Washington, U.S.A. — The United States congratulates Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud on winning the support of Parliament and becoming Somalia’s new president, and the Somali people for completing this momentous political transition. Their vote represents an important milestone for the people of Somalia, and a crucial step forward along the path of building a representative government.

With leadership comes tremendous responsibility. The United States calls on Somalia’s leaders to usher in a new era of governance that is responsive, representative, and accountable. We encourage President Hassan and all members of Parliament to be inclusive and collaborative, and to build on today’s vote by continuing to strengthen democratic institutions, improving stability and security, and bringing tangible improvements to the lives of Somalia’s citizens.

The United States stands with the people of Somalia during this historic moment, and will continue to be a committed partner moving forward. Their achievement would not have been possible without the contributions of the African Union, United Nations, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and regional stakeholders. While today’s vote marks the end of the transition period, much work remains to be done. The United States calls on the international community to reaffirm its commitment to Somalia, and to help realize a more secure and prosperous future for the Somali people.

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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Jean Ping, welcomes the successful completion of the presidential election in Somalia, which was held in a transparent and fair manner. He congratulates Mr. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on his election as the new President of the Federal Republic of Somalia. He also commends the outgoing President, Sheikh Shariff Ahmed, for having gracefully conceded defeat and for his significant contribution to the peace and reconciliation process in his country.

The Chairperson of the Commission notes that yesterday’s election, following the adoption of a new interim Constitution and the selection of a new Parliament, marks the conclusion of the transition. It therefore ushered in a new chapter in the history of Somalia.

While commending all the Somali stakeholders and people for the maturity and commitment they have displayed over the past few weeks to complete the transition, in difficult circumstances, he urges them to remain steadfast and to continue to be driven by the higher interests of their country, in order to overcome the many challenges that lie ahead. He calls on them to build on the significant results thus achieved and the progress that continues to be made on the ground by the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somali forces to further the peace and reconciliation process.

The Chairperson of the Commission wishes to assure the Somali stakeholders and people of the AU’s continued support in their efforts. In particular, the AU, through AMISOM, will continue to work towards the improvement of the security situation and the extension of State authority, the building of strong and effective Somali security forces and the reconstruction of the country. He acknowledges the critical role that the region, in particular IGAD and the East.

African Community, and the rest of the international community, notably the United Nations, the European Union, the League of Arab States, as well as the United States and other bilateral partners, have played in the results achieved so far. He calls on the AU member states and partners alike to remain actively engaged and to enhance their assistance to Somalia to enable it meet the even more demanding and complex tasks ahead.

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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Dr Jean Ping, welcomes the recent encouraging developments in Somalia. In particular, the Chairperson lauded the grassroots approach to participatory democracy leading to the ongoing selection of members of Parliament through the exemplary and coordinated efforts of the Traditional Elders, the Technical Selection Committee and the International Observers.

Twenty one years after the country fell into conflict, the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) chosen by 135 Traditional Leaders adopted, on 1 August, a new Constitution and on 20 August, a new Federal Parliament was inaugurated, thereby paving the way for ending the Transition, and for opening the first legislature to be formed inside Somalia since 1991. These developments constitute a significant milestone for the people of Somalia.

The security situation across south central Somalia has notably continued to improve, thanks to the multi‐pronged operations being carried out by the Somalia National Security Forces (NSF) and their allies, with the support of AMISOM and the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF).

As Somalia continues on this path of progress, further work needs to be done. The Traditional Elders and the Technical Selection Committee must complete the important and urgent task of vetting and appointing the remaining members of Parliament.

The Chairperson, noting the impending election of the Speaker of Parliament and the Deputies, scheduled for Sunday, 26th August 2012, encouraged Parliament to stand by the timetable and put in place all procedures and committees necessary for a speedy, fair and transparent election culminating in the election of the President of the country.

The African Union remains concerned that the process to end the Transition continues to be jeopardized by individuals determined to maintain Somalia in a state of chaos. As we approach the very last milestones of the roadmap, any attempt to derail this process will be unacceptable. Recalling the joint statements of 1 May 2012 and 9 August 2012 of the AU, IGAD and the UN, issuing a last warning to those undermining the process, the Chairperson underlined the readiness of the African Union, working closely with its partners, to take measures against spoilers.

