STORY: STATE-BUILDING, COLLABORATION AND UN SUPPORT

DISCUSSED ON SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE’S VISIT TO PUNTLAND

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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 17-18 JULY 2022, GAROWE, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:
1. Wide shot – The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia,
James Swan, and delegation walking to board a plane from Mogadishu to
Garowe, Puntland.
2. Medium shot – UN Special Representative James Swan boarding the plane.
3. Aerial shot – An aerial view approaching Garowe.
4. Close up shot – Plane landing in Garowe.
5. Wide shot – UN Special Representative James Swan disembarking the aircraft in
Garowe.
6. Wide shot – Driving through Garowe town from the airport.
7. Close up shot - Flags flying at Puntland State House.
9. Wide shot – UN Special Representative James Swan shaking hands with
President Said Abdullahi Deni at Puntland State House.
10. Medium shot – UN Special Representative James Swan taking a seat at the start
of a meeting.
11. Close up shot – President Deni.
12. Close up shot – UN Special Representative James Swan.
13. Medium shot - Puntland Federal state cabinet ministers at the meeting.
14. Wide shot - UN Special Representative James Swan and President Deni at the
meeting.
15. Wide shot - Puntland Federal state cabinet ministers.
16. Medium shot – UN Special Representative James Swan and President Deni
prepare to address the media.
17. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
 “In our meeting today with President [Said Abdullahi] Deni and members of
his cabinet, we discussed a range of local and national issues of importance.
President Deni and I exchanged ideas on how best to advance Somalia’s state-
building processes now that a new Federal Government is in place. We
discussed the importance of a deep collaboration between the Federal
Government and Federal Member States, to lead progress on national
priorities.”

15. Wide shot - UN Special Representative James Swan speaking at the media
briefing.
16. Wide shot – UN Special Representative James Swan meeting with members of the
Puntland Research and Development Center (PDRC).
17. Close up shot –UN Special Representative James Swan speaking.
18. Close up shot – Members of the PDRC at the meeting.
19. Medium shot – Members of the PDRC listening.
20. Wide shot - UN Special Representative James Swan meeting with members of
the Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission (TPEC).
21. Med shot – UN Special Representative James Swan speaking at the meeting.
23. Wide shot - TPEC members at the meeting.
24. Medium shot - UN Special Representative James Swan speaking.
25. Wide shot - UN Special Representative James Swan meeting with
representatives of UN agencies working in Puntland.
26. Close up shot - A UN agency staff member taking notes.
27. Close up shot - Mr. Adeniyi Ojuolape, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
Representative for Somalia.
28. Med shot - Representatives of UN agencies working in Puntland taking notes.
29. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“President Deni reiterated his firm commitment to Puntland’s process of
democratization. He briefed me on the Transitional Puntland Electoral
Commission’s initial plans to roll out the process to other districts. I underlined
the United Nations’ readiness to support.”

25. Med shot – UN Special Representative James Swan speaking at the media
briefing.
26. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
 “Your efforts here we hope will also inspire and support the broader process
of democratization across Somalia, at the federal and local levels.”
27. Medium shot – Puntland cabinet ministers at the media briefing.
28. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“On security, I expressed my concern about last week’s troubling incident at
the Bosaso airport. President Deni assured me of the government’s
commitment and active efforts to ensure continued stability and promote
reconciliation.”
29. Pan shot – File footage of a dry riverbed as a result of the prolonged drought.
30. Wide shot – File footage of dead goats.
31. Wide shot - File footage of a doctor examining a malnourished child.
32. Close up shot - File footage of a malnourished child.
33. Close up shot - File footage of another malnourished child.
34. Wide shot - File footage of mothers taking care of malnourished children at a
hospital.
35. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“The ongoing drought is a crisis that is causing need and suffering across
Somalia and the region. The scale of the challenge is immense, although it is
clear to me from our discussions that the Puntland Government and the
humanitarian community are doing their utmost to respond. The UN agencies
are already responding through urgent programmes of cash transfer, nutrition
assistance, water and sanitation support and health services.”

