| UN Documents and Historical Chronology |
| Chronology of key events relating to Somalia and referred to in Security Council Report publications |
| Key UN Documents relating to Somalia and referred to in Security Council Report publications (with live links) |
| Date | Publication | Issue |
| 26 October 2011 | What's In Blue | Somalia Briefing and Consultations Postponed |
| 21 October 2011 | What's In Blue | Somalia Piracy Resolution |
| 14 October 2011 | What's In Blue | Somalia Piracy Resolution |
| October 2011 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 28 September 2011 | What's In Blue | AU Mission in Somalia Resolution |
| 15 September 2011 | What's In Blue | AU Mission in Somalia Resolution |
| 13 September 2011 | What's In Blue | Somalia Debate and Resolution |
| September 2011 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 9 August 2011 | What's In Blue | Somalia and Eritrea Sanctions Committee Meeting |
| 9 August 2011 | What's In Blue | Somalia Briefing |
| 8 August 2011 | Update Report | Somalia |
| August 2011 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 29 July 2011 | What's In Blue | Somalia/Eritrea Sanctions Regime |
| 26 July 2011 | What's In Blue | Somalia/Eritrea Sanctions Regime |
| 25 July 2011 | What's In Blue | Humanitarian Situation in Somalia |
| July 2011 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 22 June 2011 | What's In Blue | Somalia |
| 17 June 2011 | What's In Blue | Somalia Piracy Report |
| June 2011 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 10 May 2011 | What's In Blue | Insights on Somalia |
| 4 May 2011 | What's In Blue | Insights on Somalia |
| May 2011 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 15 April 2011 | What's In Blue | Insights on the Monthly DPA Briefing on Emerging Issues |
| 8 April 2011 | What's In Blue | Insights on Somalia Piracy |
| April 2011 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 24 March 2011 | What's In Blue | Insights on Somalia Piracy |
| 18 March 2011 | What's In Blue | Insights on Somalia Piracy |
| 15 March 2011 | What's In Blue | Insights on Somalia |
| 15 March 2011 | What's in Blue | Insights on the Somalia Sanctions Committee |
| 8 March 2011 | What's In Blue | Insights on Somalia |
| 4 March 2011 | What's In Blue | Insights on the Somalia Piracy Resolution |
| March 2011 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 20 January 2011 | What's In Blue | Insights on Somalia Piracy |
| January 2011 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 8 December 2010 | Update Report | Somalia |
| November 2010 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 15 October 2010 | Update Report | Somalia |
| September 2010 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| August 2010 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia: Piracy |
| July 2010 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| May 2010 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| April 2010 | Update Report | Somalia: Piracy |
| March 2010 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| January 2010 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| November 2009 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| October 2009 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| September 2009 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| August 2009 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia and Related Horn of Africa Issues |
| July 2009 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| June 2009 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| May 2009 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| April 2009 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| March 2009 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| February 2009 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| December 2008 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| November 2008 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| October 2008 | Monthly Forcecast | Somalia |
| 16 September 2008 | Special Research Report | Anatomy of a Sanctions Regime |
| September 2008 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| August 2008 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| July 2008 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| 2 May 2008 | Update Report | Somalia |
| April 2008 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| March 2008 | Monthly Forecast | |
| February 2008 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| January 2008 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| December 2007 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| November 2007 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| October 2007 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
|
August 2007 |
Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| July 2007 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| June 2007 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| May 2007 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| April 2007 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| March 2007 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| February 2007 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| January 2007 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| December 2006 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| November 2006 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| October 2006 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| September 2006 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| August 2006 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| July 2006 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
| May 2006 | Monthly Forecast | |
| February 2006 | Monthly Forecast | |
| January 2006 | Monthly Forecast | Somalia |
Yemen and Somalia: Terrorism, Shadow Networks and the Limitations of State-building
Sally Healy and Ginny Hill - 20 October 2010
Download Paper in Arabic Yemen and Somalia face parallel challenges: insurgencies, terrorism, economic hardship, and ineffective governments that are perceived to lack legitimacy. Western engagement in Yemen and Somalia is based on a state-building framework involving diplomacy, development and defence. Yet the priority attached to security-sector interventions undermines the balance of...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/960/
Livestock Trade in the Djibouti, Somali and Ethiopian Borderlands
Nisar Majid - 8 September 2010
The pastoral economy and livestock trade form a critical platform for economic interdependence linking Ethiopia's Somali Region to Djibouti, Somaliland and Puntland. Ethiopia's Somali Region provides a major share of livestock exports. Its people are tied through kinship and trade to neighbouring countries, but this also creates the potential for...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/938/
Livestock Trade in the Kenyan, Somali and Ethiopian Borderlands
Hussein A Mahmoud - 7 September 2010
The Kenya-Somalia-Ethiopia borderlands constitute a dynamic livestock trading zone that supports the livelihoods of thousands of people. Despite the political turbulence of the last 20 years, the export of animals to feed the growing Kenyan market for meat has expanded and flourished. The trade networks have proved resilient and resourceful...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/937/
Somalia: A New Approach
Chatham House - 21 July 2010
This is a summary of an event at Chatham House on 21 July 2010 with Bronwyn Bruton, Author and International Affairs Fellow, Council of Foreign Relations, and Abdirisak Aden, former Permanent Secretary, Department for Information, Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. Event details >>
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/928/
Yemen, the Region and the World: Perceptions of Regional and International Interests
Chatham House - 6 April 2010
Download Paper in Arabic This is a summary of an event held in Sana'a on 6 April 2010 which examined the West's stated commitment to support development in Yemen, questions of security and migration and the potential role of wider regional powers. Key points: 2010 is a crucial year for Yemen in...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/857/
Yemen: Fear of Failure
Ginny Hill - 20 January 2010
Yemen presents a potent combination of problems for policy-makers confronting the prospect of state failure in this strategically important Red Sea country. It is the poorest state in the Arab world, with high levels of unemployment, rapid population growth and dwindling water resources. President Saleh faces an intermittent civil war...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/827/
Piracy and Legal Issues: Reconciling Public and Private Interests
Chatham House - 1 October 2009
This conference report is drawn from the Piracy and Legal Issues conference held at Chatham House on 1-2 October 2009. While the conference focused on piracy off the coast of Somalia, it was not confined to it, recognising that there has been a resurgence of piracy attacks in other parts...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/799/
Comoros: External Involvement in a Small Island State
Simon Massey and Bruce Baker - 1 August 2009
Download French Summary Comoros, comprised of the three islands Ngazidja, Nzwani and Mwali, has been coup-prone and politically chaotic since independence in 1975. The African Union launched a successful naval and military intervention into the Comoros in March 2007. Little noticed internationally, this intervention was a highly significant development for the...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/767/
Pirates and How to Deal With Them
Roger Middleton - 22 April 2009
This briefing note draws on a meeting of a roundtable of experts held at Chatham House on 26 February 2009 by the Africa Programme and the International Law Discussion Group. It brought together lawyers and practitioners from the military, industry and diplomatic services to clarify some of the legal concerns...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/733/
Entrepreneurs of Violence: Rebel Groups and Militias in Africa
Chatham House - 22 April 2009
This is a transcript of a meeting held at Chatham House on 22 April 2009.
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/742/
Piracy in Somalia: Threatening Global Trade, Feeding Local Wars
Roger Middleton - 1 October 2008
Piracy off the coast of Somalia has more than doubled in 2008; so far over 60 ships have been attacked. Pirates are regularly demanding and receiving million-dollar ransom payments and are becoming more aggressive and assertive. The international community must be aware of the danger that Somali pirates could become...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/665/
Lost Opportunities in the Horn of Africa: How Conflicts Connect and Peace Agreements Unravel

Sally Healy - 23 June 2008
The conflicts and humanitarian disasters from Sudan to Somalia are closely linked and a failure to understand this is undermining efforts to find peace, says a new report by Chatham House. The report is a study of three peace processes in the region dealing with the conflicts in Somalia...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/630/
The Crisis in Somalia
Transcript of Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah - 19 June 2008
This is a transcript from a meeting held on 19 June 2008 at Chatham House.
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/647/
Conflict in the Ogaden and its Regional Dimension
Sally Healy OBE - 7 September 2007
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/530/
Alternative visions for Somalia
Chatham House - 30 July 2007
On 24 July 2007 Hussen Aideed, who was appointed deputy Prime Minister in Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004 and is now a leading member of the opposition group based in Asmara Eritrea, spoke at a Horn of Africa Group meeting at Chatham House. He outlined how he...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/517/
Yemen and the Horn of Africa
Chatham House - 20 June 2007
Ginny Hill, a freelance journalist who has spent the last 12 months in Yemen, spoke about the refugee crisis as the ongoing troubles in Somalia force more and more people to attempt the dangerous crossing to Yemen. The meeting examined Yemen's role in the Horn and in its various crises.
