Puntland (which declared itself an autonomous state in 1998) and Galmudug and representatives from Ahlu Suna Wal Jamma, the pro-government Islamist movement, which controls parts of central Somalia. The meeting was convened to start a process of consultations “aimed at consolidating peace, working towards a smooth end to the transition and preparing for a political dispensation following that.”
In a chairman’s statement at the end of the meeting, Mahiga concluded that there had been agreement among the Somali stakeholders present, on the need to end the transitional period in accordance with the provisions of the Transitional Federal Charter of Somalia, which calls for elections of the president and speaker before the end of the transition. It had been proposed, however, to extend the Transitional Federal Parliament for a periodthe offensive that began at the end of February. This has come at a high cost, however, with more than 50 peacekeepers killed. There were also territorial gains in favour of the TFG elsewhere in Somalia.Human Rights-Related Developments
On 23 March, Zahra Mohamed Ali Samantar, the Minister of State at the Office of the Prime Minister of Somalia, addressed the Human Rights Council under its agenda item on technical assistance and capacity building. She said that her government attached great importance to the restoration of peace, observance of human rights and international humanitarian law in times of war, notwithstanding the challenges and difficulties that Somalia was facing. Following a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) workshop in Djibouti earlier this year, Somalia had decided to ratify the Conventions on the Elimination