the closing of the Summit three Agreements, two Memoranda of Understanding and four Executive Programs were signed by Foreign Minister Seyoum and Sudan’s Minister of International Co-operation, Al-Tigani Salih Fidail, in the absence of Foreign Minister, Deng Alor, reportedly in the Hague. These covered areas of trade exchange, production of natural glue, and forest protection and development. Memoranda of understandings covered quality and standards control, and human resource exchanges, as well as principles of implementation on culture and tourism, youth and sports, health, higher level education and science research. Before leaving Ethiopia yesterday, President Omar Al-Bashir made a brief visit to Tigrai region, flying up to Makelle to meet regional officials. The original plan for the President to pray at the Al-Negash mosque where followers of the Prophet were given sanctuary from persecution in Ethiopia had to be cancelled because of delays in leaving Addis Ababa. **********
The crux of the discussions revolved around the nature of the Organization that member states are now creating. The central point is whether member states are embarking on the creation of a union government or whether the process is actually setting up an inter-governmental organization. In fact there has been no decision by member states to create a union government, an idea which remains in the realm of fantasy. No member state has argued explicitly against the AU as an inter-governmental organization of sovereign states. However, proposals continue to be made which suggest there is still confusion over the issue. This apparent lack of conceptual clarity continues to affect the debate on Union government. Many had expected that the Tripoli Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting would follow the same pattern. In fact, however, the meeting was successful in making sure that the instructions of the AU Summit in February were adhered to fully. Obviously, the changes proposed to the Constitutive Act, including changing the designation of the head of the AU commission, and other details agreed in Tripoli, will have to await the amendment of the Constitutive Act in accordance with Article 32 of the act. It could be recalled there were attempts in the past to avoid resorting to Article 32 because it was thought strict compliance with Article 32 would prevent any speedy amendment of the Constitutive act. **********
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The Conference was attended by over 200 participants including representatives from federal and regional government bodies, national institutions, the civil society, the United Nations Agencies, the African Union and observers from the diplomatic community. It was officially opened by Ato Berhan Hailu, Minister of Justice, who reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of Ethiopia to the promotion and protection of human rights, and identified some of the measures taken by the Government to entrench human rights in the country. He recognized the contribution that treaty reporting could make to such national efforts, and expressed the determination of the Government to continue active engagement in the treaty reporting process. Ambassador Kassa G/Hiwot, Chief Commissioner of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and Mr. Frej Fennich, Regional Representative of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner delivered welcoming speeches and Ms. Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights sent a video recorded message. The National Conference considered a number of draft reports presented for discussion and prepared by a reporting structure adopted to enable Ethiopia to comply with its reporting obligation under human rights treaties. The structure of the project included the National Inter-Ministerial Ad-Hoc Committee, legal experts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the drafting committee, under the overall supervision of the National Inter-Ministerial Ad Hoc Committee which was coordinating the entire reporting process enabling participation of non-governmental actors and the provision of different training opportunities for relevant actors. More than 500 men and women, representing various governmental and nongovernmental institutions, have received human rights training in the context of the Project. The Ad Hoc Committee also approved the draft reports for submission to the relevant treaty bodies. The committee of five legal experts was coordinating the gathering and processing of relevant information through contact with Regional States and Federal Government institutions and non-governmental actors. This project has allowed for the submission of the Common Core Document, the combined report to the Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and for the initial and combined report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples´ Rights. The entire exercise was originally focused on treaty reporting but in the course of the reporting process, the United Nations Human Rights Council informed Ethiopia that it would be reviewed in December 2009 and asked for a report to be submitted by September 2009. It was considered convenient to include Ethiopia’s draft report to the UN Human Rights Council for consideration during the 6th Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session. The National Conference considered all five reports from the working groups and participants made detailed comments enhancing the quality of the reports. They acknowledged that the reports already contained detailed information, but it was agreed that written submissions could be made until 30 April 2009 through emails and other means. The Conference designated a group of 15 persons to serve as a drafting committee, representing all branches of the Government from Federal and Regional Government institutions, private media, NGOs, from private participants, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, and legal experts. The Conference adopted the recommendations presented by the group, including the need for sustained reporting and for the establishment of a permanent institutional mechanism, and increased roles for national human rights institutions. During the closing session, following the adoption of the recommendations by the Conference, Dr. Tekeda Alemu, State Minister for Foreign Affairs awarded certificates of recognition and tokens of appreciation to Members of the Ad-Hoc Inter-Ministerial Committee, the Legal Experts and members of the Drafting Committee for their outstanding contributions to the successful conclusion of the Project. Concluding comments were made by Ambassador Kassa G/Hiwot, Chief Commissioner of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, and Mr. Frej Fennich, Regional Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In his closing statement, Dr. Tekeda reiterated the commitment of the Government of Ethiopia to the idea of sustained reporting by Ethiopia to the various treaty bodies. He welcomed the recommendations of the Conference and assured participants that the ideas contained in the Declaration of the Conference would be given serious consideration by the relevant Government bodies. He also praised the collaboration between the various Government institutions, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Dr. Tekeda stressed that human rights should be free of polemics. The issue should not be over-politicized. Human rights are not an issue for public relations, and it is important for all stakeholders to resist temptations to sensationalize the issue. It should be recalled that the reporting system established under various United Nations human rights treaties and regional instruments is designed as an overarching supervisory system allowing states which are party to these international and regional instruments to submit initial and periodic reports detailing the administrative, legislative and judicial measures taken by the states themselves. These reports are prepared on the basis of guidelines issued by the treaty bodies themselves. This is a generalized way of referring to the various committees established under the respective treaties and composed of independent experts elected by the states party to these treaties. They serve in their personal capacities, and are selected on their high reputation in various fields of endeavor. Once they receive reports from the state parties, they normally appoint rapporteurs to review the reports and request additional information from the state party as necessary. The next step is open consideration of reports in discussions, normally held in Geneva. At these sessions, the state party representative makes introductory remarks followed by questions and answers from the relevant Committee members. The representatives of the state parties respond to queries and engage in dialogue with the Committee. At the conclusion of these sessions, the Committees issue concluding observations and recommendations. The state parties are expected to consider these observations and recommendations and take them under consideration in their national plans at different levels. The significance of this reporting by Ethiopia should be seen both in terms of discharging its treaty obligations and in the contributions from the observations and recommendations of the expert’s bodies relevant to national efforts for promotion and protection of human rights. The report and discussions that will follow presentations to the treaty bodies will also provide concrete and objective information on the situation of human rights in the country. Ethiopia has been the target of a great many allegations on human rights and of hearsay reports by third parties. This factual reporting to treaty bodies, and Ethiopia’s report to the United Nations Human Rights Council under the Universal Periodic Review, will now be able to provide real and credible sources of information for human rights in Ethiopia. ********** |
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Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
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