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/504/
Failed Muslim States: Somalia and Afghanistan
Chatham House - 25 April 2007
The meeting looked at the route to and prospects for the current situations in both Somalia and Afghanistan. Professor Said S Samatar is a well known Somali academic historian and commentator, the author of numerous books and articles on Somali history, politics and culture. Among them are his landmark history...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/522/
The Islamic Courts and Ethiopia�s Intervention in Somali: Redemption or Adventurism?
Professor Said S Samatar - 25 April 2007
Professor Said S Samatar, Professor of African History at Rutgers University, was invited to speak at Chatham House on 25 April 2007. He is a well known Somali academic historian and commentator, the author of numerous books and articles on Somali history, politics and culture. The meeting looked at failed...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/521/
The Rise and Fall of Mogadishu�s Islamic Courts
Cedric Barnes and Harun Hassan - 1 April 2007
Multilateral efforts to support Somalia have been undermined by the strategic concerns of other international actors - notably Ethiopia and the United States. Security in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, has severely deteriorated since the US-backed Ethiopian intervention in the country. The Islamic Courts, which were ousted, had strong support in the country...
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/458/
President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed - 22 February 2007
Transcript of meeting held in Chatham House on 22 February 2007.
Interview
Disengaging From Somalia
Instead of fighting jihad in Somalia by supporting the weak transitional government, the United States would have more success focusing on humanitarian aid and development, says democracy and governance expert Bronwyn Bruton.
March 10, 2010
Backgrounder
Terrorism Havens: Somalia
June 7, 2010
Council Special Report
Somalia
Failed states provide fertile ground for terrorism, drug trafficking, and a host of other ills that threaten to spill beyond their borders. Somalia is thus a problem not just for Somalis but for the United States and the world. Bronwyn E. Bruton takes on one of today's most vexing foreign policy challenges, offering concise analysis and thoughtful recommendations grounded in a realistic assessment of U.S. and international interests and capabilities in Somalia.
March 1, 2010
Essential Documents
Ambassador Carson's Speech on U.S. Policy in Somalia, March 2010
Speech
March 12, 2010
News Release
United States Should Pursue New Approach to Somalia, Argues CFR Report
March 10, 2010
Analysis Brief
Morass in Somalia Deepens
Ethiopian troops appear to have won a military victory over Somalia's Islamic Courts militias, who fled Mogadishu Thursday. Their exit leaves a power vacuum in Somalia, and the United States’ focus on counterterrorism in the Horn of Africa may hinder its ability to defuse the crisis.
December 27, 2006
Analysis Brief
Somalia Exporting Discord?
A new UN report details a complex and troubling exchange that allegedly provided weapons to Somalia’s Islamist power brokers in exchange for dispatching Islamist commandos to Hezbollah and opening Somali uranium mines to Iran.
November 16, 2006
Analysis Brief
U.S. Strikes Somalia
A U.S. air strike in Somalia may mark the return of a robust U.S. military presence in the Horn of Africa. Though aimed at al-Qaeda operatives within Somalia, the U.S. action could reverberate throughout the region.
January 9, 2007
Analysis Brief
Somalia at the Crossroads
Despite the ouster of the Islamist militia last month, stability in Somalia remains elusive. Its leaders must decide whether to reconcile or return to warlordism.
January 23, 2007
Analysis Brief
Somalia at the Brink
With Islamic courts firmly in control of Somalia's capital, experts worry that a new Taliban may be emerging in the Horn of Africa.
August 7, 2006
Interview
Lyons: Ethiopia-Eritrea Conflict Fueling Somalia Crisis
Terrence Lyons, an expert on the Horn of Africa, says despite U.S. concerns about al-Qaeda, it is local rivalries driving conflicts in Somalia and elsewhere in the region.
August 22, 2007
Podcast
Lyons: Implications of Somalia Conflict for the Horn of Africa
Terrence Lyons, associate professor at George Mason University and an expert on conflict resolution, discusses the conflict in Somalia and its implications for the Horn of Africa.
