Somalia.

• Position: Change in approach in addressing peace problem

In a 17 June press briefing on recent developments regarding Somalia, the Head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia, David Stephen, said there might eventually be a change in the approach of the international community towards the country. Having lost patience with the warlords, the seven nation Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) was abandoning its "top-down" approach and looking instead at approaches that rewarded regions for maintaining peace.

"Somalia was a country without a State. There was no war, but no peace either. Sporadic hostilities continued, along with banditry and clan warfare in some parts of the country."

There was talk of a new "bottom-up" approach, whereby instead of centralist agreements among leaders, regions would be invited to do their best to form peaceful administrations. It was a system of rewarding those who brought peace to their regions. There were already several regions that were largely at peace, for example, the northwest - "the self-styled Somaliland" - and the northeast, which was forming an administration with a constitution. "Those could be the building blocks of a new federated Somalia", Mr. Stephen said. The international community would be invited to support those regions that reached peace. There was also a move to concentrate more on the institutions of civil society, away from the exclusive concentration on warlords.

At the same time, however, Mr...