As 2015 comes to a close, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) congratulates the Government and people of Somalia on the significant progress they have made in their state building and peacebuilding efforts over the past twelve months.

Becoming party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Somalia in January 2015, Somalia started the ending year looking straight into the future; the future of its youngest citizens. This was an important step forward in the protection and promotion of the rights of all children in the country.

Somalia continued to achieve key milestones in the state formation process, welcoming the establishment of the Interim South West Administration and the GalmudugInterim Administration and witnessing further progress with the formation of regional assemblies in ISWA and Jubbaland. UNSOM is confident that the process will continue to move forward in the coming months with the creation of a fifth interim administration in Hiraan and Middle Shabelle, the clarification of the status of Mogadishu, and the graduation of all Interim Regional Administrations into full-fledged federal member states.

While July still resonates with the tragic and horrific attack on the Jazeera Palace Hotel in Mogadishu, it was also the month that the Federal Government of Somali and UNSOM co-hosted the first-ever Ministerial High-level Partnership Forum(HLPF) to be held in Mogadishu. The HLPF brought together 32 international delegations and more than 120 participants from all branches of Somali government and the international community. The presence of so many international partners only few days after this attack demonstrated that, despite real dangers, the international community remains committed to supporting and accompanying Somalia on its path towards a brighter future.

Somalia’s determination to deliver a transparent and inclusive electoral process in 2016 was manifested in the consultative process that unfolded between September and December 2015.  For the first time in more than two decades, the Somali public had a say on the most appropriate model for elections in their country. The consultative process on an electoral model for 2016 in and of itself thus represented a major leap for the country towards participatory politics and the principles of democracy. The agreement reached at the end of National Consultative Forum held in Mogadishu in December signals significant progress, with an electoral process that will be brought closer to the people, involve thousands of Somalis, giving them an actual electoral choice and ensuring that women will have guaranteed participation and representation in the new parliament. UNSOM and international partners now look forward to the meeting of Federal and Regional leaders in Kismaayo on 10 January when a detailed electoral model, and implementation plan and a political roadmap towards universal elections by 2020 shall be unveiled.

As the year comes to an end, UNSOM also wishes to pay tribute to the tremendous sacrifices and real successes made by the Somali National Armed Forces and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in the fight against Al-Shabaab. In 2015 Al-Shabaab has been further weakened and driven out of about more territorythey used to control, giving hope and better lives to thousands of families. As a sign of the return to peace in many parts of Somalia, more than 6,000 refugees from Kenya have voluntarily returned over the last 12 months.

As we begin the new year, the United Nations remains committed to working with the Somali people to support peace, stability and progress across the country.

We wish all the people of Somalia good health, enduring peace and greater successes in their state and peacebuilding, as well as development efforts in 2016.