UNDP PRESS BRIEFING ON SOMALIA

Press Briefing

UNDP PRESS BRIEFING ON SOMALIA

At a Headquarters press briefing today, Dominik Langenbacher, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for Somalia, told correspondents that the country was a failed State in crisis, where military and political problems were exacerbated by floods.

Somalia seemed to stand for bad news, he said. The images of people stranded in trees and on rooftops in the floods at the end of last year were still vivid; there had recently been a hostage situation in Mogadishu; and now, there was severe fighting around the town of Kismaayo. That fighting was "beyond the sporadic clashes between clans which we are, unfortunately, used to". It was possible that the fighting in Kismaayo could escalate, perhaps as far as civil war in the southern region.

As far as the floods were concerned, he said, as soon as the floodwaters had begun to recede, the rainy season had got under way. There was a high risk that the rainy season would affect areas that had previously been flooded; the dams along the riverbanks had been damaged and partly washed away. The water, at this point, had not risen beyond the riverbanks, but with more heavy rains in southern Ethiopia and in the region of the Shabele and Juba Rivers themselves, there was a risk of renewed flooding. Fortunately, the rainy season did not seem to be as bad as expected. Above average rainfall had been expected, but so far, it was average, or even below average. "Keeping our fingers crossed, we hope to avoid a recurrence of flooding in southern Somalia", he said. The rainy season was due to end in June.

If there were no further floods, he said he saw a relaxing of the humanitarian situation due to a bumper harvest. As the floodwaters were receding, farmers had planted crops, and had had good results. That would keep the Somalis going into the summer at least.

He was concerned by the situation in Mogadishu, he said. Since the hostage situation, Mogadishu had remained closed for UNDP operations. Past experience showed him that after several weeks of keeping UNDP operations closed in Mogadishu, the humanitarian situation there tended to deteriorate. He was still waiting for order to return to Mogadishu, which would allow humanitarian operations to resume, if necessary.

He said that in Kismaayo, the fighting that was affecting up to half of the Juba Valley was being closely monitored. Normally, fighting of that dimension led to displaced populations, with people who were avoiding the fighting adding to those already internally displaced. At the moment, Kismaayo and parts of the southern Juba Valley were also closed to humanitarian operations.

But there was also some good news to report, he said. The UNDP and other United Nations agencies had reached a point where they could start early

UNDP Briefing - 2 - 14 May 1998

development work in two northern areas. One was Somaliland in the north-west, which was seeking recognition as a State. A United Nations administration was in place there, which functioned reasonably well. In the north-east, there were efforts to bring three large regions together, working towards a constitutional conference to form a federal State, which was planned to be a part of Somalia.

In those two areas, there were circumstances that allowed the United Nations to begin longer-term efforts, he said. The UNDP was also looking into problems facing those regions in the immediate post-conflict time, such as de- mining, demobilization and building a police force.

A correspondent asked what had been done to protect United Nations personnel, and to avoid further hostage situations in Somalia. The United Nations maintained a huge security operation in Somalia, Mr. Langenbacher replied. There were security officers in the various regions of the country who were in permanent contact with him at his office in Nairobi. There was therefore something of an early warning system, which was taken very seriously.

The UNDP was the most cautious of the agencies that operated inside Somalia, he said. It wold close operations when there was indication that a situation was deteriorating before non-governmental organizations would close, and definitely before the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would close. The United Nations was aware that Somalia was a risky environment in which to operate, and it heeded any warning signals that were received.

Was it not almost irresponsible to keep humanitarian staff in Somalia in the wake of some of the attacks on them? a correspondent asked. Also, had the "early warning system" warned of the trouble at Mogadishu airport? No, replied Mr. Langenbacher, that had not been expected. There had been indication that the situation was "a little bit loose" in Mogadishu about 10 days to two weeks prior to the taking of the hostages, as convoys of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) had been attacked and looted. It was necessary to weigh the situation; there was a humanitarian imperative to bring assistance to needy people. In the case of Mogadishu, the humanitarian situation was such that the UNDP could afford to close its operation there. For the ICRC, which was specializing in bringing assistance into such areas, the situation was different.

Yesterday, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Sergio Viera de Mello, had talked of the neglect of the international community in funding for the Sudan, said a correspondent. Did Mr. Langenbacher find the same situation regarding Somalia? He replied that in general, there had been a relaxing of the humanitarian crisis, which did mean less effort by the international aid community. On the other hand, there was no relaxing of the political and military crisis. Somalia was a failed States in crisis. Longer-term development-oriented work was therefore not picking up.

* *** *