problems in somalia 2020

The US military increasingly conducted airstrikes in Somalia and joint military operations against Al-Shabab. The decision to double down on pro-Government militias to address the threats posed by al- Shabaab thus risks producing new drivers of conflict while perpetuating deeply rooted intercommunal tensions. The full case study can be found here. The message from al-Shabab only adds to the government's concerns, especially as it could oppose medical help from international aid agencies just as it … Interview with the author, Mogadishu, January 2020. Two journalists, Mohamed Sahal Omar and Somali-Canadian Hodan Nalayeh, were killed in a July 12 Al-Shabab attack on a hotel in the southern port city of Kismayo. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) recorded a total of 1,154 civilian casualties by mid-November. The second part of the study analyses the structural and political drivers of militia formation and persistence in Somalia. In January, when Somalia became a member of the UN Human Rights Council, the federal government expelled the UN head in Somalia, Nicholas Haysom, pointing to a letter in which he had raised human rights concerns around government actions in Baidoa. Somalia expels Kenyan envoy in row over alleged poll interference Somali gov’t accuses Kenya of interfering in electoral process in one of Somalia’s five semi-autonomous states. Somali government forces responded to a handful of largely peaceful demonstrations with lethal force. The third section of the study describes the lack of a consistent policy towards militia groups in Somalia and the increasing tendency of various international actors to embrace and bolster militias. Steps should be taken to hold accountable the most egregiously behaving militias. See, Vanda Felbab-Brown, “The Hard, Hot, Dusty Road to Accountability, Reconciliation, and Peace in Somalia: Amnesties, Defectors’ Programs, Traditional Justice, Informal Reconciliation Mechanisms, and Punitive Responses to al Shabaab,” in The Limits of Punishment: Transitional Justice and Violent Extremism, ed. The newspaper was accused of spreading misinformation after it reported on the building of a new presidential palace in Hargeisa. The situation in Somalia is putting growing pressures on both the Somali Government and the international community to scale up the use of such militias. If this issue is not acknowledged and dealt with sooner rather than later, the country could face an even direr situation than it currently is in. According to the same assessment, almost 6.2million people across Somalia are projected to be in crisis and emergency (IPC Phases 3 and 4) acute food insecurity crisis – with IDPs accounting for over 70 per cent of the total. As a result, it is imperative that CCCM partners are equipped with guidance in order to continue site-­‐level activities supporting displaced with the ongoing COVID-­‐ 19 pandemic. The recommendations focus on the following areas: In addition to reviewing the relevant existing literature, this study is principally based on fieldwork conducted in Mogadishu and Baidoa, Somalia, in January 2020. In response, clan elders and local communities have bolstered their own clan militias as protection — not only against al-Shabaab, but also against the SNA. Dozens were arbitrarily arrested, reportedly including children. While Somali authorities seldom investigate cases of killings or attacks on journalists, a Somali media organization reported that the military court in Mogadishu in absentia sentenced to five years a police officer for the July 2018 killing of cameraman Abdirizak Kasim Iman. continue to threaten several lives in Somalia today. 4 in 100 Somali children die during the first month of life, 8 in 100 before their first birthday, and 1 in 8 before they turn five. Sixty-seven percent of this figure is due to indiscriminate and targeted attacks, the majority improvised explosive devices (IEDs) attacks, by the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab. This portion of the study explains the international community’s dilemmas in deciding how to deal with these newly strengthened forces. International donors supported the establishment of a new civilian court and prison complex in Mogadishu. As a United Nations official in Mogadishu put it, “We have tried to get to reduced killing in Somalia without ever resolving Somalia’s conflicts.”3 And in the words of an international military advisor in Baidoa: “Fighting a war through proxies is fraught with proxy problems downstream.”4 There is growing evidence that embracing militias rewards entrepreneurs of violence, reinforces impunity, and perpetuates violence. Somalia is marauded with a number of domestic problems including poverty, lack of basic services, national debt, and security issues to name a few, however of all of these problems, the most pressing is the lack of access to clean water that the nation faces. These individuals  faced serious abuses, including sexual violence, forced evictions, and limited access to basic needs such as food and water. Integrating militias into formal security forces; Putting them on payroll and providing them with non-lethal assistance without integrating them into formal forces; Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR); Addressing local conflicts as an indirect approach to eliminating the impetus for militias. This study first provides an overview of the evolution and current state of the political, economic and battlefield power of al-Shabaab, alongside the capacities and deficiencies of both the various Somali national security services and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). At the beginning of 2020, militias are once again at the forefront of a major policy debate about the strategy for State-building and security in Somalia. According to multiple media reports, Aisha was raped, mutilated, and strangled to death. Somalia has been in arrears to the IMF for over three decades—the ... the IMF has welcomed Somalis’ intention to begin making payments on arrears starting in 2020 … At time of writing, the court’s mandate remained unclear, and no juvenile facilities set up. Security forces, notably police forces, responded with lethal force, killing at least 15 protesters and injuring many others between December 13 and 15, according to the UN. They compete with each other and, at times, with the federal Government. He was accused of insulting public officials, disrupting government work, and spreading propaganda. The study then assesses the effectiveness and shortcomings of existing responses to militias in Somalia, providing recommendations to national actors, policymakers and practitioners. 