36. Wide shot – File footage of water trucking intervention in a drought affected
area.
37. Medium shot – File footage of residents giving water to their animals.
38. Close up shot – File footage of women filling containers with water.
39. Wide shot - File footage of women and children filling containers with water.
40. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“The situation is dire however, and we all know that more needs to be done.
To this end the United Nations continues to advocate with the donor
community for the mobilization of more resources to meet this challenge.”

41. Close up shot – United Nations flag.

STATE-BUILDING, COLLABORATION AND UN SUPPORT DISCUSSED ON SPECIAL
REPRESENTATIVE’S VISIT TO PUNTLAND

Garowe, 18 July 2022 – State-building processes and collaboration with Somalia’s new
leadership, as well as the support of the United Nations, were among the topics discussed
today in a meeting of the world body’s top official for the country and the leader of its northern
Federal Member State (FMS) of Puntland.

“In our meeting today with President [Said Abdullahi] Deni and members of his cabinet, we
discussed a range of local and national issues of importance. President Deni and I exchanged
ideas on how best to advance Somalia’s state-building processes now that a new Federal
Government is in place,” said the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia,
James Swan.

“We discussed the importance of a deep collaboration between the Federal Government and
Federal Member States, to lead progress on national priorities,” Mr. Swan added.

The UN Special Representative was speaking at a joint media encounter with President Deni in
the FMS’ capital, Garowe.

The media remarks came at the tail-end of a two-day visit to Puntland, where the UN Special
Representative met with its leadership and other bodies – the Puntland Research and
Development Centre (PDRC) and the Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission (TPEC) – as
well as representatives from UN agencies working in the Federal Member State.

The topic of Puntland’s democratization process was also discussed. In October last year, the
Federal Member State completed the first phase of local elections in the districts of Eyl, Ufeyn
and Qardho.

“President Deni reiterated his firm commitment to Puntland’s process of democratization… He

briefed me on the Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission’s initial plans to roll out the
process to other districts. I underlined the United Nations’ readiness to support,” Mr. Swan
said, adding that a visiting UN technical team was meeting with TPEC today.

He also commended the Federal Member State’s people and government for their continued
commitment for the holding of direct local elections, as enshrined in Puntland’s Constitution.
“Your efforts here we hope will also inspire and support the broader process of democratization
across Somalia, at the federal and local levels,” the UN official said.

Last week’s armed clash at the airport of Bosaso, located in northern Puntland and which
reportedly left several dozen people dead and wounded, was also noted.

“On security, I expressed my concern about last week’s troubling incident at the Bosaso airport.
President Deni assured me of the government’s commitment and active efforts to ensure
continued stability and promote reconciliation,” Mr. Swan said.

Drought response

The issue of Somalia’s worsening drought featured heavily in the UN official’s media remarks.
The country is facing a fourth consecutive failed rainy season and a heightened risk of famine –
it is currently believed that there will be famine in eight areas by September.

“The ongoing drought is a crisis that is causing need and suffering across Somalia and the
region. The scale of the challenge is immense, although it is clear to me from our discussions
that the Puntland Government and the humanitarian community are doing their utmost to
respond. The UN agencies are already responding through urgent programmes of cash transfer,
nutrition assistance, water and sanitation support and health services,” Mr. Swan said.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the current
drought is unprecedented and has affected seven million people and displaced more than
800,000 in search of food, water and pasture. Some 7.1 million people – 45 per cent of the
population – are acutely food insecure, while an estimated 1.5 million children under age five
face acute malnutrition. At least 200 children have died of malnutrition and disease since
January.

“The situation is dire however, and we all know that more needs to be done. To this end the
United Nations continues to advocate with the donor community for the mobilization of more
resources to meet this challenge,” Mr. Swan said.

While nearly four million people have received assistance since January, the Humanitarian
Response Plan for Somalia, launched in late 2021, seeks $1.46 billion to help 5.5 million people
but is only 30 per cent funded so far.
Accompanied by the UN Population Fund’s (UNFPA) Representative for Somalia, Adeniyi
Ojuolape, Mr. Swan’s visit to Puntland was part of his regular outreach to the country’s Federal
Member States.

While in Garowe, Mr. Swan and Mr. Ojuolape also met with the local heads of offices of the
World Food Programme (WFP), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the UN
Development Programme (UNDP) and UNFPA.

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