 |
| Augustine Mahiga briefing reporters about Somalia on August 8, 2010 (Source: Associated Press) |
UN News Centre (United Nations) – Augustine Mahiga, the General-Secretary’s Special Representative for Somalia, advised the International Contact Group on Somalia (ICG) that the fight against African pirates should depend on a balance of government infrastructure building and military action in Somalia. Mahiga maintains that the restoration of Somalian government infrastructure needs international naval forces fighting pirates to aid Somalia's and relevant UN program's political and humanitarian needs. Mahiga adds that international naval forces must consult and work with the African Union’s Somalian peacekeeper’s (AMISOM), Transitional Federal Government (TFG), and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) land-based campaign against pirates and fight to control key ports and the coast. Mahiga maintains that the long term solution to fighting piracy growth is offering economic development and alternatives to pirates and potential pirates in pirate controlled areas.
Source:
(Reliability: 9/10)
Comment: (Source Reliability: The source shows no signs of bias or inaccuracies. However, no detail is provided with respect to which specific UN programs require assistance or consultation with the international navies. This specific detail would allow for a much more accurate prediction as one could see what specific infrastructure or UN efforts require assistance and are considered priorities for the General Secretary's office.)
Analysis:While Mr. Mahiga's UN reinforcement/consultation suggestion is vague with respect to which agencies, the overall report seems to fall in line with the September 23rd Kenyan plan suggested by the UNODC Exec. Dir. While the plan suggested by Dir. Fedotov is focused on legal infrastructure, the fact that Mr. Mahiga's plan to support infrastructure in general would indicate that the UN, in general, has a common strategy against trafficking through infrastructure rebuilding. As the representative of the Office of the Secretary General, it follows that Mr. Mahiga's recommendations fall in step with the general plan against human trafficking held by the Secretary General. Consequently, it is highly likely that any stated plan proposed by UNODC with the regards to anti-trafficking efforts reflects a wider UN strategy against human trafficking. However, because no detail was given as to the priority held by the Secretary General's office to specific efforts or if this recommendation extends beyond this particular region of Africa, one can not label this prediction to all regions of the world and all specific anti-trafficking efforts.
Comment: (Source Reliability: The source shows no signs of bias or inaccuracies. However, no detail is provided with respect to which specific UN programs require assistance or consultation with the international navies. This specific detail would allow for a much more accurate prediction as one could see what specific infrastructure or UN efforts require assistance and are considered priorities for the General Secretary's office.)
Analysis:While Mr. Mahiga's UN reinforcement/consultation suggestion is vague with respect to which agencies, the overall report seems to fall in line with the September 23rd Kenyan plan suggested by the UNODC Exec. Dir. While the plan suggested by Dir. Fedotov is focused on legal infrastructure, the fact that Mr. Mahiga's plan to support infrastructure in general would indicate that the UN, in general, has a common strategy against trafficking through infrastructure rebuilding. As the representative of the Office of the Secretary General, it follows that Mr. Mahiga's recommendations fall in step with the general plan against human trafficking held by the Secretary General. Consequently, it is highly likely that any stated plan proposed by UNODC with the regards to anti-trafficking efforts reflects a wider UN strategy against human trafficking. However, because no detail was given as to the priority held by the Secretary General's office to specific efforts or if this recommendation extends beyond this particular region of Africa, one can not label this prediction to all regions of the world and all specific anti-trafficking efforts.
No comments:
Post a Comment