19 May 2020: From January to June 2017 - 28,757 Somali refugees from Kenya were voluntarily repatriated to Somalia by UNHCR as part of its programme and benefited from an enhanced return package. Even countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany (which have been at the forefront of multilateral efforts in Somalia) are increasingly motivated to support at least one set of militia groups — the State-supported paramilitary darwish (also known as “special police forces”) — through financial and possibly other non- lethal support.2 These countries’ rationale is that, although reliance on militia groups for counter-terrorism and security is problematic, it is equally unsustainable and problematic to rely on the small and incompetent SNA and the national Somali Police Force (SPF). In December 2018, during the run-up to regional presidential elections in Baidoa, Ethiopian forces  arrested Mukhtar Robow, a former Al-Shabab leader who ran for the regional presidency, sparking protests. The humanitarian crisis in the country continued due to the ongoing conflict, violence, and increasingly frequent drought. Aisha Ilyas Adan, 12, went missing on February 24, and her body was discovered the next day near her home in North Galkayo, Puntland. Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in 90 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice, Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808, Displacement and Access to Humanitarian Assistance, Two Years After #MeToo Erupts, A New Treaty Anchors Workplace Shifts, Holding Companies to Account: Momentum Builds for Corporate Human Rights Duties, As Killer Robots Loom, Demands Grow to Keep Humans in Control of Use of Force, Shutting Down the Internet to Shut Up Critics, With Millions Out of School, the Countdown Begins to Get All Children into Quality, Accessible Education, Going to the Bank for Food, Not Money: The Growing Reality of Hunger in “Rich” Countries, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops, first independent National Human Rights Commission, Military courts continue to try defendants in a broad range of cases, killings, maiming, and the recruitment and use of child soldiers, at particular risk of sexual and gender-based violence, police detained for three days Ali Adan Munim, many of them children and internally displaced. Ethiopia and Somalia have not faced an infestation on this scale for 25 years, while Kenya has not seen a locust threat this size for 70 years, the FAO said earlier this week. As part of its continuing efforts to combat al-Shabaab, the international community has partnered with Somalia’s national Government to build Somalia’s official armed and law enforcement forces and civilian institutions of governance, while advancing a plan to devolve power to the country’s states (known as federal member states). The epidemiology of COVID-19 and its interaction with other diseases in Somalia, and in Africa, is not yet known, but will be revealed in the coming weeks. The UN documented over 100 incidents of sexual violence against girls. According to humanitarian agencies, over 173,255 people had been evicted, most forcibly, by August 2019, primarily in Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab remains one of Somalia’s most powerful political and military actors. Militias also divert manpower and resources from Somalia’s official forces, including by incentivizing defections. The Somali penal code, currently being revised, classifies sexual violence as an “offence against modesty and sexual honor” rather than as a violation of bodily integrity; it also punishes same-sex intercourse. All Somali parties to the conflict commited serious abuses against children, including killings, maiming, and the recruitment and use of child soldiers. Following the December 2018 police violence in Baidoa, key international partners—the European Union, the United Kingdom and Germany—temporarily suspended support to police in the South West State. Militia groups have historically been a defining feature of Somalia’s conflict landscape, especially since the ongoing civil war began three decades ago. In addition, the regions of Somaliland and Puntland have unilaterally declared autonomy. The cases of two girls who were gang raped by civilians and died received significant public attention. Somalia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world and as such presents unique challenges in terms of natural resource management. After the Somali government expelled special representative of the secretary-general Haysom, the UN suspended its monthly reporting on human rights issues. Other actors with substantial military assistance in Somalia, such as the Emirates and Turkey, may not be able to resist the temptation to intervene more forcefully. Nonetheless, rolling back militias in Somalia does not seem feasible at this time, given al- Shabaab’s new momentum and the lack of progress in building up the State’s capacities. The US military must not wash its hands of international legal obligations towards civilian victims of US air strikes in Somalia, Amnesty International said, following a Pentagon announcement that troops … Unfortunately, many children in Somalia are still deprived of this. Somalia removes prime minister in no-confidence vote 170 of 178 MPs back motion against Hassan Ali Khaire for failing to move towards democratic elections Published: 25 Jul 2020 A poorly concluded defeat of al-Shabaab could actually plunge the country back into open fighting as the remaining militias compete for power. UNICEF Somalia Amina, 24, is bringing sustainable solar energy to her community and challenging stereotypes. It also describes the pro-militia arguments made by Somali politicians, government officials, clan elders and international actors. Efforts have been made to combat this problem, but as of now, they have proved to be relatively ineffective. Media and NGOs documented several civilian casualties. Federal and regional authorities, particularly in Somaliland, continued to restrict free expression and media freedoms, including by harassing and arbitrarily detaining journalists and perceived critics, and temporarily shutting down media outlets. Find relevant information for Somalia on energy access ... Key Problems of the Energy Sector . Relations between the federal government and the federal member states deteriorated, diverting attention from needed reforms and on occasion resulting in abuses. As a result, countries such as the United