Mogadishu, Dec 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) Somalia and international partners have wrapped up a high-level meeting by vowing to improve security and the rule of law for the long-term future of the country.
Prime Minister Mohamed H. Roble on Tuesday said: "Effective governance of the security sector is not only crucial for stability, but also for the long-term consolidation of democratization and sustainable economic and social development".
"This is the goal of the Federal Government of Somalia. This is the aspiration of the Somali people," Roble said, according to a joint statement issued on Wednesday.
He reaffirmed the government's commitment to degrade al-Shabab and disrupt their finance, movement and capabilities, Xinhua reported.
The meeting of the security and justice committee, which brought together top officials from the country's government and federal member states, the United Nations, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and other international partners, stressed the need for non-military efforts to counter al-Shabab, including tackling its access to illicit finance and weapons.
Participants welcomed the progress made thus far in securing locations in Lower Shabelle and called for greater joint, inclusive, and integrated planning for subsequent operations between rule of law, stabilization and security stakeholders.
The committee also welcomed the progress made to date on Somalia's ongoing revision of the Somali Transition Plan (STP), a guiding strategic document for transferring security responsibilities from AMISOM to the Somali Security Forces.
International partners also noted the importance of political commitment and coordination by government and federal member state leaders.
James Swan, the UN Secretary-General's special representative for Somalia, stressed the need for strong coordination and support among all involved.
"It is important, if we are to achieve gains in security, that we take a comprehensive approach and collective action. Comprehensive in the sense that it is not just military, but its police, its rule of law and justice, its stabilization - both short-term and longer-term - and it is preventing and countering violent extremism and, over time, it is about state-building as well," Swan said.
The UN envoy also called for observance of accountability in the delivery of support by all the parties involved in Somalia's security and justice sectors.
Participants noted the agreement reached on the electoral model for the upcoming federal elections, and encouraged further progress on agreeing and implementing an effective electoral security plan as soon as possible to ensure timely elections.
They also called for greater joint, inclusive, and integrated planning for subsequent operations between rule of law, stabilization and security stakeholders.
It was agreed that a Force Generation Conference would be held by the end of next January to consider military, federal police and state police services and resources required, including agreed approaches to developing counter-improvised explosive devices and logistics capabilities.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz