HORN OF AFRICA CONFERENCE FOCUS ON SOMALIA THE ROLE OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE

Transcription

1 9th HORN OF AFRICA CONFERENCE FOCUS ON SOMALIA THE ROLE OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE VS SECTARIAN POLITICS IN SOMALIA LUND, SWEDEN, 4-6 June 2010 Organized by Somalia International Rehabilitation Centre (SIRC) More than 400 participants from around the world Mayor City of Lund, Rector of the University of Lund, scholars and practitioners from different universities & institutions, UN Secretary- General Special Representative for Somalia United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), UNDP Country Director/Somalia, European Commission sections for Horn of Africa & for Somalia, Executive Secretary General of Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Swedish Foreign Ministry Special Envoy for Horn of Africa, Finland Special Envoy for Sudan & Horn of Africa, Finland Foreign Ministry, African Union (AMISOM), Djibouti Minister of Culture & Communications, Somali TFG Ministers for Foreign Affairs & Transport, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Horn of Africa ambassadors representing Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and Swedish Ambassador for Somalia, politicians, international NGOs, Somali civil society organisations, university students, international journalists from BBC, VOA, Universal TV, Hiiraan Online, New York Daily Challenge Newspaper, freelance journalists, and large audience mostly from Europe and North America participated in Lund conference, Sweden, between 4th and 6th June 2010, which ended in a great success. Here are the recommendations from the three days conference. RECOMMENDATIONS Twenty years on Somalia has still no viable government. Security situation inside the country particularly Mogadishu and its surroundings is getting worse. No sign of abating of the civil war. Somalis more divided than ever. International community says doing their best, but the results speak for themselves. Pirates are overshadowing the Somalia crisis. Issues such as environment, human rights violations, distribution of food aid, IDPs have taken the back seat. 1. Total stability will not come overnight Somalia is a long running crisis, and at a crucial juncture. It is a key to go beyond the present, national and international legacy of two decades of conflict, and equally important to remain focused on a way out. Overall, a continued and responsible commitment is an obligation. Overcoming the current hardships and insecurity requires a determined, long-term effort to promote political cooperation and build strong government institutions, while in the short term

2 countering the pervasive influence of foreign fighters and other elements of extremism, but also those profiting from the conflict. Finally, there is a need for a coherent approach by all external actors (UN, IC, NGOs etc.), including professional meddlers and informal mediators. 2. Somalia Needs Minimum Government Somalia needs minimum and effective government, parliament and fight against corrupt policy. TFG should be fully supported but this support should be coupled with accountability and transparency. The Somali Diasporas must be involved to help rebuild government institutions including taxation, justice, administration, management etc. Fight against corrupted policy should be give priority such as. Bad Governance Lack of political will Political patronage Breakdown or erosion of societal values and norms Weak or absent management systems, procedures and practices Misuse of discretionary power vested in individuals or offices Weak civil society and general apathy Lack of professional integrity Luck of transparency and accountability Tribalism, favouritism, nepotism and cronyism Inefficient public sector Greed Non-enforcement of the rule of law 3. Transitional Federal Government The Somali Government should tend to defeat their opponents on the political front before they try to defeat them in the battle front. It should try to win the hearts and minds of the Somali people. 4. Job creation for the youth High rates of unemployment among the Somali youth leads many young men turn to radical Somali groups for help and employment. Job creation for the youths should be given a high priority. Encourage and support the ongoing projects such as disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) and arms violence reduction project (AVRP). Joining to the Al-Shabab militias is currently the only and the most potential recruitment channel for the unemployed youth in the country. The United Nations and international community should give more weight on creating jobs for the youth.

3 5. Sea piracy Sea piracy is the act of high-jacking and attacking the ships on the sea. It is an act of crime. Piracy in Somalia do not have a fixed place, but merely move on the sea hunting cargo ships and tourists to get a large amount of ransom for freeing the ships and captives. They claim to be protecting Somalia from illegal fishing and dumping industrial wastes. Somali Sea piracy can only be solved by setting up a functioning government in Somalia. The millions of dollars being spent on chasing the pirates should be spent to build a viable Somali government including the creation of well equipped and well paid military and police forces. In addition to this, a multi-polar framework is needed. This multipolar framework seeks to find cooperative multisided strategy that can address the interlocking piracies of illegal fishing, dumping of nuclear waste and sea piracy. This new framework insists that the only viable means to ensure long term peaceful commercial seafaring off the Indian Ocean coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden is the restoration of a functioning government to Somalia. It seeks to find cooperative multisided strategy that can address the interlocking piracies of illegal fishing, dumping of nuclear waste and sea piracy. 6. Horn of Africa conferences Conference organizers have to approach and include all those who are part of the conflict on the ground, so they can have a say in conferences like this one in Lund. There is a need to increase the number of educated youth participating in the conference in order to increase their social, political and economic awareness of what is going on in the region and play vital role in peace building and democratic governance in the Horn of Africa. It has become unique forum for the Horn of Africa region. The conference is the only annual event which gathers different stakeholders of the region to discuss crucial issues affecting people and states of the region. The forum needs more marketing and advertisement and its proceedings need to be spread among academics, universities, libraries, international organizations and institutions around the world. 7. International community s involvement in Somalia There were two contradicting ideas in the involvement of international communities for the state building s process. The international community should be actively involved in