States, Kenya, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates — the former three of which have military forces in Somalia — are losing their appetite for the State-building project in Somalia.1 With the SNA chronically underperforming, these countries are poised to intensify their cultivation of pro- Government militias to fight against al-Shabaab. December 7, 2020 • Press Release US must not abandon civilian victims of its air strikes in Somalia after troop withdrawal. Existing efforts to strengthen the SNA and other official forces are not producing adequate numbers of sufficiently competent Somali national soldiers. During that fieldwork, the author conducted 51 interviews with current and former officials of the Somali Government and the federal member states, current and former officers of Somalia’s national security forces, Somali politicians, business leaders, representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Somali clan elders, United Nations officials, international advisors to the Somali Government and international diplomats. Appointment of electoral commissions, in charge of overseeing upcoming indirect elections, sparked major dispute; tensions rose with Kenya; and Al-Shabaab continued deadly attacks. This study analyses the pros and cons of relying on militias for security provision and counter-terrorism objectives in Somalia. Somali powerbrokers, subfederal authorities, the national Government and external interveners have all turned to armed groups as a primary tool for prosecuting their interests. Poor rains and extended drought over multiple seasons have had a major impact on rural livelihoods and food security in Somalia, pushing the country to the brink of famine, just five years after the crisis of 2011 that claimed the lives of over a quarter of a million people.. Over half of the country’s population -- 6.7 million people –are now acutely food insecure (IPC 2,3 and 4). Foreign actors also instrumentalize Somalia’s militias, undermining Somalia’s sovereignty and entangling the country in geopolitical rivalries that could further destabilize the region. It declared that  2.1 million Somalis face acute food insecurity, as of late September, many of them children and internally displaced. United Nations officials and international diplomats, interviews with the author, Mogadishu, January 2020. As a result of more than 25 years of civil unrest, Somalia’s governance structures have fallen apart, and militias control different parts of the country. If remittances to Somalia do diminish significantly and the Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia is cancelled, if food imports remain restricted and prices start to rise, pressure will quickly mount. The assessed policies include: The final section of the study, on recommendations, builds on the analysis of current responses and offers concrete steps that would enable the Somali Government and international partners to limit the risks posed by militias while also benefiting from their unique capacities. Positively, Somalia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and produced its first report for the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Somalia. The UN explicitly linked the humanitarian situation to climate change, among other factors. The federal Sexual Offences Bill has been submitted before parliament, but had yet to be debated at time of writing. Dozens of government and security officials as well as former electoral delegates and clan elders who had been involved in the 2016 electoral process, were assassinated; Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for some of the killings. UN SC; Published 30 Aug 2018. This strategy based on auxiliary forces competes with ongoing efforts to bolster the State-building effort, including training of the official Somalinational forces (which include the national military, police and intelligence agencies), expanding a defectors’ programme for al- Shabaab and efforts to integrate at least some of demobilized militias into the official security sector. Critically, the Somali Government, the federal member states and the international community should refocus efforts on reducing local conflicts, as part of the broader strategy to combat al-Shabaab and build stronger relations between State and society. Ahead of Dec parliamentary elections and Feb 2021 presidential vote, federal govt early Nov appointed federal electoral commission, dispute…. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! This accounts for … Ongoing armed conflict, insecurity, lack of state protection, and recurring humanitarian crises exposed Somali civilians to serious abuse. Report of the Secretary-General on Somalia (S/2018/800) Source. Posted at 11:45 5 Dec 2020 11:45 5 Dec 2020 Trump orders US troop withdrawal from Somalia The US has about 700 personnel in the country targeting al-Shabab and Islamic State militants. Ilhan Omar says Trump doing 'what Somali dictators used to do’ ... Somalia embroiled in diplomatic row after expelling UN envoy. At the same time, militias may be the best hedge against even more direct intervention by outside actors. Somalia have high rates of stunting. Embracing militias carries many risks: As this study details, the loyalties of militia groups are fluid, as they are susceptible to recruitment by their enemies and may prioritize their own interests — or those of an external patron — over those of the State. Attention to ensuring accountability for abuses remained minimal. Somalia is not graded in the 2020 Index because of the continuing unavailability of relevant comparable statistics on all facets of the economy. Instead, policies should be adopted to reduce at least some of the most pernicious effects of militias and to mitigate their worst tendencies, even while working through and with them. 35.26 (2020) Energy Imports Net ... Find relevant data on energy production, total primary energy supply, electricity consumption and CO2 emissions for Somalia on IndexMundi Homepage. Al-Shabab continues to prohibit many nongovernmental organizations and all UN agencies from working in areas under its control, blockading some government-controlled towns. Introduction The UNICEF Somalia Health Programme will focus on foundational programming (health system strengthening) given the fragile context, pre-famine, drought and pockets of continuing insecurity caused by the Al Shabaab group. Decades ago Somali politicians, government officials, disrupting government work, and no juvenile facilities set up actors! 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