UNOSOM objectives affirmed, despite continuing violence.

As violent clashes involving UN peace-keepers patrolling Mogadishu neighbourhoods escalated, the Security Council on 22 September affirmed the importance of successfully fulfilling the objectives of the UN operation in Somalia (UNOSOM II), so that its operation could be completed by March i995.

In unanimously adopting resolution 856 (1993), the Council enumerated UNOSOM'S objectives: the "facilitation of humanitarian assistance and the restoration of law and order, and of national reconciliation in a free, democratic and sovereign Somalia".

UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali was urged to redouble his efforts to continue the process of national reconciliation and political settlement, and to help the Somali people in rehabilitating their institutions and economy. He was to provide a detailed plan setting out UNOSOM II's future strategy regarding its humanitarian, political and security activities.

Attacks on UNOSOM II personnel were condemned, and those ordering such "criminal acts" would be held individually responsible, the Council stressed.

The Secretary-General, his Special Representative for Somalia - Admiral Jonathan Howe of the United States - and all UNOSOM II personnel were commended for "their achievements in greatly improving the conditions of the Somali people", in particular eradicating starvation, establishing district councils, opening schools and helping in the resumption of normal life in most areas of the country.

The Council stressed the importance of continuing the peace process initiated by the Addis Ababa Agreement signed by Somali faction leaders on 27 March.

It also approved the Secretary-General's recommendations on reestablishing the Somali police, judicial and penal systems, and welcomed the proposal to convene a meeting of Member States interested in supporting UNOSOM II in accomplishing its task.

In Council debate, speakers voiced support for the continuing efforts of UNOSOM to reconstruct Somalia's institutions and economy, despite the violence in Mogadishu.

The United States said resolution 865 did "two crucial things": it set out in clear, unambiguous terms that the UN's principal goal in Somalia was to bring about political reconciliation in the country; and it lent support to the basic building-blocks of new political institutions - a police, judiciary and penal system.

The Russian Federation said the Mission's highest priority task was to support the Somali people in carrying out the process of national reconciliation, and to advance the restoration of regional and national institutions and civilian administration throughout the country.

Djibouti, a neighbouring State, said: "Little of lasting substance will be achieved unless the threat of violence is removed". Rapid disarmament should remain a priority. "A nation, a non-State", was being resurrected and the UN must "leave no stone unturned to complete its mission".

Deviating from goals?

Concerns over the direction taken by UNOSOM II were addressed by the Secretary-General in a 17 August report (S/26317). He said he was "conscious of the feeling in some quarters that UNOSOM is deviating from its primary task of ensuring the safe distribution of humanitarian assistance" and was "concentrating disproportionate efforts and resources in military operations".

While some of that criticism was "motivated by good intentions", the Secretary-General said, effective disarmament of all factions and warlords was essential. Unless disarmament is fully implemented, it would not be reasonable to expect UNOSOM to fulfil other aspects of its mandate", he stated.

Support for the UN effort and the need for disarmament in Somalia had been voiced by the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Horn of Africa Standing Committee, as well as by the Secretaries-General of the League of Arab States and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs James 0. C. Jonah, at a 16 July press briefing in New York, said that if the UN showed a "weakening of nerve" in response to attacks on UNOSOM forces by the faction of General Mohamed Farah Aidid, head of the Somali National Alliance (SNA), it could affect other warlords who had waited for UN reaction and, ultimately, the situation would "return to chaos".

On 21 July, Under-Secretary-General for Peace-keeping Operations Kofi A. Annan stated that the fighting between UNOSOM II forces and members of Gen. Aidid's faction did not mean that UNOSOM had "detracted from its original mandate and become a military operation". The existence of a secure environment "is a sine qua non for the achievement of the humanitarian and political objectives of the mandate of UNOSOM II", he said.

A lot of people have looked at what we're doing in Mogadishu and lost sight of what we're doing in Somalia", Special Representative Howe said on 16 September. The UN was working on a two-year recovery plan for Somalia, he said, based on the Addis Ababa Agreement.

Continuing skirmishes between UN peace-keeping forces and Gen. Aidid's faction had resulted in numerous deaths among UNOSOM II members, Somali gunmen and civilians. As of the end of September, more than 60 UNOSOM II soldiers had been killed.

On 1 July, the Secretary-General reported (S/26022) on the 5 June attacks and subsequent UNOSOM II action. Violence occurred mostly in the southern part of Mogadishu where Aidid forces were strong, it was stated. Other incidents included the 12 July killing of four journalists by a Somali mob; the 8 August explosion that killed four American soldiers; and the 5 September killing of seven Nigerian soldiers. Elsewhere in Somalia, the UN reported significant achievements in ending the country's famine and promoting peace and the reconstruction of Somali society.

