The United Nations Operation in Somalia II was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and took place from March 1993 until March 1995, following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. UNOSOM II carried on from the transitory United States-controlled (UN-sanctioned) Unified Task Force (UNITAF), which had been preceded by UNOSOM I. Notably, UNOSOM II embarked on a nation-building mission, diverging from its predecessors. As delineated in UNSCR 814, the operation's objectives were to aid in relief provision and economic rehabilitation, foster political reconciliation, and re-establish political and civil administrations across Somalia.
Jonathan Trumbull Howe is a retired four-star United States Navy admiral, and was the Special Representative for Somalia to United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali from March 9, 1993, succeeding Ismat Kittani from Iraq, until his resignation in February 1994. During his time in Somalia he oversaw UNOSOM II operations including the 'Bloody Monday' raid which killed dozens and was a decisive turning point in the UNSOM II mission.
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed Forces began engaging in combat against various armed rebel groups, including the Somali Salvation Democratic Front in the northeast, the Somali National Movement in the northwest, and the United Somali Congress in the south. The clan-based armed opposition groups overthrew the Barre government in 1991.
The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative, UNITAF was charged with carrying out United Nations Security Council Resolution 794 to create a protected environment for conducting humanitarian operations in the southern half of the country.
United Nations Operation in Somalia I was the first part of a United Nations (UN) sponsored effort to provide, facilitate, and secure humanitarian relief in Somalia, as well as to monitor the first UN-brokered ceasefire of the Somali Civil War conflict in the early 1990s.
A special representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representatives can carry out country visits to investigate alleged violations of human rights and act as negotiators on behalf of the United Nations.
The United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nations (UN) with responsibility for monitoring and assessing global political developments and advising and assisting the UN Secretary General and his envoys in the peaceful prevention and resolution of conflict around the world. The department manages field-based political missions in Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East, and has been increasing its professional capacities in conflict mediation and preventive diplomacy. DPPA also oversees UN electoral assistance to Member States of the organization. Established in 1992, the department's responsibilities also include providing secretariat support to the UN Security Council and two standing committees created by the General Assembly concerning the Rights of the Palestinian People and Decolonization. DPPA is based at the UN Headquarters in New York City.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1863, adopted unanimously on January 16, 2009, after recalling resolutions 733 (1992), 751 (1992), 1356 (2001), 1425 (2002), 1519 (2003), 1725 (2006), 1744 (2007), 1772 (2007), 1801 (2008), 1811 (2008), 1814 (2008), 1831 (2008) and 1844 (2008) on the situation in Somalia, the Council its intention to establish a peace-keeping force in war-torn Somalia and called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to develop, by April 15, 2009, a mandate for the proposed mission, which would replace the existing African Union force in the country (AMISOM).
United Nations Security Council resolution 814, adopted unanimously on 26 March 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 733 (1992), 746 (1992), 751 (1992), 767 (1992), 775 (1992) and 794 (1993) on the ongoing civil war in Somalia, the council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, authorised an extension of the United Nations Operation in Somalia II until 31 October 1993.
United Nations Security Council resolution 865, adopted unanimously on 22 September 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 733 (1992), 746 (1992), 751 (1992), 767 (1992), 775 (1992), 794 (1992), 814 (1993) and 837 (1993), the Council addressed the process of national reconciliation and political settlement in Somalia, during the civil war.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1814 was unanimously adopted on 15 May 2008. The resolution called for the United Nations to provide economic, political and technical support to Somalia, with a possible UN peacekeeping force.
Michael Keating is the executive director of the European Institute of Peace, an independent conflict resolution organisation based in Brussels, with activities in fifteen countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Latin America. He was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), from January 2016 until September 2018.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2093 was unanimously adopted on 6 March 2013.
Peter de Clercq is a Dutch diplomat who currently is the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), where he also serves as United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative. He was appointed to this position by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 18 June 2015.
Mohamed Sahnoun was an Algerian diplomat who served as ambassador of Algeria to West Germany, France, the United States, and Morocco as well as permanent representative of Algeria to the United Nations. He also served as the Organisation of African Unity's Assistant Secretary General, the Arab League's Assistant Secretary-general, the Secretary-General of the United Nations's Special Representative for Somalia in 1992 and the Secretary-General of the United Nations's Special Representative for the Great Lakes region of Africa in 1997 before continuing to work for peace and reconciliation through various UN-related or independent charities. He particularly focused on developing intercultural and inter-religious dialogues and on healing wounded memories from past conflicts.
James Christopher Swan is an American diplomat. He was the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia from May 2019 to October 2022.
Nicholas Roland Leybourne "Fink" Haysom is a South African lawyer and diplomat who focuses on democratic governance, constitutional and electoral reforms and the reconciliation and peace process. Since 2021, he has been serving as the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Raisedon Zenenga is a Zimbabwean diplomat who has been serving as Deputy Special Representative of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) since 2024, working alongside Catriona Laing.
Anita Kiki Gbeho is a Ghanaian United Nations official who is the Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and Resident Coordinator in South Sudan since 8 December 2023.
The 2024 Puntland presidential election Somali: Doorashada Madaxweynaha Dawladda Puntland ee 2024) was held on 8 January 2024 in Garoowe, the administrative capital of the autonomous state of Puntland in Somalia. This marks the fifth election since the state's formation in 1998. Preceding the election, a new Parliament Speaker and Deputy Speaker was held on 4 January 2024, by the House of Representatives of Puntland. The pool of candidates comprises officials from the current Puntland administration, former government ministers, and notable local entrepreneurs.
