STORY: UN delegation visits South West State to discuss

support and collaboration in 2021

TRT: 4:33
SOURCE: UNSOM STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS AND
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CREDIT REQUIRED: UNSOM STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
LANGUAGE: ENGLISHSOMALI NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 14/JANUARY/2021, BAIDOA, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:

1. Aerial shot - Baidoa town

2. Aerial shot - an IDP settlement
3. Med shot - helicopter landing
4. Med shot - UN and AMISOM officials waiting to receive the UN envoy for Somalia,
James Swan
5. Wide shot - the UN envoy for Somalia, James Swan, disembarking from the
helicopter and welcomed by senior UN and AMISOM officials
6. Med shot - senior UN and AMISOM officials greeting the UN envoy for Somalia,
James Swan, on arrival
7. Wide shot - guard of honour
8. Close-up shot - Somali and Ethiopian national flags
9. Med shot - UN envoy for Somalia James Swan inspecting the guard of honor
10. Wide shot - UN delegation departing from the airport
11. Med shot - South West State and Somalia national flags
12. Wide shot - UN envoy for Somalia James Swan arrives at the presidential palace
of Somalia’s South West State
13. Med shot - UN envoy for Somalia James Swan and the President of the South
West State of Somalia, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed ‘Laftagareen’
14. Med shot - UN officials
15. Close-up shot - President of the South West State of Somalia Abdiaziz Hassan
Mohamed ‘Laftagareen’
16. Close up shot - UN envoy for Somalia James Swan
17. Med shot - senior officials of Somalia’s South West State
18. Wide shot - UN envoy for Somalia James Swan and the President of South West
State, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed ‘Laftagareen’
19. Wide shot - UN envoy for Somalia James Swan and the President of South West
State, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed ‘Laftagareen,’ prepare to address the media
20. Med shot - UN delegation visits South West State to discuss support and
collaboration in 2021
21. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“It’s the first of our visits to the Federal Member States in the new year and we have
come to discuss with the President and his ministers the work of the United Nations
in support of South West State. This ranges from support for ongoing reconciliation,
security and stabilization efforts to providing humanitarian and development
assistance.”
22. Med shot - President of the South West State of Somalia, Abdiaziz Hassan
Mohamed
23. Close-up shot - South West State emblem
24. Med shot - UN envoy for Somalia James Swan meeting with the International
Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Chief of Mission for Somalia, and, from the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Head of its
Humanitarian Access and Civil-Military Coordination Unit in Somalia
25. Med shot - UN official
26. Med shot - AMISOM and UK Stat officers
27. Wide shot - UN envoy for Somalia James Swan meeting with AMISOM officials
28. Close-up shot - a commander of the AMISOM Ethiopian contingent
29. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“I also particularly came along with this delegation to listen to what the South West
State authorities hope for and expect from the United Nations in 2021 so that we
can better work together to ensure the needs of the people, and that those of South
West State, are also met.”
30. Wide shot - an IDP settlement camp
31. Med shot - children playing outside
32. Close-up shot - child eating bread
33. Wide shot - mother with her children in a makeshift shelter
34. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“These settlements are approached as an integrated part of the urban environment,
and planned as urban extensions, rather than temporary camps disconnected from
the city. So far, more than 700 households have been relocated and a further one
thousand households will soon join them.”
35. Wide shot - UN senior officials
36. Close up shot - an AMISOM police officer
37. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“I reiterate that a spirit of consensus and collaboration, which means putting the
good of the country first, is paramount at this time. We in the UN urge all of
Somalia’s leaders to make every effort to engage in dialogue in a collegial spirit to
ensure that the national elections are held, based on broad consensus (and) rooted
in the 17 September agreement, and that these elections are underpinned by
transparency, fairness and inclusivity.”
38. Wide shot - UN envoy for Somali, James Swan and President of South West State,
Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed ‘Laftagareen’ in a group photo
39. Med shot - UN envoy for Somalia James Swan and the President of South West
State, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed ‘Laftagareen’ in a group photo

UN delegation visits South West State to discuss support and collaboration in 2021

Baidoa, 15 January 2021 – A delegation of United Nations officials visited Somalia’s

South West State today to discuss ways in which the world body can assist the
Federal Member State in a range of areas in 2021.