The current cycle of violence in Mogadishu started with the 5 June ambush of Pakistani soldiers at weapons storage sites and a feeding station. As a result, some 25 died and there were at least 57 more casualties. it is considered the deadliest single attack ever suffered in recent times by a UN peace-keeping force.

UNOSOM II troops subsequently launched a widespread effort to disarm Somalis, restore security in the city, and ultimately detain Gen. Aidid, accused of orchestrating the killings and other attacks against UN peacekeepers.

Special Representative Howe said on 16 September that the UN was being "challenged and its mandate was being obstructed daily and in every way" by the Aidid militia, known as the United Somali Congress/Somali National Alliance (USC/SNA). UNOSOM II tried to minimize civilian casualties in every undertaking, but they could not be avoided when civilians were mixed in with the attackers.

Gen. Aidid's authorization of the 5 June attack on Pakistani peacekeepers was "supported by clear and convincing evidence", an independent UN investigation of the incident concluded (S/26351).

On 24 August, Professor Tom Farer of the American University in Washington, D.C., United States, who conducted the investigation as an independent expert, reported that "a large and complex body of evidence" supported the conclusion that Gen. Aidid had not only the means, motive and opportunity to perpetrate such a crime, but that "he had that trinity uniquely".

The attacks occurred in a sector of Mogadishu that SNA had long dominated. Also, one of Gen. Aidid's closest associates on 4 June had threatened that UNOSOM II's planned inspections of designated weapons sites would lead to "war", the report stated.

Command and

control debate

A "serious and sensitive problem" regarding command and control over UN peace and security operations had arisen in UNOSOM II, the Secretary-General reported on 17 August (S/26317).

The actions of some contingent commanders had had the effect of "weakening the integrity of UNOSOM's military command structure", perhaps owing to the particularly complex and dangerous conditions under which the Mission was operating, the Secretary-General said. He referred mainly to difference between the commanders of the Italian contingent in Mogadishu and of UNOSOM II, regarding military operations in the city.

Those difficulties were settled after clarification at the political and operational levels, the Secretary-General reported. Italy had asked that its Mogadishu units be redeployed elsewhere in Somalia, and that request had been accepted.

While reinforcement of UNOSOM II military units had "not been as rapid as planned", the Secretary-General went on, the force was progressively being built up to the authorized level of 28,000.

Its strength in mid-August was a little over 20,000 troops and other personnel from 27 countries. In addition, a United States Quick Reaction, was deployed in support of UNOSOM, but was not part of the UN force.

The inability of some countries to provide troops within the scheduled time-frame had delayed extending UNOSOM activities throughout Somalia and emboldened those who wished to undermine UN efforts, the Secretary-General said.

Disarmament efforts

The Secretary-General's report also detailed UNOSOM II activities up to 31 July.

"Disarmament is indispensable for the establishment of peace and stability in Somalia", he said. It had been mandated by the Security Council and agreed upon by leaders of Somali political factions in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January and March.

Disarmament efforts were "aimed primarily at the militias which had intimidated and terrorized Somali society, and their heavy weapons". If some factions refused to disarm voluntarily, "UNOSOM is left with no choice but to disarm them through compulsion", he stated.

There was ample evidence of an "overabundance of heavy, medium and light weapons" in southern Mogadishu. UNOSOM had to maintain a forceful disarmament programme there "as long as resistance continues".

Elsewhere in Somalia, the Secretary-General reported progress in disarmament: a cooperative process was being followed in the north-east and gradually in the central regions; and voluntary disarmament had been agreed upon in the north-west and was being negotiated in the Lower Juba in the south.

Over a period of eight months, up to the end of July, the Unified Task Force (UNITAF) and UNOSOM had removed and destroyed hundreds of tons of weapons and ammunition, her reported.

Police, courts

district councils

UNOSOM continued to support the Somali police force in its current area of operations and had assisted in the north-east and north-west as well, the Secretary-General said. He called for expansion of the 5,000-person police force and stated that by 31 October an interim three-tier judicial system would be in place and the 1962 Criminal Procedure and Penal Codes would be enforced.

UNOSOM would also establish an Office of Human Rights, to investigate and facilitate prosecution of serious violations of international humanitarian law and to help establish a local Somali human rights committee.

A team of international specialists was to investigate, in cooperation with the Somali police, human rights violations committed against the Somali people, as well as against international assistance workers.

