Activities

The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Jean Ping, yesterday, undertook a one‐day visit to Mogadishu. The Chairperson was accompanied by the Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ramtane Lamamra, and his Special Representative for Somalia, Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra.

The delegation was briefed by Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha, Force Commander of the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), on the recent developments on the ground and achievements made by the forces of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and AMISOM, particularly the extension of their control to areas previously under Al‐Shabaab. The Chairperson paid tribute to the TFG forces, as well as to AMISOM leadership and troops, for their commitment and courage.

The delegation also visited Hawalwadag IDP camp, where it met with drought‐affected Somalis, as well as AMISOM Level II Hospital, where Somali civilians receive free medical treatment.

The delegation met with President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Hassan, the Speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, and Prime Minister Abdweli Mohammed Ali, at the Presidential Palace in Villa Somalia.

The Chairperson seized the opportunity to express AU’s commitment to continue extending full support to the people and institutions of Somalia. In this respect, he exchanged with the President on the upcoming Pledging Conference scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa, on 25 August 2011, for the victims of drought and famine in the Horn of Africa, in particular in Somalia. The discussions also focused on the need to strengthen the reconciliation process and expedite the implementation of the pending transitional tasks, in line with the Djibouti Agreement and the Kampala Accord.

Media Advisory Note for the Pledging Conference now available

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Dr. Jean Ping made a one day visits to Dolo-Ado refugee camps in Ethiopia to assess the humanitarian situation on the ground, as part of the AU’s effort to assist the victims of the famine in the Horn of Africa, Over twelve (12) million people are seeking for an urgent humanitarian assistance.
During his visit to the different camps in Dolo-Ado, Dr. Ping was briefed by the different agencies who are working on the ground and trying to extend the necessary assistance to the drought affected people in the area. The estimated number of the drought affected people in Dolo Ado camp is about 120 thousand, and all are from Somalia.
The visit of Dr. Ping to Dolo- Ado comes 10 days before the Pledging conference, organized by the AUC under the theme “One Africa-One Voice against Hunger” for victims of drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. The conference is scheduled to take place on the 25th of August at the Headquarters of the African Union. It aims at raising resources and awareness amongst AU Member States and the wider international population in the Horn of Africa and particularly in Somalia.
UNHCR and the World Food Programme (WFP) are currently feeding 3.7 million people in Ethiopia, including 238,000 refugees.
The funding requirement is estimated at US$ 2 billion in aid to respond to the drought emergency. Out of this, US$ 1 billion has already been committed so far, and out of the 12.4 million people requiring general food assistance an estimated 8.4 million are being reached.
The Chairperson was accompanied by H.E.Mr. Cheick A.T.Camera Ambassador of Guinea,Chairperson of PRC Sub-Committee on Refugees and Displaced Persons, H.E. Michèle Lévesque Canadian Ambassador, Chairperson of AU
Partners Group, H.E. Michael Battle, US Ambassador to AU,UNHCR Ethiopia country Representative Moses Okello,Yehualashet Gebre Medhin of the Administration for Refugee-Returnee Affairs (ARRA) and Steven Were Omamo, Director and Representative of WFP Liaison Officer to the AU/ECA.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Dr. Jean Ping will make a one day visit to Dolo Ado refugee camp in Ethiopia on the 11th of August, 2011 to assess the humanitarian situation on the ground, when over twelve (12) million people are seeking for an urgent humanitarian assistance to survive.

The visit of Dr. Ping to Dolo Ado comes two week before the Pledging Conference, organized by the AUC for the victims of drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. The Conference is scheduled to take place on the 25th of august at the Headquarters of the African Union under the theme “One Africa-One Voice Against Hunger”. It aims at raising resources and awareness amongst AU Member States and the wider international community towards alleviating the plight of the affected populations in the Horn of Africa and particularly in Somalia.

The Chairperson will be accompanied by H.E. Mr. Cheick A.T. Camara Ambassador of Guinea, Chairperson of PRC Sub-Committee on Refugees and Displaced Persons, H.E. Michèle Lévesque Canadian Ambassador, Chairperson of AU Partners Group, H.E. Michael Battle, US Ambassador to AU among others.