The Chairperson takes this opportunity to reaffirm the African Union’s commitment to continue supporting the country’s peace and reconciliation process. To this end, the African Union will continue to work closely with IGAD, the UN and other international partners. Equally, the African Union will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Somali people in this last phase of ending the Transition and as they open a new chapter in their long struggle for greater stability.

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Washington, U.S.A. – According to the 2012 Global Peace Index (GPI) have released, the two leading factors making the world more peaceful in 2012, were improvements in the Political Terror Scale and gains in several indicators of militarization arising from austerity-driven defense cuts and improved relations between neighboring states. This reverses two consecutive years where the GPI has shown a decline in global peace. The indicators that witnessed the most deterioration were perceived criminality in society, likelihood of violent demonstration, homicides, violent crime and organized conflict – implying that local civil unrest is replacing conflict between nations.

The U.S. dropped to rank 88th showing that it is being out-competed by countries that are increasing their peace at a faster pace and, in the process, ultimately unlocking trapped efficiencies within their economies. The U.S. has seen its peacefulness increase slightly this year thanks to a reduction in the percentage of its jailed population, however, larger improvements in other countries led the country to slide in the Index. The U.S. continues to under-perform on a number of indicators such as the percentage of its population in jail, the number of deaths from conflict and the number of heavy weapons.

The GPI is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). It gauges ongoing domestic and international conflict, safety and security in society, and militarization in 158 countries by taking into account 23 separate indicators.

“Despite small gains, America’s levels of violence still remain high,” said Steve Killelea, founder and Executive Chairman of IEP, “and comes with an economic price. It’s hard to imagine the nation being free of violence, but a 25% improvement in peace is worth $500 billion dollars to the economy. This is exceedingly important in a time of budget cuts and soaring debts and deficits.”

The IEP calculated that if the world had been completely peaceful, the economic benefit to the global economy would be an estimated U.S. $9 trillion in the past year (equal to the size of the German and Japanese economies combined).

North America is the only region in the world that did not reduce its military expenditures as percentage of GDP over the 1991-2010 period.

All regions apart from the Middle East and North Africa saw an improvement, with Sub-Saharan Africa lifting from the bottom spot for the first time since the GPI was launched in 2007. Through its decline in peacefulness the Middle East and North Africa is now the least peaceful region globally. The drop largely reflects the upheaval and instability driven by the Arab Spring. Indeed, the five indicators that deteriorated the most across the GPI last year were measures of safety and security in society and appear to reflect turbulence that has shaken the Arab world since December 2010. Syria’s descent into civil war caused it to fall by the largest margin, followed by post-revolution Egypt and Tunisia respectively.

“What comes across dramatically in this year’s results and the six year trends is a shift in global priorities. Nations have become externally more peaceful as they compete through economic rather than militarily means. The results for Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole are particularly striking: regional wars have waned as the African Union strives to develop economic and political integration,” said Steve Killelea . “Peacefulness has returned to approximately the levels seen in 2007, but while external measures of peacefulness have improved, there has been a rise in internal conflict. This is particularly noticeable in the rise in fatalities from terrorist acts which have more than tripled since 2003.”

The Asia Pacific region’s overall score improved by the largest extent from last year and included three of the top five risers. For the sixth consecutive year, Western Europe remains markedly the most peaceful region with the majority of countries ranking in the top 20. North America experienced a slight improvement, continuing a trend since 2007. Canada jumped three places in this year’s rankings as a result of fewer casualties among its troops stationed in Afghanistan. Latin America also experienced an overall gain in peacefulness, with 16 of the 23 nations seeing improvements to their GPI scores.

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The African Union (AU) and Somali interim governmental troops took another key town, Afmadow, in the battle against al-Qaeda backed terrorist group al-Shabab on May 31. This victory comes only days after the AU and Somali government managed to take the strategic point of Afgoye the previous Friday. With these two victories Somalia is beginning to turn the tide on the terrorist group living within its borders.

Afmadow is a city in the south of the country, an area deep within the control of al-Shabab. The town has been a prime target for the Kenyan troops who began patrolling the south of Somalia October 2011. According to the African Union commanders, al-Shabab abandoned the city without a fight as the troops approach.

