Ban welcomes deal at Somali conference

New York, Feb 20 (IBNS) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Sunday welcomed the political agreement reached by Somalis at a national constitutional conference, saying the accord "sets out clear steps for ending the transition and putting in place a constitutional order" in the war-scarred, impoverished country.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Ban said the stakeholders who took part in the so-called Garowe II conference, which wrapped up on Friday, deserved credit for reaching the agreement.

"The Secretary-General applauds the spirit of unity and commitment demonstrated by the Roadmap signatories as well as representatives from the areas recently recovered from Al-Shabaab who participated," the statement noted.

Senior members of Somalia´s Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), parliamentary leaders and representatives of self-declared autonomous regions within Somalia all took part in the confe
rence, which was held in Garowe, Puntland.

Augustine Mahiga, the Secretary-General´s Special Representative for Somalia, also participated in the conference, which took place less than a week before the international community gathers in London for a major conference on the way forward for Somalia.

The TFIs are in the process of implementing a roadmap devised in September last year. That roadmap spells out priority measures to be carried out before the current transitional governing arrangements end in August.

Ban said in today´s statement that he particularly welcomed the commitment to include a minimum of 30 per cent women in the Independent Electoral Commission, the Constituent Assembly and the new Federal Parliament.

"The Secretary-General looks forward to full and timely implementation of the commitments made," the statement stressed, adding that the United Nations is ready "to provide comprehensive support for their implementation."