African Press Organization
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, November 13, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Military Operations Coordination Committee on Somalia convened, yesterday, its 7th meeting, to review progress made by the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The meeting discussed operational issues which are critical to the success of the efforts being made on the ground, as well as modalities for expediting support to the establishment of an effective Somali Defense and Security Sector that would enable the Somalis to ensure the security of their country.
The meeting took place against the background of continued progress both at political level, with the end of the transition, and at military and security level, with the continued expansion of areas under the control of the Somali Forces and AMISOM.
The meeting was chaired by the Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra, and attended by the Chiefs of Defense Staff of the Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to AMISOM, as well as the Chiefs of Defense Staff of Ethiopia and Somalia. Ms. Ameerah Haq, the Under Secretary-General in charge of the United Nations Department of Field Support, also participated the meeting, to discuss important issues regarding the United Nations Support to AMISOM.
The Commissioner for Peace and Security avails himself of the opportunity to pay, on behalf of the Commission, a tribute to the outgoing Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, and to introduce to the participants the newly-appointed Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission, Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif.
The MOCC is an organ provided for under the Strategic Concept for the enhancement of AMISOM, adopted by the AU Peace and Security Council in January 2012, and subsequently endorsed by the UN Security Council in February 2012, as an advisory body assisting the AU Commission in the establishment of an effective command and control architecture at the strategic level. It is composed of the Chiefs of Defense Staff of the TCCs and other interested countries, and chaired by the Commissioner for Peace and Security. The other key organ at the strategic level is the Joint Coordination Mechanism (JCM), comprising the Ministers of Defense. The MOCC held its inaugural meeting in Addis Ababa, on 9 March 2012.