LIVE Tribute to the memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - General Assembly HD

2nd Plenary meeting of the 77th session of the General Assembly: Tribute to the memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. A high-level group representing some of Somalia’s main international partners on Tuesday (13 Sep) met with South-West State’s leadership to discuss a range of topics related to political, humanitarian and security developments in both the Federal Member State and Somalia as a whole, as well as how they can best provide support. “On the political front, we welcomed the South-West State Administration’s continued efforts to strengthen local governance, and we are encouraged by the just-concluded formation of a District Council in Huddur. We hope that this sets an example for other such district council endeavours,” the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, said in media remarks at the Presidential Palace in Baidoa, the largest city in South-West State. “We stressed the importance of ensuring that people are accorded the space to express themselves freely, including freedom of assembly, organisation, and media, as the people of South-West State debate key issues on the public agenda,” Swan added. Referring to the national arena, the UN official noted that solid and productive working relations between Somalia’s Federal Government and the authorities in the country’s Federal Member States are crucial to the long-term stability and well-being of all Somalis. “In this respect,” he said, “we renewed our call for a collaborative relationship between South-West State and the Federal Government and welcome the President’s attendance at the recently-concluded meeting of the National Consultative Council in Mogadishu.” Swan was speaking at a joint press encounter with the South-West State leader, President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed ‘Laftagareen,’ following a group meeting with him and members of his cabinet and advisors. The UN official was accompanied by the Acting Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and Head of the African Union Transition Mission to Somalia (ATMIS), Fiona Lortan; Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Somalia, Abdulfatah Hassan; Sweden’s Ambassador to Somalia, Per Lindgarde; the US Ambassador to Somalia, Larry Andre; the European Union Delegation to Somalia’s Team Leader, Jens Hoegel; Germany’s Deputy Ambassador to Somalia, Sascha Kienzle; and, from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Head of Mission in Somalia, Abdi Ibrahim. In his remarks, the UN Special Representative noted that the humanitarian situation in many parts of Somalia had grown increasingly dire due to the worsening drought, and that South-West State was no exception to this. According to a recent report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), recurrent droughts, and insecurity – mainly due to the presence of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group – have negatively impacted the economic stability and livelihoods of people in South-West State, lead