___________________________________________________________________ S O M A L I A N E W S U P D A T E ____________________________________________________________________ No 8 September 1, 1992. ISSN 1103-1999 ____________________________________________________________________ Somalia News Update is published irregularly via electronic mail and fax. Questions can be directed to antbh@strix.udac.uu.se or to fax number +46-18-151160. All material is free to quote as long as the source is stated. ____________________________________________________________________ /* Written 10:13 am Aug 31, 1992 by peg:unic in cdp:unic.news */ /* ---------- "SC ON SOMALIA" ---------- */ This information is provided by the United Nations Information Centre in Sydney for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. For further information, please call 283 1144. Security Council SC/5461 3110th Meeting 28 August 1992 NIGHT SUMMARY SECURITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZES DEPLOYMENT OF ADDITIONAL 3,000 SECURITY PERSONNEL TO FACILITATE DELIVERY OF RELIEF SUPPLIES IN SOMALIA Vote is Unanimous on Resolution 775 The Security Council this evening authorized the Secretary-General to increase the strength of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) by deploying four 750-strong security units in different areas of that country bringing the total strength of United Nations security personnel in Somalia to 3,500 in all ranks. The Council took this action by unanimously adopting resolution 775 (1992) by which it invited the Secretary-General to establish UNOSOM's four zone headquarters -- in Berbera, Bossasso, the central rangelands (including Mogadishu) and Kismayu -- and welcomed his decision to increase substantially the airlift operation to areas of priority attention in Somalia. The cost of the proposed expansion, including the establishment of specialized logistical, communications and medical support units, would be approximately $129.2 million for a six-month period from 1 September 1992 to 28 February 1993. Welcoming the offer of material and logistical support from several States, the Council urged that the airlift operation be coordinated by the United Nations. The Regional Logistics Office of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Nairobi will be the focal point for such coordination. The Council called on all parties, movements and factions in Somalia to cooperate with the expanded operation of UNOSOM and urged them to facilitate international efforts to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the affected population. They were also called upon immediately to cease hostilities and to maintain a cease-fire throughout the country. Reiterating its appeal to the international community to provide adequate financial and other resources for humanitarian efforts in Somalia, the Council stressed the need for the observance and strict monitoring of the arms embargo imposed against Somalia under resolution 733 (1992). The Secretary-General was requested to continue his efforts to seek a political solution to the crisis in Somalia and the Council decided to remain seized of the matter until a peaceful solution was achieved. (A MORE DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE MEETING APPEARS IN TAKES 1-3 OF THIS RELEASE) Security Council Press Release SC/5461 3110th Meeting (Night) 28 August 1992 SECURITY COUNCIL -- TAKE 1 The Security Council meets this afternoon to consider the situation in Somalia and the activities of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). It has before it a report of the Secretary-General (document S/24480 and Add.1), in which he recommends increasing the strength of UNOSOM's security personnel by up to 3,500 in all ranks, including a unit of 500 persons already authorized for Mogadishu. In addition, he recommends the establishment of four operational zones and of specialized logistic, communications and medical support units initially requiring up to 719 personnel. The cost of the proposed expansion is estimated at $129.2 million for a six-month period from 1 September 1992 to 28 February 1993 - - a monthly cost of some $12.1 million. The report also describes United Nations action to address the humanitarian crisis in Somalia and makes recommendations for further action by the Organization and the international community. It is based on findings of a technical team headed by Peter Hansen, former Assistant Secretary-General, which visited Somalia from 6 to 15 August. Specifically, the team recommends deployment of four security units, each with a strength of up to 750 in all ranks, to serve in four different areas: Bossasso, the south-west, Berbera, and Kismayu. Agreement from the parties in Somalia to the deployment of the first two units has already been achieved. However, the report continues, for the units proposed to serve in Berbera and Kismayu, consultations are still going on under instructions from the Secretary-General to his Special Representative to give the highest priority to bringing them to a successful conclusion. The Council has already authorized, and the two parties concerned in Somalia have already agreed to, the deployment of a 500-strong security force in Mogadishu. The Government of Pakistan will contribute a unit for that purpose and the United States has agreed to airlift it to Mogadishu. It is hoped that such deployment will take place very early in