“We will not let these cowardly acts unravel the remarkable progress of the past ten months,” the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, said through a statement released by the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS).

UNPOS, the statement states, “condemns the terror attacks that have occurred in Somalia during the first half of February” including the killing of a popular Islamic scholar and a bombing of a Mogadishu beach.

Through the statement, Mr. Mahiga offered his extends his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wished the injured a quick recovery.

The high-profile attacks include the assassination of a leading Somali Islamic scholar, Sheikh Abdiqadir “Ga’amey” Nur Farah, in Garowe. Mr. Nun Farah was reported killed while praying in a mosque.

His killing follows a suicide attack in the central town of Galkayo targeting top police officials in the Somali state of Puntland.

During the same period there have been terror attacks in other regions of South Central Somalia, including a car bomb attack at Mogadishu’s Lido beach restaurant on 16 February, and the killing of a Shibis District intelligence chief in the capital’s Nasib Buundo neighbourhood.

In today’s statement, Mr. Mahiga calls on Somalis “to strengthen their resolve to resist terrorism by working with the authorities to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice.”

He also reiterated that UNPOS is committed to supporting security in Somali through its Government.

Somalia marked a historic political watershed last August when it swore-in the first formal parliament and ended a so-called “transition” phase which had begun with the 2004 launch of a UN-backed interim government. The previous functioning government ended in 1991 with the overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

The improvements in security and political situations are allowing the UNPOS to relocate more of its operations to Mogadishu over the next six to 12 months, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, told the Security Council last week.

“The change met the expectations of most Somalis and has raised higher expectations for more change,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), Augustine P. Mahiga, told a Security Council meeting on Somalia.

The war-torn Horn of Africa nation now has a new Constitution, a new Parliament and new elected Speaker and President. Earlier this month, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appointed Abdi Farah Shirdon as the new Prime Minister. Once confirmed, Shirdon will form the country’s first post-transition Government.

Briefing the 15-member body via video-conference, Mr. Mahiga added that the Somali authorities now urgently need assistance to meet new challenges. Among the priority tasks facing the new administration is to move quickly to lead in the stabilization of the liberated areas.

“This is critical in filling the vacuum which could otherwise emerge from the retreat of the insurgents,” the envoy said. “The immediate challenge which the Government faces is, hence, the establishment of local and district administrations, justice and rule of law, as well as to provide basic services to the population.”

He noted that the security situation in Somalia has “vastly improved,” thanks to the continuing efforts of the UN-supported African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the Ethiopian forces and the Somali Government and its local allied forces.

“The fall of Kismayo, the last stronghold of the extremist Al-Shabaab insurgents, in late September, marked a decisive turning-point in the conflict,” he stated, referring to the southern port city that was liberated by AMISOM. “The challenge now is to align the security and political strategies in Kismayo as part of the overall stabilization strategy in the newly-recovered areas.”

Although the Al-Shabaab has now dispersed into a “rag-tag militia,” it has nonetheless, embarked on more asymmetrical, terrorist and hit-and-run tactics as it occasionally does in Mogadishu, said the UN official.

“These are tactics which AMISOM and the Somali forces must be equipped to deal with, as they control more territory and their lines of supply get extended. Another worrying trend is the ongoing assassinations and targeted killings of civilians,” Mahiga said. “These trends call for the expeditious deployment of AMISOM to its full strength, with the necessary logistical support and the enhanced training and strengthening of the Somali Security Forces.”

It is also essential that AMISOM – the current mandate for which expires on 31 October – is supported to control more effectively the coastal waters around Mogadishu, Marka, Baraawe and Kismayo, in order to protect its own forces, supply lines, interrupt Al-Shabaab re-supply lines and effectively secure the ports for commercial use, Mahiga added.

The African Union (AU) has informed the Council that, working together with the UN, it intends to undertake a thorough assessment of AMISOM and how best it can contribute to the stabilization of Somalia in light of the gains made on the ground and the challenges ahead. This process is expected to start in the next few weeks and to be concluded in the coming months.

In the meantime, the AU has requested that the Council authorize a technical rollover of the current support package for AMISOM for four additional months, until February 2013, with some slight adjustments “to take into account pressing issues on the ground,” according to a letter before the Council.

This includes requests for the deployment of an additional 50 civilian personnel across the Mission area, as well as a maritime component, taking into consideration “the critical role of naval assets for the effective implementation of the AMISOM mandate and the stabilization of Somalia.”

Mahiga said that UNPOS had begun a consultative process to review the future presence of the UN in Somalia, and that this would be led by the needs and expectations of the Somalis. He added that the political and security strides that Somalia has made must not distract the international community from the ongoing dire humanitarian situation, in which more than two million Somalis remain in urgent need of food aid and other assistance.

Funding is drying up, less than one year after famine raged and despite negative humanitarian indicators, he noted. “I urge the international partners to sustain and expand their assistance to Somalia, to prevent it from sliding back into famine and misery,” he said.

“After two decades of civil war, a collapsed state and innumerable indignities to the proud Somali people, we are hours away from the election of a new president – the event that will completely end the transitional period and move us towards a phase of political and socio-economic transformation,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine P. Mahiga, said in an open letter to the country’s parliamentarians.

Mahiga, who also heads the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), called on the parliamentarians to choose the candidate who will be “honest and effective in leading the country with a vision appropriate for the next four years of transformation and peace-building.”

After decades of warfare, Somalia has been undergoing a peace and national reconciliation process, with the country’s transitional governing arrangements coming to an end with the implementation of the so-called Roadmap for the End of Transition.

