Leaked Report from United Nations 'Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea'

The leaking to the media of a copy of an upcoming report by the United Nations 'Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea' provides an interesting, albeit as yet incomplete, view into what we may expect from the final report when it is released. The allegations of corruption within the internationally supported Transitional Federal Government can best be summed-up by quoting the report itself which says: 

"Under the Transitional Federal Institutions, the systematic misappropriation,embezzlement and outright theft of public resources have essentially become a system of governance. Somalia’s prospects for stabilization and effective governance have fallen prey to political and commercial ‘elites’ who appropriate, privatize and criminalize the core functions of the Somali state, enriching themselves while perpetuating a politicaleconomy of state collapse."

The scale and what can only be described as brazen nature of this alleged corruption should be of serious concern not only to the people of Somalia but also to the governments that continue to provide financial support to the Transitional Federal Government and its institutions. The news that corrupt Somali politicians may face travel bans and have their assets frozen as part of a process of UN sanctions can, given this report and the findings of previous investigations, be a welcome if somewhat overdue move.

In addition to the issue of corruption the report also goes into some detail regarding a number of other issues including the influence, activities and funding of al-Shabaab; anti-piracy initiatives in Puntland; role and legality of the activies of Private Security Companies operating in Somalia as well as violations of the international arms embargo and the blocking of humanitarian assistance.

It should be noted that the anti-piracy force, the 'Puntland Maritime Police Force, as well as the general policies of Puntland concerning the issue of piracy come under considerable criticism in this report.

We would strongly recommend that you take the time to read this draft report and to keep an eye out for when it is finally released here.

Leaked 2012 UN Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group Preliminary Report