September, the report states. Delivery of humanitarian assistance in Somalia is fraught with difficulties because of the vicious cycle of insecurity and hunger, the report goes on. Lack of security prevents the delivery of food, while food shortages contribute significantly to the level of violence and insecurity. The immediate need to break that cycle is therefore stressed. The Secretary-General calls for the establishing of a comprehensive programme of action covering humanitarian relief, the cessation of hostilities, the reduction of organized and unorganized violence, and national reconciliation. Among measures to improve the security situation in Somalia the report cites the need to demobilize regular and irregular forces and to re-establish law and order, initially on a local basis. Help in the re-establishing of local police forces, including training, uniforms, communications and other equipment, as well as advisory services, is also needed. (more) Take 1 (Night) - 2 - Press Release SC/5461 28 August 1992 The report emphasizes, however, that United Nations assistance will have to be contingent upon conditions that will ensure the neutrality of such forces, namely agreement by all relevant local authorities on the need for a unified local police force, a neutral command structure, recruitment based on objective criteria and external monitoring. The programme of action will also have to include educational and vocational training schemes offering alternative employment opportunities. The basic thrust must be to provide people with real alternatives for survival other than the possession of arms. The Secretary-General reiterates his belief that a "food for arms" exchange programme could be an important component of an effort to improve security conditions through a disarmament and demobilization programme. However, on the advice of the technical team which had examined the feasibility of such a programme, the Secretary-General states that, at this stage, its general effectiveness in isolation is doubtful. "Under present circumstances, Somalis see arms as a means not only of personal security but also of survival", he adds. A fundamental consideration that should guide all United Nations activities in Somalia, the report states, is that the Somalis themselves should progressively assume responsibility for establishing conditions and arrangements for the distribution of humanitarian assistance. Therefore, a stronger United Nations role in securing access, transport and distribution of relief supplies must be paralleled by an effort to involve Somali entities fully in all aspects of that process. They should be able to see the advantages to them of working with the international community rather than obliging the international community to take initiatives on its own without them. "The fact is that the international community cannot stand idly by and witness the unnecessary loss of human lives in Somalia", the report emphasizes. Concerning the establishing of a four-zone headquarters for UNOSOM, as he had recommended in his report of 22 July (document S/24343), the Secretary-General states that the technical team has confirmed the validity of that concept. He proposes establishing the four zone headquarters as quickly as possible. Under the scheme, each headquarters will be headed by a civilian official who will assist the Secretary-General's Special Representative in all aspects of his duties, the report goes on. Initially, the nucleus of each headquarters will consist of the Zone Director and the necessary administrative staff. Additional elements will be added as the volume of United Nations activities increases in connection with the humanitarian programmes, the cease-fire, security and national reconciliation. The report also calls for the immediate implementation of the "preventive zone" concept. Such a concept was reflected in the Secretary-General's updated consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for the Horn of Africa, of 15 July. It concerns efforts to contain population movements and prevent the problems of one country from spilling over to neighbours by assisting people where they are located -- regardless of whether they are refugees, returnees, displaced persons, drought-affected or simply local residents who also need assistance. (more) Take 1 (Night) - 3 - Press Release SC/5461 28 August 1992 The Secretary-General draws attention to a particularly serious situation along the Kenyan border, where some 280,000 Somali refugees are located, with 2,000 more arriving daily. The implementation of such a concept, under the leadership of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), will consist, in its first phase, of the establishment of an operation to deliver food and seeds from Kenya to a preventive zone on the Somali side of the border in the Gedo region. It is aimed at reducing cross-border movements of people in search of food as well as at contributing to decrease growing frictions in the border area. The report states that the main problem in Somalia today is not the delivery of humanitarian relief supplies to ports and airports but the protection of the convoys that transport supplies from port or airport to warehouses and distribution centres as well as the protection of those stores and centres themselves. That protection, as recommended earlier by the Secretary-General and confirmed by the technical team, should be provided by United Nations security personnel operating as described in the report of 21 April (document S/23829): they would be armed and their aim would be to provide United Nations relief convoys with a sufficiently strong military escort to deter attack and to fire effectively in self-defence if deterrence should prove ineffective. According to the report, the technical team examined the possibility of extending the current cease-fire activities of UNOSOM at Mogadishu to other parts of the country, having paid particular attention to the possible deployment of military observers along the southern part of the Kenya-Somalia border. However, concern was expressed by several regional leaders about the implications of such an operation for the balance of military forces within the country. Given that attitude, the lack of an effective cease-fire and the fluidity of the fighting, the Secretary-General states he does not believe that it is presently feasible to deploy military observers for cease-fire monitoring purposes outside Mogadishu as the security of unarmed military observers would be severely at risk. Regarding overall humanitarian needs, the Secretary- General reviews the implementation of the consolidated inter- agency 90-day Plan of Action for Emergency Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia by United Nations agencies and organizations. Those efforts, he states, are in no way adequate to meet the overall needs of the Somali people. Estimates indicate that as many as 4.5 million Somalis are in desperate need of food and other assistance. Death and starvation are widespread, especially in the central and southern parts of Somalia. The absence of food is a significant cause of the large-scale population movements that are taking place from Somalia into Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. The United Nations and its partners, the report continues, are ready and have the capacity to provide substantially increased assistance, but they have been prevented from doing so by the lawlessness and lack of security that prevail throughout Somalia, including in Mogadishu itself. Heavily armed gangs overrun delivery and distribution points and loot supplies directly from docked ships as well as from airports and airstrips. Current security (more) Take 1 (Night) - 4 - Press Release SC/5461 28 August 1992 conditions do not permit the assured delivery of humanitarian assistance by overland transport and are thus the main cause of the current food crisis in Somalia, which is further compounded by drought in the South and the fact that agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors have been devastated by the civil war. Also because of the war, the health infrastructure in the country can be described, at best, as rudimentary: of the 15 hospitals that remain partially operational, most have neither water nor electricity nor drugs. Given such situation, the Secretary-General calls for present airlift operations -- to be substantially enhanced. For the immediate future, airlift operations should be directed to the areas of need located primarily in central and southern Somalia, with priority attention being given to Baidoa, Hoddur, Bardera and Belet Wien. In addition, until Berbera port and the roads leading from it are secured, ad hoc airlifting of non-food items and supplementary food items may also be necessary from Djibouti to destinations in the north-west such as Hargeisa, Burao, Las Anod and Borama, where it is estimated that the displaced population and returnees from camps in Ethiopia number some 350,000 vulnerable persons. The international community has expressed keen interest in contributing to an urgent airlift, the report goes on. That relief effort must, however, be carefully coordinated to ensure that there is no duplication of effort, that food and other relief items reach those most in need, and that suitable arrangements are made on the ground to ensure effective distribution and, where necessary, adequate security. The Secretary-General calls on all contributors to contact the Regional Logistics Office with offers of planes, food and non- food relief supplies. The Office will then provide the necessary advice and guidance on the capacities of airstrips, the arrangements for handover and distribution as well as for related security considerations. Critically important as airlift may be, the report goes on, it cannot be a substitute for an effective surface-delivered programme of assistance through Somalia's ports and overland routes with the World Food Programme (WFP) continuing to exercise leadership in logistics and food transportation. And for that to be achieved, the Secretary-General concludes, effective security and ground arrangements are a sine qua non. (END OF TAKE 1) Security Council Press Release SC/5461 3110th Meeting (Night) 28 August 1992 SECURITY COUNCIL -- TAKE 2 Also before the Council is a draft resolution (document S/24497), the text of which reads as follows: "The Security Council, "Considering the request by Somalia for the Security Council to consider the situation in Somalia (S/23445), "Reaffirming its resolutions 773 (1992) of 23 January 1992, 746 (1992) of 17 March 1992, 751 (1992) of 24 April 1992, and 767 (1992) of 27 July 1992, "Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Somalia (S/24480), "Deeply concerned about the availability of arms and ammunition and the proliferation of armed banditry