IGAD summit endorses Guelleh plan

At a summit that closed on Friday, Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan endorsed a proposal by President Ismael Omar Guelleh for a new approach to the conflict in Somalia. Three member states of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) failed to attend the summit: Eritrea, Uganda and Somalia. Eritrea refused to attend, claiming Djibouti backs Ethiopia in their conflict, while the semi-official 'New Vision' reported that Uganda's unpaid dues to the sub-regional grouping would have disqualified it from speaking. Somalia's seat at IGAD has been vacant since the collapse of 1991. According to AFP, Guelleh said neither Eritrea nor Uganda had offered a "convincing reason" for not taking part. The summit called for a "bottom-up approach in which the role of warlords is contained and that of Civil Society is enhanced." The summit's declaration welcomed moves by "Somaliland", "Puntland" and "the region of Bay and Bakool" to promote peace in their regions. Guelleh's proposals for Somalia were presented at the UN General Assembly in September. Diplomatic sources told IRIN the IGAD Standing Committee on Somalia, chaired by Ethiopia will meet in Nairobi on December 15 to decide an implementation plan. Full IGAD statements