Humanitarian Situation in the Horn of Africa

Susan E. Rice
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations , U.S. Mission to the United Nations

Renmarks to the press at a Security Council stakeout

Washington, DC

July 20, 2011

Reuters soundbite:

UN Ambassador Rice (July 20): “This is not complicated -- aid will go where the humanitarian workers can gain access. The reason the aid hasn’t gone in sufficient quantities into south and central Somalia, is because al-Shabaab has prevented those most capable of delivering large quantities of aid from having access. And when they have had access they’ve taxed them, harassed them, killed them, kidnapped them -- so that’s the problem. The question is whether al-Shabaab will finally, in the face of a massive famine, and the worst disaster in the region in, perhaps, 60 years, allow its people to access the critical humanitarian resources and food that they need.” Full Text»