UN General Assembly
2001

interested parties to visit our country to verify the facts on the ground. First, we need to see the evidence and establish the facts first. It is a fundamental principle of law and natural justice that every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. This principle, in our opinion, is equally applicable to States. In view of my Government’s serious concern about these accusations, we propose setting up an international committee of inquiry under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council to investigate these allegations. We also propose that the committee identify Somalia’s needs in regard to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). We are fully prepared to cooperate with the proposed committee, if established, in the fulfilment of its mandate. As I mentioned earlier, the Somali Government has been in office for approximately a year and three months. During this time, the Government has faced daunting challenges, primarily in enhancing security in the capital and others areas. We have succeeded in demobilizing 25,000 militia personnel. We have established police stations and deployed 3,000 police