Friday, September 19, 2014
United Nations Deputy Special Representative to Somalia Fatiha Serour praised the reconciliation conference in Kismayo as an important step toward establishing a functioning federal Somalia
"The people and leaders of the Interim Jubba Administration (IJA) clearly desire peace, and this reconciliation process is a manifestation of those wishes," Serour said at the opening ceremony Tuesday (September 16th). "I urge participants to create an environment that allows the conference to develop resolutions that are inclusive of all stakeholders -- particularly women, youth and elders, regardless of social or economic status -- and contribute to Somalia's wider peace- and state-building processes."
Meanwhile, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) special envoy to Somalia Mohammed Abdi Affey, who is attending the conference, said the successful creation of a Jubbaland state would be a model for other proposed regional states being formed in the country.
"It is the people of Jubbaland that want to create a state, and as IGAD we congratulate the people for embracing peace and solidifying Jubbaland," he told Sabahi.
Affey dismissed claims that Kenya wants to create a Jubbaland state as a buffer zone against al-Shabaab militants, saying such claims are misconceptions fronted by people who do not want peace in Somalia.