This retreat may be due to al-Shabab’s failure to keep Afgoye earlier. However, the retreat could also be a strategic ploy, since al-Shabab claimed that its previous retreat from Afgoye was intentional. A Somali analyst, Mohammed Abdulahi Hassan, claims that the militants most likely do not have the force to defeat the Kenyan troops.

Although these towns have been taken, al-Shabab still controls a large part of The Republic of Somalia. However, it is losing its hold on essential strongholds and cities, such as Afmadow and Afgoye. Both contain routes that lead to all other regions of the country. Afmadow is only 115km (71 miles) from Kismayo, the home base for al-Shabab and the main port city for many of the Somali pirates.

With the city of Afgoye and the town of Afmadow under the control of the Somali government, the port city is the only remaining stronghold of the group. Hassan claims that if Kismayo falls, al-Shabab will be “in a desperate position both politically and financially.”

However there may have been some exchange of fighting in Kismayo already. Al-Shabab claims that unidentified warships attacked the city and were repelled by the al-Shabab fighters. One al-Shabab official, Sheikh Hassan Yaqub, claimed, “the mujahideen fighters opened fire and repulsed two military ships that approached the coast of Kismayo, they were coming close to the coast when they were attacked.” The war vessels then returned fire and wounded a young boy, but no other casualties occurred.

Currently there is no confirmation on which country sent the war vessels or even if they were attempting to attack the city of Kismayo yet. The Kenyan army has naval patrols close to that area, but would not confirm if its vessels were those in the clash. Nine warships owned by the European Union deployed from France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands were also in the area. However, these ships are specifically reserved for the anti-piracy mission.

The interim Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told the BBC, “hopefully the next target will be Kismayo and then we will proceed to other towns and cities…surely but slowly we are getting our country back from al-Shabab.”

In addition to the taking of Afmadow, the African Union and Somali military hope to take Kismayo by August 20. This date was set by the many disparate groups within Somalia on May 30 for the official elections to take place and the end of the interim government, yet another – although non-military – way in which the country is progressing.

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In yet another unwarranted act of aggression, South Sudan and its proxy forces again heinously attacked and occupied Heglig on April 10th, an area that is indisputably a Sudanese territory.

The assault comes in the midst of strenuous peace-building efforts exerted by the African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) whose chairman recently visited with both countries to push for dialogue. This attack is in direct contravention of those efforts and therefore clear proof that South Sudan is neither serious nor interested in forging peace with Sudan.

This latest incident also reinforces the ominous culture of impunity, which enables South Sudan and its proxies to launch attacks in Sudan killing scores of innocent civilians and there would be no international reprimand.

There hasn’t been a single statement from those that are fond of wielding cameras to battle fields to capture the images of those massacred; nor was there a word from those with satellite imagery regarding the movement of thousands of SPLA troops invading Sudan with very visible tanks and heavy artillery. It is a glaring double-standard that speaks volumes to the Sudanese who as a result are increasingly growing cynical of all the talk of Humanitarianism.

The Government of Sudan reiterates its commitment to peace and opposition to aggression. However it will defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country when war is imposed on it, as is clearly the case now. In accordance with the United Nations charter and the International Law, Sudan reserves its legitimate right to respond to this and any further aggression as it sees fit.

The international community is also called upon to bear witness to this provocation and forcefully condemn what is an obvious and blatant act of war. In this regard, it must be recalled that Sudan already has a number of complaints that it has previously submitted to the Security Council regarding South Sudan’s aggression and support of rebels, all of which continue to be ignored.

Sudan also urges South Sudan to realize that it isn’t in the interest of its citizens to wage a war that it clearly cannot win. Neither is this ill-conceived strategy of “attack and withdraw” prudent, as irreparable damage is caused to Sudan and its people whose patience is wearing thin. The Government of South Sudan must change course and shun this aggressive posture before it’s too late.

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In a speech at the Sullivan Honors Awards, President Obiang discussed the promotion of African integration by leading Equatorial Guinea toward a better future by facing its challenges and achieving the country’s desired self-improvement and progress. President Obiang has led the efforts of the African community while promoting the continent and carrying out the development of Equatorial Guinea.

“Equatorial Guinea, as a unified country, knows that in order to achieve self-improvement and progress, we have to face problems and challenges, with the support of friendly countries and the international community,” said President Obiang.