January 3, 2007
Interview
The United States Should Avoid 'Grand Schemes' in Somalia
CFR's Bronwyn Bruton says the United States will not be able to end piracy in Somalia by using force and should take a modest approach that avoids grand schemes to reconstruct the government.
April 14, 2009
Analysis Brief
Somalia's Perpetual War
As the humanitarian crisis in Somalia deepens, experts see bleak prospects for reconciliation talks between the transitional government and the Islamist opposition.
May 9, 2008
Interview
The Capital Interview: Envoy Seeks Support for Ethiopia, Aid for Somal...
Ethiopia’s U.S. ambassador says his government needs more international help in securing Somalia and is wrongly blamed by Congress for rights abuses.
November 20, 2007
Op-Ed
Bombing Somalia is a Dud
Micah Zenko argues that given the ineffectiveness of recent U.S. operations in Somalia, airstrikes against Somali pirates would be militarily and politically unsuccessful.
April 23, 2009
Podcast
The United States Should Avoid "Grand Schemes" in Somalia
CFR's Bronwyn Bruton says the United States should avoid grand schemes in its attempts to fight piracy in Somalia.
April 13, 2009
Analysis Brief
Somalia Slipping Away
Despite international intervention to protect Somalia’s fledgling government, fighting persists while the humanitarian situation deteriorates. Regional stability is at risk once again.
May 29, 2007
Other Report
Somalia's Future
This report is a collaborative effort drawn up in a response to a request from Congress to examine the situation in Somalia, namely options for diplomacy.
March 29, 2007
Podcast
The Road Ahead: Violence and Reconciliation in Somalia
Idd Beddel Mohammed, Somalia's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations and Abdi Samatar, a Somali scholar at the University of Minnesota, discuss recent violence in Somalia and options for reconciliation.
April 27, 2007
Must Read
The Enough Project: Somalia after the Ethiopian Occupation: First Step...
Ken Menkhaus says the new U.S. national security team must implement a long-term strategy in Somalia.
February 9, 2009
Must Read
Chatham House: Piracy in Somalia: Threatening Global Trade, Feeding Lo...
This is a brief on the piracy issue in Somalia.
October 29, 2008
Must Read
CRS Report: Somalia
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report for Congress (PDF)entitled "Somalia: Current Conditions and Prospects for a Lasting Peace."
March 12, 2007
Foreign Affairs Article
In the Quicksands of Somalia
Washington's repeated attempts to bring peace to Somalia with state-building initiatives have failed, even backfired.
November 10, 2009
Foreign Affairs Article
Somalia and the Future of Humanitarian Intervention
The intervention in Somalia was not an abject failure; an estimated 100,000 lives were saved. But its mismanagement should be an object lesson for peacekeepers in Bosnia and on other such missions. No large intervention, military or humanitarian, can remain neutral or assuredly brief in a strife-torn failed state. Nation-building, the rebuilding of a state's basic civil institutions, is required in fashioning a self-sustaining body politic out of anarchy. In the future, the United States, the United Nations, and other intervenors should be able to declare a state "bankrupt" and go in to restore civic order and foster reconciliation.
March 1, 1998
Foreign Affairs Article
The Lessons of Somalia: Not Everything Went Wrong
The mistakes of the U.S. intervention in Somalia should not obscure its successes: a humanitarian tragedy was averted, and the political landscape was improved.
March 1, 1995
Essential Documents
Somalia's Clan Families
A CIA map shows the areas occupied by Somalia's clans and subclans.
March 1, 2002
Essential Documents
UN Security Council Resolution 733, Somalia
Resolution
January 23, 1992
Transcript
Somalia's Second Chance: [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]
Terence Lyons, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, and Vicki Huddleston, Former Charge D'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia, discuss the potential for Somalia to successfully establish a viable government.
February 23, 2007
Op-Ed
Somalia's Lesson-Don't Always Trust the Locals
January 24, 2007
News Release
Ethiopia-Eritrea Proxy War in Somalia Risks Broader Regional Conflict,...
Conflict in the Horn of Africa is escalating rapidly as power struggles within Somalia are exacerbated by military support that both Ethiopia and Eritrea give to the opposing parties there. Ethiopia backs the weak interim government; Eritrea sponsors the Islamic militants fighting to overthrow it. Because the United States has accused Somalia of harboring al-Qaeda suspects, “the Ethiopian-Eritrean proxy conflict increases the opportunities for terrorist infiltration of the Horn and East Africa and for ignition of a larger regional conflict,” warns a new Council Special Report.
December 14, 2006
Interview
The Capital Interview: Frazer Says Kenyan Crisis Has Consequences for ...
Jendayi Frazer, the top U.S. official in charge of African affairs, says Kenya’s crisis could have serious consequences for peace plans in Somalia and Sudan.
January 18, 2008
Backgrounder
Somalia's Terrorist Infestation
The United States lists Somalia as a haven for terrorists, and indeed, evidence suggests terrorists are using the fractured state as an operational hub. Yet Somalia's current links to terrorism are tiny in comparison to the potential problem the country poses.
May 26, 2006
Audio
Academic Conference Call: The Challenge of Somalia (Audio)
Listen to Bronwyn E. Bruton, international affairs fellow in residence at CFR, discuss her recent Foreign Affairs article, "In the Quicksands of Somalia," with students as part of CFR's Academic Conference Call series.
November 5, 2009
Essential Documents
UN Security Council Resolution 1851 (Somalia)
Resolution
December 16, 2008
Online Debate
What Role Should the U.S. Play in Somalia?
A pair of Somalia experts, Terrence Lyons and Sadia Ali Aden, discuss U.S. policy options for the war-torn nation on Africa's Horn.
May 21, 2007
Audio
Somalia's Second Chance? (Audio)
Listen to Vicki Huddleston, former charge d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Ethiopia, and Terrence Lyons, associate professor of conflict resolution at George Mason University, discuss the potential for Somalia to successfully establish a viable government.
February 22, 2007
Backgrounder
Somalia's Transitional Government
Though international observers had hoped Somalia's transitional federal government would bring stability to the war-torn nation after sixteen years of "failed state" status, by mid-2008 experts said it was fraught by internal divisions.
May 12, 2008
Backgrounder
Somalia's High Stakes Power Struggle
A group of Islamist courts have seized power across much of Somalia. Many outside observers are anxiously watching—and interfering—as the power struggle plays out between the Islamists and the official government.
August 7, 2006
Op-Ed
Somalia: Finishing an old job while fighting new terrorism
January 20, 2002
Op-Ed
Somalia: Terrorists' Next Stop?
January 7, 2002
Article
Self Induced Stalemate in Somalia: An Assessment of U.S. Policy Option...
Bronwyn Bruton considers U.S. - Somalian relations with the world's status quo.
November 12, 2008
Essential Documents
Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia pursuant to Security Council...
Report
November 1, 2006
Must Read
Better Off Stateless: Somalia Before and After Government Collapse
Peter Leeson, an economist at the University of West Virginia, argues in this paper that Somalis are better off under anarchy than they were under government.
Backgrounder
Al-Shabaab
A profile of the Islamist militant organization based in southern Somalia.
July 28, 2010
Op-Ed
Bring Back the Kitchen Mamas
Isobel Coleman argues that local women can play a role in mitigating the corruption that surrounds humanitarian aid in Somalia.
March 17, 2010
Analysis Brief
Proxy War in Africa's Horn
A long-simmering Ethiopia-Eritrea border conflict threatens the entire Horn of Africa, as troop deployments and other actions by the two rivals continue to fuel Somalia’s internal power struggle.
December 14, 2006
Analysis Brief
Somali Strife Imperils Africa's Horn
The conflict between Somalia’s weak interim government and an increasingly powerful Islamist faction simmered all summer. But Ethiopia’s military incursion into the shattered country has raised the stakes.
October 17, 2006
Analysis Brief
Horn of Terror
For over a decade Somalia has been a fractured state providing refuge for international terrorists. Intense fighting on the streets of Mogadishu in recent weeks has renewed fears that Somalia could pose an even greater regional threat.
May 26, 2006
HUMAN RIGHTS IN SOMALI REPUBLIC
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Selected Security Council Resolutions |
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Selected Presidential Statements |
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Reports of Council Missions |
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Selected Secretary-General's Reports |
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Reports of the Sanctions Committee, Panel of Experts and Monitoring Group |
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Selected Letters from the Secretary-General |
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Selected Meeting Records |
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Other Documents |
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