The Statement of the TFP Speaker Hon. Sharif Hassan Sh. Aden
Addressed in the Second world conference of Speakers of Parliament in New York UN on 8 th of September 2005.

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Speakers, ladies and gentlemen.

First of all I would like to send message of coldness on behalf of Somali People to the government and the people of United State of America regarding Katherine Hurricane. We deeply feel the crisis as we face similar crisis when the central government organs collapsed in the beginning of 1991.

Secondly, the delegation of Somalia is gratified and honored to participate in the Second world conference of Speakers of Parliaments. For the people of Somalia, our presence among the distinguished Assembly of Speakers of Parliaments at the United Nations symbolizes Somalia’s return to the community of nations.

The convening of this major Parliamentary Summit is timely, coming as it does five years after the United Nations Millennium Assembly. It gives the speakers of Parliaments a chance to articulate the will of the people our respective parliaments represent. We are happy to listen to the views of other delegations and participate in the deliberations of he Parliamentary Summit on the challenges of the 21 st century.

We welcome the Draft Declaration presented to us and commend the preparatory committee for the clarity and brevity of the Draft.

We fully share the assertions in the report that describe the core institutional and political functions of parliaments, that is:

• Parliament embodies democracy.
• Parliament is the central institution through which the will of the people is expressed, laws are passed and government is held to account.

Our delegation believes a stronger role for parliaments in bridging the democracy gap in international relations will in large part depend on the capacity of national parliaments to perform their functions.

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Speakers, ladies and gentlemen.

We wish to share with you current development in Somalia and highlight some of the challenges our Parliament and country face.

On 22 nd August 2004, 275 representatives were sworn as members of a transitional federal parliament. The inauguration ceremony effectively concluded a two-year Somalia National Reconciliation Conference. The inauguration of the Parliament was the first step in the reconstitution of the Somali State. The challenge to the parliament was to perform its immediate constitutional responsibility.

On 15 September 2004, the TFP elected a speaker and two deputy speakers.

• On 10 th of October 2004, the TFP elected the President.
• On January 13, 2005, parliament confirmed the council of Ministers, the executive organ of the state.

In completing these tasks, the Parliament performed its immediate constitutional responsibilities as envisioned in a Transitional Federal Charter.

The Charter adopted as the outcome of the first phase of a National Reconciliation Conference provided a constitutional framework for post-conflict political transition. The principle challenge to Somalia as in other post-conflict states is the completion of the national reconciliation through democratic process. This is more in Somalia that other countries. Unlike other post-conflict states, the basic political institutions in Somalia have totally collapsed, leading to the fragmentation of the country into territorial entities.

In 13 prior efforts, delegates at peace conferences focused on agreeing on a framework for forming a government. All of these efforts failed. They failed not because the participations lacked the will. Some failed because the conference was not broadly represented. Other failed because the solutions that were proposed convinced neither the Somali people nor the international community.

We have gained from these previous setbacks and applied the lessons learned. Unlike previous attempts, the Conference did not focus on forming a government. Instead, the conference and the implementation of its outcome were envisioned as a process of national reconciliation. The conference was structured as successive phase. Each of the phase dealt with a distinct aspect of the reconciliation process in order to progressively build the foundation for a durable solution.

The 14 th Somali conference adopted a Transitional Federal Charter. The Charter will serve as the framework for the completion of the reconciliation process and political transition. The Charter recognized and formally established provisions, which will guide a democratic determination of the Somali State and a fuller participation of the Somali people in the implementation of the transitional process that was possible at the Somali national reconciliation conference, which was organized outside the country.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

The process of reconciliation in Somalia faces momentous task and difficult challenges. All of the Government institutions must be re-established; militia must be disarmed, demobilized and re-integrated into the society. The country’s physical infrastructure must be rehabilitated and modernized. Only then will it be possible to put Somalia on a path to recovery and sustainable peace.

The Transitional Federal Charter intended as an interim constitution envisages continuation of the reconciliation process. The Transitional Federal Parliament is the central institutions for sustaining the process of reconciliation and pioneering the spirit of tolerance and inclusion, which essential to the consolidation of national unity and the country’s economic reconstruction.

Mr. Chairman, esteemed colleagues, 13 previous attempts to restore Somalia has failed. This time, we are determined to make Somalia an African model of reconciliation and peace making. Our success will in large part depend on the capacity and performance of the Somalia’s Transitional Federal Parliament.

The Transitional Federal Parliament was conceived as a central pillar of the process of national reconciliation. As the most representative national political institutions, the Parliament has overall responsibilities for ensuring the transition to final democratic institutions in a manner that responds and reflects the will of our people and complies with the provisions of the Transitional Charter and the rule of law. The charter calls the drafting of a national constitution, the establishment of states, regions and districts as the framework for governance.

We are a new parliament that lacks the resources, the physical infrastructure and institutional memory. How we develop over the next few years of transition will decide the success of our national reconciliation and the future and effectiveness of our democratic institutions.

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished colleagues.

We fully support that the inter-parliamentary Union become the primary vehicle for strengthening parliaments worldwide and collaborate with the United Nations in post-conflict institution building. Our delegation is convinced that partnership between the IPU and the UN can facilitate access of Somalia and other countries recovering from conflict to the accumulated democratic experience and knowledge on building the capacity, effectiveness and accountability of parliaments.

Somalia has learned important lessons from its experience with international peace keeping. We in Somalia will also like an opportunity to rewrite the history of our relations with the United Nations. The rewriting of that history has already started. The United Nations and the UN system as a whole have been and are engaged in all aspects of humanitarian assistance to Somalia. The Secretary-General has appointed a Special Representative to Somalia. In his latest report to the Security Council on the situation of Somalia, the Secretary-General has made important and wise proposals that can significantly contribute to peace and reconciliation in Somalia, without which the country cannot start the process of reconstruction.

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished colleagues.

We urge you to support the efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the United Nations as they assist us address the challenges of reconciliation, peace building and economic reconstruction.

Finally, Mr. Chairman

I wish to acknowledge the support of the European Union member states of IGAD and international community to our national process of reconciliation.