Somalia's historic week - a showcase of transformation to peace and stability

                                                                                                                                      (Adem Hassen)

This week Mogadishu hosted high-level meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The heads of states and governments of the member countries, including Chairperson and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn were present in Somalia's capital.

Indeed, the 28th Extraordinary Summit of IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government was deemed a showcase for the country’s transformation to peace and stability after two decades of conflict.

Somalia's Foreign Minister Abdisalam Omar Hadliye said, ''it is a great opportunity for Somalia to host such meeting because the country has never hosted international level meetings since 1974".

IGAD and the member countries are committed to improving the lives of the people of Somalia and have been calling on regional and international organs to provide assistance for the establishment of Somalia’s infrastructure and social institutions. They were indeed setting an example by helping Somalia improve its image and international standing when they decided to hold the summit there.

Besides to its being a high-level meeting that brings good publicity for Somalia, the summit actually focused on Somalia's current challenges, the political and security progress made in Somalia and the forthcoming elections.

The summit, which considered the first international meeting in Somalia after 40 years, is historic as it demonstrates the prevalence of peace and stability in Somalia.

This historic event didn't come by accident but with heavy sacrifices from Ethiopia and the regional countries.

Befittingly, Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn was the Summit and he urged that infrastructure connectivity and social services are the next requirements for the stability and the improvement of the livelihood of the people. For this to happen, international support, particularly that of neighboring countries, is crucial.

IGAD member countries have agreed to extend assistance for the building of Somalia’s infrastructure connectivity, education, health institutions, as well as social services. However, the international community should follow suit and provide consolidated support.

Indeed, Somalia has come a long way. After two decades, Somalia is slowly coming out of the instability, and violence, which had put its existence as a state into question. After more than 20 years of conflict and crisis, a transitional federal government has been formed and it is welcomed by the international community and by its neighbors.

For the first time in over two decades, the country has witnessed a long period of cooperation among the leadership and the two key arms of government, the executive and the legislative, resulting in the concerted efforts to reach endorsement by the international community of a New Deal Compact for Somalia.

It has embarked on a challenging but optimistic path to a constitutional democracy. These political and security gains of Somalia could only be more successful if there is greater support to the Federal Government of Somalia as well as the regional states and administrations to provide the much needed social services to the populations in those areas recently recovered from Al-Shabaab.

That is the reason the members of the Security Council commended the federal government of Somalia for the political progress made in Somalia in the last four years, in particular the agreement on a model for the electoral process planned for August 2016, which should be a stepping stone to one-person, one-vote elections in 2020. They commended the federal government’s commitment to reserve 30 per cent of seats in the upper and lower houses of parliament for women.

There is still a lot to be done with arranging for the necessary14, 025 elders to elect 275 parliamentarians at a number of different places after September 24 and before October 10.

Each of the 275 MPs in the Lower House, 30% of whom must be female, will be elected by a college of 51 electors. The 14,025 voters (51 x 275) will be selected by 135 traditional leaders from across Somalia.

The regional leaders of Puntland, Jubaland, Southwest and Galmudug states and the Somaliland representative in Mogadishu, have to nominate the 54 members for the Upper house by October 25, followed by the presidential election on October 30.

Moreover, last week, the UN also called on Somalia to do more to protect the freedom of the press and expression.

A report drawn up by the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and the UN Human Rights Council, welcomed the adoption in January this year of a new federal media law, which guaranteed a number of freedoms, including the right to inform", but it also expressed concern over the law's unclear terminology, which allowed for "subjective interpretation and undue restrictions to freedom of expression".

The report noted Somalia's "vibrant media culture," with more than 90 media outlets and scores of websites and blogs but also underlined the numerous attacks aimed at journalists and political leaders, including killing, physical attack, arbitrary arrest and detention, intimidation, harassment, closure of media outlets, confiscation of equipment and blocking of websites. It noted the dangers facing media workers and public figures.

As the IGAD summit noted Somalian paid big sacrifice to extricate themselves from years of suffering and adversity. The support of Ethiopia and neighboring countries will be maintained and consolidated.

However, the international community and Somali Diasporas and other stakeholders must strengthen their role towards helping Somalia open a new chapter in its history and consolidate its peace.