President Obiang received the Beacon for Africa award at the 2011 Sullivan Honors event on December 15, in recognition of his leadership of the African Union and his exemplary contributions to improving the lives of Africa’s most vulnerable citizens. The Sullivan Honors event is one of Washington’s greatest cultural highlights of the year.

Hope Masters, president of the Administrative Council of the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation, praised President Obiang for his exemplary leadership and contributions to rebuilding Equatorial Guinea.

“This was a great opportunity to discuss continued development in the region and ways to collectively expand our role as part of  the international community,” said President Obiang. “I believe Africa has a positive future ahead of us as long as we continue to work together.”

President Obiang joined leaders from around the world to honor African individuals who are leading and serving the international community. The honorees have selflessly dedicated themselves to humanitarian efforts on the African continent. Together they showed their appreciation for the honorees at the Leon H. Sullivan Honors event at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

“A commitment to ensuring that the dignity of the people they serve has been maintained is critical in determining who will be named a Sullivan Honoree. The ability to ignite that spark of hope, to provide to those less fortunate, while improving their quality of life, has been a common characteristic embodied by each of our honorees. I commend our past honorees and am confident that our new honorees will uphold their passion for championing Africans,” said Ambassador Andrew Young, former US Ambassador to the United Nations.

The Sullivan Honors has been conferred upon individuals who have demonstrated unique leadership in enhancing the lives of the underprivileged, the vulnerable, and the destitute in Africa. Previous Sullivan Honorees include former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, General Colin Powell, current President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, current President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, current President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A full list of previous Sullivan Honorees can be found on the Sullivan Foundation’s website, www.thesullivanfoundation.org.

Equatorial Guinea’s government has adopted special programs for the promotion and protection of human rights with the help of the International Red Cross, which has verified the performance of state institutions by selecting and implementing programs that improve the level of social indicators.

“The positive effects of these programs have resulted in an increased school ratio, life expectancy, malaria reductions, as well as the progressive increase of technical and professional staff,” said President Obiang. “Our country recently went through a constitutional change that strengthened the powers of the state institutions, promoted the alteration in power and regulated the strict separation of powers, as well as transparency and equity in public affairs.”

This reform was approved and voted by the majority of the population.

In addition to President Obiang, numerous heads of state from Africa attended this year’s 2011 Sullivan Honors event, showing unity and cooperation among one another. They included President John A. Kufuor, former President of Ghana; President Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria; Prime Minister Guillaume Soro of Cote D’Ivoire; and President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan.

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Ambassador Michael A. Battle of the United States Mission to the African Union (USAU), was one of the volunteers on Thursday 1st December 2011, to do the HIV screening offered by the African Union (AU) Medical Services Directorate as the AU joins the rest of the International and Continental communities this day, to commemorate the World AIDS Day.

Several free will persons interested to know their status have been going through the Volunteer Counselling and Testing (VCT) services for HIV that started on Monday, 28th November 2011, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, until Friday, 2nd December 2011 at the Headquarters of the AU Commission (AUC), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The exercise is one of the week-long activities organized by the Department of Social Affairs in collaboration with the Medical Services Directorate of the AU Commission to mark the commemoration of the World Aids Day.

Ambassador Battle was accompanied by his collaborators who witnessed the Volunteer Counselling and Testing provided by the AU Commission’s Medical Services Directorate (AU MSD) everybody.

The Medical team expressed appreciation to the gesture of the Ambassador saying that, the example will send out a very powerful message to encourage the people who are still hesitating to get tested.

“I am extremely proud of the African Union for taking leadership on HIV AIDS Day. AIDS is a disease that affects people all over the world. By accepting the volunteer screening today, I want to show that there is no shame in coming out and being tested and screened. I also want to encourage more people to do the same” Ambassador Battle explained. He advised that, the earlier a person can get tested for HIV, the more easy it is to cure “If we could get more and more people to just come out and have a test it will be better for the entire world”, he underscored.

Ambassador Battle announced that the same screening exercise is done at the US Embassy on the occasion of the World AIDS Day, but he chose to do it at the African Union “to show support and solidarity with the African continent” he emphasized.

Dr. Kilenga Naftal, Consultant and Senior Biologist of the AU MSD, thanked the US Mission and Ambassador Battle for the symbolic and very important gesture. He presented the different services offered by the MSD including medical consultations, paediatric services, scanning for breast cancer, dental and laboratory services. Dr Kilenga also stated that the MSD do not only provide HIV testing but also treatment for HIV/AIDS for more than 10 years.