On 27 September, the Justice Division of UNOSOM II certified the reopening of Somali courts at Mogadishu's Central Prison building. Pending reconstruction of court buildings in Somalia, cases were to be heard in the Central Prison. There were 480 cases awaiting hearings.

A new Judiciary Re-establishment Council, comprised entirely of Somalis, would select judges and monitor re-establishment of the courts. A Court of Appeals, a Regional Court in Mogadishu and four district courts had also been established.

The Secretary-General said that efforts to promote political reconciliation in Somalia continued to be based on implementing the Addis Ababa Agreement, which called, among other things, for establishment of district and regional councils, an a 74-member Transitional National Council to act as the prime Political authority in Somalia during a two-year transitional period ending on 27 March 1995. By the end of July, district councils were working in 21 of 92 districts in Somalia.

Regional peace conferences were held in the southern, central and north-west parts of Somalia. A peace conference in the southern port City of Kismayo, a heavily conflict-ridden area, resulted in the signing of the Jubaland peace agreement on 6 August. The signatories committed themselves to end all hostilities among the more than 20 clans that inhabit that Somali region.

Five goals

Despite UNOSOM's many achievements, much remained to be done to breathe life back into Somalia's economy.

The Secretary-General cited (S/26317) five areas requiring urgent action to set the stage for longer-term development on a sustainable basis:

* emergency relief operations, to placate "pockets of immense suffering and deprivation"

* resettlement of an estimated 1.3 million Somalis - about one-fifth of the total population of 6 million:

* reinvigoration of the productive sector, in particular agriculture, livestock and fisheries;

* resuscitation of commerce and trade: and

* revitalization of social services, such as health centres and schools. which had been shut down for a number of years.

On 21 July, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Eliasson voiced his concern about the "disappointingly low" amount of funding available for Somalia relief efforts.

At a meeting of the Economic and Social Council in Geneva, he said that less than 15 per cent of the $166 million needed for the 1993 Relief and Rehabilitation Programme had been received, while some $1.5 billion would be spent on military operations over the year.

The "vicious attacks" on UNOSOM II peace-keepers could not be disregarded, but if humanitarian and were not sufficiently funded, the military operation might be perceived as an end in itself, rather than as a means of ensuring security for rehabilitation.

Several UN bodies reported on programmes to aid UNOSOM's humanitarian and reconstruction efforts.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) assisted in irrigation projects. school rehabilitation and training former militia in employable skills. UNDP also operated the Mogadishu water supply system.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) conducted a drive to bring measles vaccine to hundreds of thousands of Somali children. Some 650,000 children were vaccinated between September 1992 and July 1993. UNICEF operated 20 hospitals and move than 200 health centres and health posts. in the country, either directly or through non-governmental organizations.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 10 August opened an educational development centre in Mogadishu, which had produced a complete set of textbooks for primary school students in Somalia. It was the first of seven such centres UNESCO planned to open before the end of 1994.

A major achievement of UN efforts in Somalia was the halt to the flow of refugees into neighbouring countries, it was reported by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata.

Other developments

A Working Group, established by UNOSOM II and the World Bank to deal with a framework for the 1994-1996 rehabilitation programme for Somalia completed its first week of work in Washington. D.C., it was announced on 17 September.

On 7 September, the Charge d'Affaires of Somalia's Permanent Mission to the UN conveyed her views (S/26412). UNOSOM had been "successful thus far", she said, as inter-clan warfare had almost stopped, deaths due to starvation had come down to almost none, and the "violence in the triangle between Kismayo, Bardera and Mogadishu that was largely responsible for the starvation and wanton death is now limited to a Pocket in the south of Mogadishu". She condemned "acts of brutality" that had led to the death and injury of UN peace-keepers.

At a meeting of Intergovernmental Authority on Drought Development. the Heads of State of the countries of the Horn of Africa, while applauding the "positive achievements" of the UN in Somalia, stressed that "caution is required in handling the current very complicated political situation", Eritrea reported (S/26481) on 17 September. Humanitarian interventions had been marred by escalating military conflict, it said.

UN integrated

office in

Eritrea created

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali signed an agreement with Eritrean President Issaias Afwerki on 30 September to establish a UN Integrated Office in Asmara. The Office will facilitate inter-agency coordination for the country's post-conflict nation-building process. This also reflected the Secretary-General's continuing efforts to pursue a unified UN presence to meet urgent requirements of newly-independent countries and States in transition. Eritrea became independent on 24 May 1993 after a referendum monitored by the UN.

A Pledging Conference for Eritrea was held in Geneva on 6 July, seeking $111 million for the rehabilitation of resettlement areas for some half a million refugees who were in Sudan.