throughout Somalia, "Alarmed by the continued sporadic outbreak of hostilities in several parts of Somalia leading to continued loss of life and destruction of property, and putting at risk the personnel of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations and other international humanitarian organizations, as well as disrupting their operations, "Deeply disturbed by the magnitude of the human suffering caused by the conflict and concerned that the situation in Somalia constitutes a threat to international peace and security, "Gravely alarmed by the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Somalia and underlining the urgent need for quick delivery of humanitarian assistance in the whole country, "Reaffirming that the provision of humanitarian assistance in Somalia is an important element in the effort of the Council to restore international peace and security in the area, "Welcoming the ongoing efforts by the United Nations organizations as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), non-governmental organizations and States to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected population in Somalia, "Welcoming in particular the initiatives to provide relief through airlift operations, Convinced that no durable progress will be achieved in the absence of an overall political solution in Somalia, Taking note in particular of paragraph 24 of the report of the Secretary-General, (more) Take 2 (Night) - 2 - Press Release SC/5461 28 August 1992 "1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General of 24 August 1992 (S/24480) on the findings of the Technical Team and the recommendations of the Secretary- General contained therein; "2. Invites the Secretary-General to establish four zone headquarters as proposed in paragraph 31 of the Secretary- General's report (S/24480); "3. Authorizes the increase in strength of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) and the subsequent deployment as recommended in paragraph 37 of the Secretary- General's report; "4. Welcomes the decision of the Secretary-General to increase substantially the airlift operation to areas of priority attention; "5. Calls upon all parties, movements and factions in Somalia to cooperate with the United Nations with a view to the urgent deployment of the United Nations security personnel called for in paragraphs 4 and 5 of its resolution 751 (1992) and as recommended in paragraph 37 of the Secretary-General's report; "6. Welcomes also the material and logistical support from a number of States and urges that the airlift operation be effectively coordinated by the United Nations as described in paragraphs 17 to 21 of the report of the Secretary-General; "7. Urges all parties, movements and factions in Somalia to facilitate the efforts of the United Nations, its specialized agencies and humanitarian organizations to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the affected population in Somalia and reiterates its call for the full respect of the security and safety of the personnel of these organizations and the guarantee of their complete freedom of movement in and around Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia; "8. Reiterates its appeal to the international community to provide adequate financial and other resources for humanitarian efforts in Somalia; "9. Encourages ongoing efforts of the United Nations, its specialized agencies and humanitarian organizations including the International Committee of the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations to ensure delivery of humanitarian assistance to all regions of Somalia and underlines the importance of coordination between these efforts; "10. Requests also the Secretary-General to continue, in close cooperation with the Organization of African Unity, the League of Arab States and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, his efforts to seek a comprehensive solution to the crisis in Somalia; "11. Calls upon all parties, movements and factions in Somalia immediately to cease hostilities and to maintain a cease- fire throughout the country; (more) Take 2 (Night) - 3 - Press Release SC/5461 28 August 1992 "12. Stresses the need for the observance and strict monitoring of the general and complete embargo on all deliveries of weapons and military equipment to Somalia, as decided in paragraph 5 of its resolution 733 (1992); "13. Calls upon all parties, movements and factions in Somalia to cooperate fully with the Secretary-General in the implementation of this resolution; "14. Decides to remain seized of the matter until a peaceful solution is achieved. (END OF TAKE 2) Security Council Press Release SC/5461 3110th Meeting (Night) 28 August 1992 SECURITY COUNCIL -- TAKE 3 The Council President LI DAOYU (China) called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. He informed the Council that he had received a letter from the representative of Somalia requesting to be invited to participate in the deliberations of the item under rule 37 of the Council's rules of procedure. There being no objection and in accordance with the usual practice, that representative was invited to take a seat at the Council table. The PRESIDENT drew the attention of Council members to the report and the draft resolution. The draft was adopted unanimously as Council resolution 775 (1992). The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m. (END OF TAKE 3 AND PRESS RELEASE SC/5461)