UN Secretary-General at G-8 Summit on Somalia

In L'Aquila, Italy, the UN Secretary-General addressed the meeting of the Major Economies Forum Leaders, on the margins of the Group of Eight Summit and briefed them about a Security Council meeting.

The Security Council has been holding an open meeting on Somalia, with briefings from Under-Secretaries-General B. Lynn Pascoe, for the Department of Political Affairs, and Susana Malcorra, for the Department of Field Support.

Pascoe stressed to the Council that it is in the interest of the international community to ensure that Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) does not collapse.

He recommended an expression of full support to the TFG as the legitimate authority in Somalia, and the need to honour financial pledges made at April's Brussels Donors Meeting for Somalia. Pascoe also urged the international community to assist in building up the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), with the necessary resources to enable it to continue its support to the Government and people of Somalia. On the issue of piracy, Pascoe said that the Secretary-General has dispatched his Legal Counsel to Kenya to explore possible initiatives for combating piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia.

Under-Secretary-General Malcorra briefed the Council about the systematic progress being made by her department to support AMISOM. She also urged all Member States and regional organizations to deliver on their financial pledges to Somalia.
She said the deployment of international staff in Somalia would be instrumental in the delivery of the required level of support associated with a UN peacekeeping mission. But she warned that such a deployment could only be done based on security conditions on the ground.

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