The 10 September election will mark the culmination of a series of landmark events in recent weeks, including the adoption of Somalia’s provisional constitution, the inaugural meeting of its new parliament – which Mahiga described as the “most qualified and representative” in the country’s history – and the appointment of that body’s speaker.

“It has not been easy getting us to this point,” noted Mahiga. “In addition to the privations you have all endured during these past difficult years, the political process and the security situation has not been easy. There have been moments when all seemed lost and we have sometimes been on the brink of despair.

“Nevertheless, somehow, the courage, tenacity and determination of the Somali people has overcome these formidable obstacles and brought us to where we are now.”

He urged them to listen to the presidential candidates as they publicly present their visions, and to make their choice accordingly, adding that all Somalis, the region and the rest of the international community are watching during these remaining few days.

“My brothers and sisters, it is all up to you,” he added. “You are the highest sovereign authority in the land. You are the custodians of the future which is now in your hands.”

Although the motives for his killing remains unclear, Abdi Jeylani Malaq ‘Marshale’ had produced and broadcast satirical programs for the Somali Radio Kulmiye and Universal TV, and had previously received death threats from al-Shabab, the Islamist armed group fighting against Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government.

He is the eighth person working in the media to be killed in a targeted attack in Somalia since December 2011. Several journalists have also narrowly escaped assassination attempts this year.

“Amnesty International is shocked not only by the continuing pattern of targeted attacks against media workers, but also at the inaction of the Somali authorities to protect them and to investigate these attacks seriously,” said Bénédicte Goderiaux, Somalia researcher at Amnesty International.

“Not a single person has been brought to justice for the killings of journalists in Somalia this year, nor in previous years. The Somali authorities must conduct thorough investigations into the killings, ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice in fair trials and address the widespread impunity which exists in Somalia.

“The international community should step up efforts to help re-establish the rule of law and ensure accountability for the numerous crimes under international law committed in Somalia.”

Meanwhile, a draft Provisional Constitution for Somalia was today approved by the National Constituent Assembly in Mogadishu – one of the steps agreed between the Somali transitional authorities and the international community to end the transitional period in the country.

Amnesty International urges the current and future Somali authorities to take all the steps necessary to make the right to life and the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press a reality – rights guaranteed in the Provisional Constitution.

“There are currently no mechanisms in place for media workers in Somalia to report threats and to get advice on improving their safety,” said Goderiaux.

“Somali media workers, who continue to risk their lives, should be fully consulted by the Somali authorities and the international community over ways to improve their protection.”

The United Nations envoy for Somalia has strongly condemned the killing of prominent Somali comedian and media worker Abdi Malaq Jeylani, and called on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“Almost every month we mourn a victim in the Somali media world. This is simply unacceptable,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Augustine Mahiga, said in a news release.

“I call again on the Somali authorities to take immediate action and do all that is necessary to conduct a full and independent investigation into this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice,” added Mahiga, who also heads the UN Political Office in Somalia (UNPOS).

The Special Representative noted that, despite promises, there has been “little to minimum progress” on the investigations of crimes against media professionals. “I call again on the relevant authorities to protect the journalists in the country and safeguard their work. UNPOS stands ready to assist towards this end,” he said. “The cycle of impunity must end.”

Yesterday, lawmakers in the Horn of Africa nation adopted the Provisional National Constitution, completing an important milestone towards ending the current transitional period that is scheduled to conclude on 20 August.

The provisional constitution “clearly stipulates the right to freedom of expression and opinions, including freedom of speech and freedom of the media in all forms,” UNPOS pointed out.

In addition, the Transitional Federal Government held a constitutional conference in May on freedom of expression, during which Somali leaders expressed their uncompromising support to media freedom and raised the need to enhance the judicial system.

After decades of warfare, Somalia has been undergoing a peace and national reconciliation process, with the country’s Transitional Federal Institutions currently implementing the so-called Roadmap for the End of Transition in Somalia, devised in September last year, that spells out priority measures to be carried out before the country’s transitional governing arrangements end in 18 days’ time.

“The signature of the action plan will be critical for the professionalization of the security forces, and will contribute positively to the ongoing stabilisation of Somalia,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), Augustine Mahiga, said in a news release.

The action plan, signed at a meeting of the International Contact Group on Somalia, taking place in the Italian capital of Rome, outlines concrete steps to be taken by the Government to ensure a child-free national army. The ICG is composed of representatives of the United Nations and its diplomatic partners in support of efforts to restore peace and stability in Somalia.

“I strongly urge the governments present here at the ICG to come forward and provide the necessary funding for the release and reintegration of these children,” Mahiga said.

According to UNPOS, the plan was signed by the Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia, Mr. Hussein Arab Isse, and, on behalf of the UN, by Mahiga. The Somali minister also committed to sign an action plan to protect children from being killed or maimed, and this second action plan will be signed later this month in Mogadishu, Somalia.

In the plan, the Somali Government commits to end and prevent recruitment of children in Somalia’s National Armed Forces; reintegrate all children released from the armed forces with the support of the UN; criminalize the recruitment of children through national legislation; and provide the UN with unimpeded access to military installation to verify the presence of children.

Since 2007, the Transitional Federal Government has been listed on the UN Secretary-General’s list of parties to conflict who recruit and use children. Full compliance with the action plan will result in the Government being removed from the list.

“I am encouraged to hear that the Government has committed to sign a similar agreement to end the killing and maiming of children,” said the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy. “Somalia must now sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols.”

After decades of warfare, Somalia has been undergoing a peace and national reconciliation process, with the country’s Transitional Federal Institutions currently implementing the so-called Roadmap for the End of Transition in Somalia, devised in September last year, that spells out priority measures to be carried out before the current transitional governing arrangements end on 20 August.