Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe / Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia briefs the Security Council meeting on the situation in Somalia, on 3 January 2019.

By Gary Raynaldo  DIPLOMATIC TIMES

Nicholas Haysom, the United Nations’ Special Representative of the  Secretary-General for Somalia was silent on his expulsion from the Horn Of Africa nation in his Thursday briefing on the situation in Somalia before the Security Council. The Somali government on Tuesday declared Haysom persona non grata  for “violating protocols” and “deliberately interfering” in the internal affairs of the Horn of Africa country. Haysom’s ouster came days after the  UN envoy sent a letter to the internal security minister, questioning the legality of the arrest of Mukhtar Robow, a former al-Shabaab leader, in Baidoa in early December. The arrest by the UN-supported Somali security forces sparked protests in the south-central town, allegedly resulting in the deaths of 15 civilians and the detention of about 300 people, mostly children according to the envoy’s office, according to the UK Guardian.       According to media reports, Haysom requested the government to explain what measures had been taken to prevent civilian casualties and urged an independent investigation.

“The UN special envoy to Somalia is not wanted here and he will no longer work here,” according to a statement by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. “He was deliberately embroiled in the affairs of the state, violating diplomatic norms.”

Somalia Foreign Affairs Ministry via Twitter.

In his Thursday briefing before the UN Security Council, Haysom said Somalia has laid the foundations to make significant progress in 2019. Haysom highlighted areas of progress but said that  despite the positive developments, the landscape was complicated by electoral processes that are currently underway in several Federal Member States. However, Haysom made no mention of his expulsion from Somalia. 

Al-Shabaab still the ‘biggest source of insecurity’

Haysom stated that  Al-Shabaab continues to be “the biggest source of insecurity in Somalia”,  welcoming the Government’s condemnation of the group’s attack on New Year’s Day against the UN’s headquarters in the Somali capital, which injured three staff members.

Meanwhile, Somalia’s UN ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman urged the world body to allow the  Horn of Africa nation to control its own destiny 

Credit: UN /  Abukar Dahir Osman, Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Somalia to the United Nations addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation in his country January 3, 2019.

Osman emphasized that Somalia has been a proud member of the UN since its independence in 1962. The UN envoy stated that his country appreciates the world body’s help but the nation desires to control its own destiny.

“Somalia people demand that their government assume responsibility for its own decisions in shaping it future. Somalia leading international  support, not international support leading Somalia. ”   

Abukar  Dahir  Osman, Somali  Ambassador, UN Security Council  Jan 3, 2019