Thursday June 22, 2023
Catriona Laing, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, briefs the Security Council. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
New York (HOL) - Somalia, facing escalating threats of terrorism, violence, climate shocks, and a deepening food crisis, is at risk of reversing hard-earned progress, UN officials warned on Thursday. The gravity of the situation requires urgent additional international assistance, they stressed.
"I urge all international partners to provide additional support to the people," stated Catriona Laing, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia. She noted that violence is on the rise in Las Anod, the capital of the Sool region, a territory disputed between "Somaliland" and Puntland. She cited the UN Secretary-General's latest report, "There have been 308 civilian casualties so far, with 36 people killed and 272 injured."
Adding to the stark warnings, Cindy McCain, the World Food Programme Executive Director (WFP), spoke on the destructive impact of violence and instability on food production and distribution infrastructure. "We are in danger of losing the precious gains we have made since those dark days last year," McCain warned, referring to when the international community pulled Somalia back from the brink of famine in 2022.
"The humanitarian situation remains precarious," Laing continued, citing the displacement of 430,000 people by violence and the plight of 580,000 people living under the control of non-State armed actors since the start of the year. The officials also underscored escalating climate shocks and the insufficient representation of women in political, peace, and security fields.
A grave food insecurity crisis looms over the nation, with a third of its population anticipated to face critical levels of hunger. McCain revealed, "Without an immediate cash injection, we will have to cut distribution lists again in July to just 1.8 million per month." The WFP's assistance programmes have been severely strained by underfunding, forcing the agency to cut back on its life-saving initiatives, she explained.
Despite the mounting threats, Laing highlighted Somalia's resilience and progress in advancing key national priorities and in the fight against terrorism. Yet, she cautioned that Al Shabaab remains a significant threat, pointing to the recent deadly incident at the Pearl Beach Hotel and a sharp rise in improvised explosive device attacks since 2017.
In a call for collective action, McCain urged, "We all have to work together to find political solutions. This is what the exhausted people of Somalia want and need, above all."