STORY: Somalia Partnership Forum takes stock of country’s progress,

identifies priorities
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SOURCE: UNSOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 07 DECEMBER 2020, MOGADISHU SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:

1. Wide shot, officials of the Federal Government of Somalia and international partners
attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
2. Med shot, international partners attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in
Mogadishu
3. Wide shot, officials of the Federal Government of Somalia and international partners
attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
4. Med shot, the Prime Minister of Somalia, Mohamed Hussein Roble, addressing
participants during the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
5. Med shot, international partners attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in
Mogadishu
6. Wide shot, international partners participating in the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum
in Mogadishu
7. Wide shot, officials of the Federal Government of Somalia and international partners
attending the 2020Somalia Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
8. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) MOHAMED HUSSEIN ROBLE, PRIME MINISTER OF SOMALIA
“The Federal Government of Somalia has already embarked on a process to draft a
roadmap for universal suffrage elections to take place in 2024/2025. The process will
require engagement with a range of key stakeholders including our Federal Member
States, civil society, political parties, to ensure inclusive and credible elections in the
future.”

9. Med shot, file footage of Somali female delegates arriving to cast their votes at a polling
centre during the 2016 electoral process to choose Members of the Parliament
10. Wide shot, file footage of a woman casting her vote during the 2016 electoral process
11. Close up shot, file footage of a woman casting her vote during the 2016 electoral
process
12. Wide shot, officials of the Federal Government of Somalia and international partners
attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
13. Med shot, a participant listening during the 2020 Somali Partnership Forum in
Mogadishu
14. Med shot, official of the Federal Government of Somalia attending the 2020 Somalia
Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
15. Close up shot, the Chairperson of the National Independent Electoral Commission,
Halima İsmail İbrahim, attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
16. Med shot, international partners attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in
Mogadishu
17. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) JAMES SWAN, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL’S SPECIAL
REPRESENTATIVE FOR SOMALIA
“We believe it is very important that the progress achieved on the non-contentious
issues be secured prior to the end of this parliament, so that it is not necessary to start
over again. This too will require a dialogue between federal leadership and the Federal
Member States. We hope that it can proceed quickly. It will also be important to include
women, civil society organisations and other groups that have in the past been
excluded. But constitutional reform remains a critical priority that we would like to see
more progress.”

18. Wide shot, file footage of the constitutional review process public outreach event in
Mogadishu, Somalia
19. Med shot, file footage of participants discussing during the constitutional review process
public outreach event in Mogadishu, Somalia
20. Wide shot, file footage of participants making presentations during the constitutional
review process public outreach event in Mogadishu, Somalia
21. Med shot, file footage of participants attending the constitutional review process public
outreach event in Mogadishu, Somalia
22. Wide shot, officials of the Federal Government of Somalia and international partners
attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
23. Wide shot, officials of the Federal Government of Somalia and international partners
attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
24. Med shot, officials of the Federal Government of Somalia attending the 2020 Somalia
Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
25. Med shot, international partners attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in
Mogadishu
26. Med shot, representatives of the Federal Government of Somalia and civil society
 organizations attending the 2020 Somalia Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
27. Med shot, officials of the United Nations and African Union attending the 2020 Somalia
Partnership Forum in Mogadishu
28. Wide shot, file footage of the Mogadishu Mall
29. Med shot, file footage of clothes on display in a boutique at the Mogadishu Mall
30. Med shot, file footage of female shoppers in a boutique at the Mogadishu Mall
31. Med shot, file footage of clothes on display in a boutique at the Mogadishu Mall
32. Wide shot, file footage of motorists and pedestrians in Mogadishu city, Somalia
33. Med shot, file footage of pedestrians in Mogadishu city, Somalia

Somalia Partnership Forum takes stock of country’s progress, identifies priorities

Mogadishu, 8 December 2020 – The Federal Government of Somalia and its international
partners today gathered in the capital for a one-day, high-level meeting dedicated to taking
stock of the progress made by the country in various areas, as well as agree on priorities ahead
of it.

Like last year, the Somalia Partnership Forum (SPF) was held in Mogadishu, and the topics
covered included the country’s elections, the fight against Al-Shabaab and security transition
planned for 2021, economic development and more.

Somalia’s elections figured prominently in the remarks of Somalia’s Prime Minister Mohamed
H. Roble, who also chaired the SPF, which drew representatives from the country’s Federal
Member States as well as international partners.

Referring to the decision not to proceed with ‘one person, one vote’ elections for the current
electoral cycle, the Prime Minister said that particular model of voting was an aspiration of all
Somalis and he pledged early preparations for them in the next cycle, involving dialogue with
Federal Member States.

“The Federal Government of Somalia has already embarked on a process to draft a roadmap for
universal suffrage elections to take place in 2024/2025. The process will require engagement
with a range of key stakeholders including our Federal Member States, civil society, political
parties, to ensure inclusive and credible elections in the future,” the Prime Minister said.

In his remarks to the SPF, delivered via video link, the United Nations Secretary-General’s
Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, called for dialogue to solve Somalia’s
challenges with the current elections, and highlighted the need for a practical roadmap with
clear benchmarks that would lead to ‘one person, one vote’ elections in the next electoral cycle.
The UN envoy pointed to the consensus that was reached among the Federal Government and
the Federal Member States, which led to the agreement on the current indirect elections, as
evidence of what could be achieved through consensus-building and dialogue among leaders.

He also spoke of the need for progress with the country’s constitutional review process during
the current parliamentary sitting in order to avoid delays.

“We believe it is very important that the progress achieved on the non-contentious issues be
secured prior to the end of this parliament, so that it is not necessary to start over again. This
too will require a dialogue between federal leadership and the Federal Member States. We
hope that it can proceed quickly. It will also be important to include women, civil society
organisations and other groups that have in the past been excluded. But constitutional reform
remains a critical priority that we would like to see more progress,” the UN envoy said.

Communiqué issued
At the end of the SPF, a communiqué was issued which stated that “continued inclusive
dialogue to build on the consensus-based agreement is necessary to ensure the timely
implementation of credible and acceptable elections in order to preserve the Somali tradition
of a peaceful transfer of power.”

It also stated that Somalia committed to approve non-contentious changes to the Provision
Constitution before the end of the current political cycle. In the communiqué, international
partners agreed to support Somalia on this and other commitments, such as the continuation of
the national reconciliation process with the representation of all sections of Somali society,
particularly women.

The international partners also agreed to continue supporting the transition involving Somalia
taking over lead responsibility for the country’s security from peacekeeping forces of the
African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), including the reconfiguration of AMISOM in order
to better counter Al-Shabaab and accelerate the transition.

Regarding Somalia’s economic development, the communiqué noted that the country had
made significant progress on economic development, notably the historic achievement of
reaching ‘Decision Point’ under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in March
this year. It pointed to more effort in this area.

“With international support, Somalia remains committed to implementing key financial and
economic reforms, increasing transparency and accountability, including the transfer of funds
from the Federal Government to the Member States, seeking membership of the World Trade
Organisation, promoting equitable inclusive economic growth, and seeking enhanced regional
economic integration as a means to greater prosperity,” it stated.

International partners agreed to support Somalia in the development of national approach on

the impact of climate change on human security, public policy, prioritizing youth empowerment
and employment generation, building resilience through social protection, strengthening the
government’s ability to deliver services to the population, addressing the harmful effects of
COVID-19 and enhancing government legitimacy.

Furthermore, international partners also committed to support Somalia’s development

priorities as outlined in its National Development Plan-9.