It is worth recalling that, the AU Volunteer Counselling and Testing Services (VCT) is currently taking place inside an erected tent in front of the Medical Center where medical experts and practitioners are receiving people of all classes and works of life, including AU Staff who are interested to know about their status.

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The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Jean Ping, notes with concern the growing tension that prevails in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the eve of the holding of crucial elections, on November 28, 2011. In this regard, he deplores the violence that took place in Kinshasa, on November 26, 2011, which resulted in loss of life, as well as the various other incidents that marred the election campaign.

The Chairperson of the Commission recalls that the elections of November 28, 2011, the second after the long and bloody conflict in the DRC, should help consolidate peace and national reconciliation, strengthen the democratic process and lay the foundations for sustainable socio‐economic development for the benefit of all the Congolese people.

The Chairperson of the Commission reiterates the message of restraint and the call for responsibility that he conveyed to the Congolese political actors during the working visit he undertook to the DRC, from November 6 to 8, 2011, following the pre‐electoral mission that the AU Panel of the Wise undertook to that country at the beginning of October, as well as the press statement of the 298th meeting of the Peace and Security of the AU, held on November 17, 2011.

In this context, he stresses the need for all stakeholders in the electoral process to exercise utmost restraint, to work towards creating the climate necessary for the holding of peaceful elections, and, should the results be challenged, to resort to the procedures and mechanisms provided to this end.

The Chairperson of the Commission encourages all Congolese voters to participate massively in the elections and to demonstrate the required level of civility for these elections to mark an important moment in the history of the DRC. The AU is closely coordinating its action with the various concerned international actors, and will spare no effort to support the promotion of peace and democracy in the DRC.

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The Pope, during his weekly blessing to pilgrims, claimed from his summer residence in Castel Gondolfo, south of Rome, the only way for all of the victims to escape from the tragedy in the Horn of Africa is with “compassion” and “fraternal solidarity.”

The catastrophic drought has affected more than 11.8 million people and cover so large an area where both the populations of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are suffering from hunger.

Relief organizations still don’t know how they can deal with the worst drought in the last 60 years. United Nations’ humanitarian affairs coordination says: “The crisis in southern Somalia is expected to continue to worsen through 2011, with all areas of the south slipping into famine.”

It is estimated that half of Somalia’s people are in need of relief assistance after large periods of civil conflict and drought.

“The drought is the reason I left Somalia, I had a deaf husband and between us we had cows and goats,” said Halima Korone Une, a Somalia’s refugee in Dabaab, Kenya. “Because of the drought we had to eat all our goats and my husband went to look for pasture for the cows but never came back so I decided to leave my home with our five children.”

That is the reality. Korone lost one of her children on their way and now she has only four children with her.

Meanwhile, the Pope is giving blessings far from the devastating situation, in his summer residence in Rome.  While The United Nations has declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia and stated that the effects of the drought have been felt more widely across the war-torn country, as well as in parts of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, Pope Benedict XVI says: “It is an immense task. In this time of holiday, let us not forget to open our hands and our hearts to come to the aid of those who need it,” and he added: “Let us give food and share our bread with the needy.”

The Vatican’s official daily keeps saying that it is difficult to save the people of Somalia. Furthermore, their official daily will refer to the international community for the hard job. Sources in the Vatican also believe the international community should take a more active mediation role between rival and Somali clans:

“If international players do not manage to do this, then even a massive humanitarian effort by UN agencies, including the WFP’s airlift, and by non-governmental organisations will at best slow the emergency,” the Vatican’s official daily said.

Last week, the UN World Food Programme has started an airlift of food into the capital Mogadishu. Even though they are taking any possible action, WFP said: “our feeding centers continue to operate in spite of the difficult security situation.”

Despite the Vatican’s official daily opinion, charities have already said that more international donations are needed and relief efforts have been hampered by the combat, and also a ban on some humanitarian agencies by the Islamist group “Al Shabab” which controls much of southern Somalia.

The African Union is scheduling a further donor conference in Addis Adaba, Ethiopia’s capital during this month. The Pope claims a lack of “solid institutions” on the country, but the world is interested in knowing when a solid institution as the Vatican is going to start helping the people in Somalia.

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