IRIN Interview with David Stephen, the UN Secretary-General’s Representative

David Stephen, special representative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, has been an active observer of the Djibouti-hosted Somali peace process since February, when practical preparations were first made to hold the peace talks in Arta, some 30 km south of Djibouti city. When Somali President Abdiqassim Salad Hassan was inaugurated on 27 August, Stephen delivered a special message from the UN Secretary-General - who warned that the task of rebuilding the nation was “formidable”. Stephen told IRIN he sees the latest developments as an important step forward. QUESTION: What have the Djibouti-hosted peace talks achieved? ANSWER: I think the events of last week are an important step forward in the Somali peace process. It is a qualitative and quantitative step forward in the process of reconstructing a framework of governance. It vindicates the faith of Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh and the good sense of the Somali people. It belies those who say Somalis only fight and dispute. But as the UN Secretary General said in his message to the conference, the challenges are formidable - they are developmental, humanitarian and political. On a developmental and humanitarian level, this is a country whose infrastructure has been destroyed and whose people are mainly subsisting. Many are malnourished and suffering from disease and epidemics. Politically, there are those who remain outside the process. But, every development in this process has brought greater confidence and brought in more Somali people - and this is the case now. The high level of endorsement from IGAD (Inter-governmental Authority on Development) member states is also giving great encouragement to the process. Q: Why was it so important to have regional heads of state present at the inauguration? A: Because the international community will take its cue from the region, represented by the OAU, and the sub-region, represented by IGAD. The international community will react on how these organisations and heads of state see it and commend it. It was an extremely important gesture by the heads of state, and by the OAU assistant secretary general, on the day of the inauguration. Q: Isn’t it also important because, in it’s present situation, Somalia has invited proxy war? A: I agree. Recent low level hostilities in Somalia have been an invitation for outsiders to become involved, and the restoration of a sovereign government gives a clear signal to the world that Somali people are once again taking their own affairs in hand. Q: Does the international community recognise that it too has abused Somalia in the absence of a central government - like the illegal international fishing fleets and the dumping of industrial waste? A: As the UN Millennium Summit in New York draws near one of the main themes is the role of international law. The international community cannot stand idly by and allow a territory like Somalia to be open to all sorts of international outlaws, including drugs and arms trafficking, and abuses of the environment.