“It’s the first of our visits to the Federal Member States in the new year, and we have
come to discuss with the President and his ministers the work of the United Nations
in support of South West State. This ranges from support for ongoing reconciliation,
security and stabilization efforts to providing humanitarian and development
assistance,” the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, James
Swan, told the media in the state’s largest city, Baidoa.

The UN envoy was speaking at a joint press encounter with the Federal Member
State’s President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed ‘Laftagareen.’

Earlier, they had been in discussions along with members of the President’s cabinet,
the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Chief of Mission for Somalia,
Richard Danziger, and, from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, the Head of its Humanitarian Access and Civil-Military Coordination Unit in
Somalia, Edward Melotte.

“I also particularly came along with this delegation to listen to what the South West
State authorities hope for and expect from the United Nations in 2021 so that we
can better work together to ensure the needs of the people, and that those of South
West State, are also met,” Mr. Swan added.

South West State support

In his remarks, the UN Special Representative flagged some examples of the world
body’s local support, adding that some of the innovative projects currently underway
are models that can inform the work of the United Nations in other locations in
Somalia.

The projects included the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) and the South West
State government working together to improve the local environment through a
scheme to plant six million trees around Somalia, with some 200,000 of those tree
seedlings to be planted near Baidoa.

Mr. Swan spoke of how the United Nations is working with local partners to reduce
its environmental footprint and support a shift to renewable energy production. He
highlighted how an agreement signed last year, between UNSOS and a private sector
firm, paves the way for the supply of solar power to the African Union-United
Nations camp in Baidoa city as well to the general Baidoa market.

“Solar panels will be laid out later this year,” he noted.

In relation to the large population of internally displaced persons in and around

Baidoa – numbered at around 500,000 – Mr. Swan spoke of the IOM’s work with
partners to find durable solutions for them, including the development of new
settlements near the town of Barwaaqo.

“These settlements are approached as an integrated part of the urban environment,

and planned as urban extensions, rather than temporary camps disconnected from
the city. So far, more than 700 households have been relocated and a further one
thousand households will soon join them,” Mr. Swan said. “These settlements will
include basic services, such as health clinics and sanitation facilities, schools as well
as police stations and roads.”

The meeting with the South West state’s President and members of his team also
covered issues of humanitarian access. The UN envoy, in his remarks to the media,
noted that the opening up of airspace to enable unhindered humanitarian support to
vulnerable populations remains a key concern.

He said he welcomed and encouraged the state government’s “continued support to

ensure and sustain the security of airstrips across South West State.”
Political situation

The discussions with President Abdiaziz also covered the wider political situation in
Somalia, including the country’s elections.

In this respect, the UN envoy expressed his appreciation for the South West State
leader’s ongoing efforts to bring the different parties together to agree on a way
forward.

Earlier this week, a wide range of Somalia’s international partners, including the
United Nations, issued a joint statement in which they expressed their concern
about the continuing impasse in implementing the electoral model agreed on 17
September by Somalia’s President Mohammed Abdullahi ‘Farmajo’ and the country’s
Federal Member State leaders.

“I reiterate that a spirit of consensus and collaboration, which means putting the
good of the country first, is paramount at this time,” Mr. Swan said. “We in the UN
urge all of Somalia’s leaders to make every effort to engage in dialogue in a collegial
spirit to ensure that the national elections are held, based on broad consensus (and)
rooted in the 17 September agreement, and that these elections are underpinned by
transparency, fairness and inclusivity.”

In his closing remarks, the UN envoy also highlighted that while the COVID-19
pandemic may be showing signs of lowered intensity, it is still present in Somalia. He
underscored the importance of vigilance and continuation of precautionary
measures.

“The United Nations will continue providing support with surveillance to health
authorities both in South West State and across all Federal Member States for as
long as is required,” Mr. Swan added.