Brussels —The 14th meeting of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Somalia was held under the chairmanship of the UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, 26 – 27 February, at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels to discuss the situation in Somalia.  The meeting was attended by the Somali Foreign Minister representing Somalia as a member. 

The ICG welcomes the progress made since its meeting in New York in December 2008, specifically the creation of an enlarged and more inclusive Parliament, the extension of the transitional period, the election of Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as the President and the appointment of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The ICG acknowledges and supports this new Somali-owned and led peace and reconciliation process

The ICG is pleased with the continued cooperation in support of this process among all partners. It reiterates its willingness to work closely with the new Somali Government. It also welcomes the fact that the Somali transitional institutions invite all Somali stakeholders from inside and outside Somalia to join the reconciliation process. 

The ICG particularly welcomes the relocation of the Government and Parliamentarians to Mogadishu and their commitment to continuing the Djibouti Peace Process. The ICG sees this as an important step towards a functioning administration within Somalia. The ICG welcomes the pledges made to provide continued financial support to the Djibouti Process and to support key transitional institutions. 

The ICG underlines the urgent need to provide tangible and coordinated support to address the agreed linked priorities of political, security, recovery, human rights and institution building issues for the next 100 days and beyond, not least to show clear, tangible benefits to the Somali people and to protect the political and financial investment already made by the international community. The ICG recognizes the importance of demonstrating progress on key tasks.  

The ICG welcomes the commitment made by the Transitional Government of Somalia to introduce effective and accountable governance based on the outlined proposals presented at the meeting. 

The ICG recognizes the need to consolidate and support the new Transitional Government to enable it to deliver minimum security, employment, and basic services.   

The ICG recognizes the need for immediate support for the security sector in line with the Security Sector Framework, and welcomes funding pledged, in particular new and renewed support to AMISOM, the Somali Joint Security Force and the Somali Police Service. The ICG welcomes the commitment of UNDP to continue to act as the implementing agency in the development of an accountable civilian police force with a target of 10,000 civilian police to be achieved by the second quarter of 2010. The ICG recognises however that further funding will be required to follow on from these initial pledges in order to ensure sustainability of the process. 

The ICG condemns in the strongest terms the recent attacks on AMISOM in which 12 Burundian peacekeepers were killed and 17 wounded as well as many civilians.  It appreciates the continued commitment of AMISOM and its troop contributing countries performing under extremely difficult conditions and calls on all Somali parties to support those working to bring peace and stability to the country.  

The ICG calls on all partners to work together to support and strengthen AMISOM. It took note of the establishment of a donor Trust Fund managed by the UN’s Department of Field Support Services as a mechanism to channel donations to AMISOM. 

The ICG also emphasizes the need to establish mechanisms to address past atrocities by Somalis against Somalis as part of the Djibouti Peace Process. It notes that consultations on justice and reconciliation and on ending impunity are already underway. 

The ICG supports the link between political, security and recovery programmes as mutually reinforcing pillars of the strategy that are vital in this new phase for the continuation of the process. The ICG recognizes the important role that the Diaspora can play in the positive development of Somalia and expresses concern about certain elements of the Diaspora that support spoilers to the peace process. 

The ICG welcomes commitments to urgently support quick recovery initiatives, such as job creation, delivery of social services and livelihood activities which would have an immediate impact on the well being of Somalis, the security environment and future stability of Somalia through additional resources. 

The ICG welcomes the undertaking by the Chair to provide regular updates to its members relating to six-month action plans developed in partnership with the Somali Transitional Government. ICG members agree to respond to these priorities as appropriate and in a timely manner.  

The ICG thanks the European Commission for hosting the meeting. The Chair and former Co-Chairs agree to formulate plans for the next ICG meeting and a wider conference and revert to members.

Present

African Union, European Commission, European Union Council Secretariat, Presidency of European Union (Czech Republic),  IGAD, League of Arab States, Organization of Islamic Conference, United Nations, World Bank, Canada, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Yemen.