4 capacity Building.. Eurocentric notion of state building should be deconstructed in Somalia. Instead the pre-colonial reality should be taken into account. Security infrastructure should be lifted by giving adequate support to the security and legal institutions. 8. Time for another Major International Military Presence in Somalia? There are some who now call for a massive UN intervention in Somalia with a mandate that would allow it to occupy the country. Supporters of such a proposal that this approach did not work in the early and mid-1990s and it certainly is not the answer today. A multinational coalition with little understanding of the situation on the ground would immediately find itself engaged militarily with a host of radicalized Somali groups. While the larger international force would probably win most of its military engagements, it could not possibly occupy all of Somalia and its very presence would further radicalize additional Somalis. The sooner the TFG can stand on its own and the African Union forces can leave the country, the better it will be for Somalia, the African Union and the international community. 9. External Actors Internal crisis in Somalia depend to some extent on external involvement and without external involvement, it could not prolong and sustain. It is necessary to reduce external influence particularly neighbouring states. 10. Democratic governance and respect for Human rights The existence and effective operation of a national justice system and upholding the Rule of Law is an indispensable feature of an appropriately organized and operating society. The absence of an effective justice system signals the onset of social disorganization and, almost always, economic decline. In post-conflict environments, it foretells low to no economic development and high insecurity amongst ordinary people. A legitimate, functioning and coherent justice System is urgently needed to establish peace and stability in post-civil war Somalia. It is urgently needed to: 1) Strengthen the basic capacity of criminal justice institutions (including judicial institutions, legal professionals, legal education institutions) with the provision of basic, continued and specialized training in connection with international norms and standards and the development of case management and performance evaluation / monitoring mechanisms. 2) Promote a broad-based dialogue to reach consensus between Somali political leaders and the Somali public on the need for harmonization of Somalia s formal and informal legal codes, in

5 accord with basic international human rights standards, and support to the drafting of new legislation. 3) Empower the Somali public legally through Legal clinics, legal aid, translation and dissemination of laws and judicial procedures, and coordination with community-based justice initiatives. 4) Promote the establishment of a stable political environment for justice through a plan of action to address priority transitional justice issues. 5) Devote further efforts to mobilize prerequisite political and financial support for these efforts. 6) Somalia is the most human rights violated country in the world. The Somali people need protection under the international law. All fighting forces including Alshabab, Hizbul-Islam, Ahlu-Sunnah, the Somali Government and AMISOM should be made accountable for their deeds. All those who committed crime against humanity should be taken to International Criminal Court urgently on the basis of the UN Human Rights Commission report for Somalia as well as reports from international human rights defenders like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and local Somali human rights defenders reports. Tribunal would have to be accountability to hold perpetrators responsible for their conduct, through public acknowledgement of the criminal responsibility for violations of human rights and humanitarian law. 11. Somali constitution The upcoming Somali constitution should be shared openly with the Somali people and particularly with the Somali academics and Somali Diasporas as a whole. The upcoming constitution should also respect the Somali customary laws, Islamic values and traditional practices. 12. Civil society Grass root organizations should be given a platform in state building in Somalia. They are the ones who are doing the ground work and have direct and daily contact with the community. 13. Internally displaced people (IDPs) IDPs should be entitled to protection as well as to provision of basic necessities such as water, food and shelter and they should be also be given basic educational and health services.

6 14. Environment The international community has ignored for too long the illegal fishing, charcoal trade and the use of Somalia coasts as dumping ground for the industrial waste. The international community must take all necessary measures to investigate, document and follow-up all criminal activities both national and international regarding the destruction of Somalia s natural resources. 15. Crisis caused by resource scarcity Somali crisis is mainly resulted from resource scarcity fueled by the widespread social injustice and mismanagement since the independence. The widely perceived tribalism can t be the only cause of the current conflict but could be defined as a traditional tool for survival and interest group identification and alliance in this harsh environment of resource scarcity. Resources available should be efficiently and effectively utilized to minimize crisis. 16. A nation in identity crisis The warlords destroyed the customary law and the traditions. The Islamic groups are destroying the faith of the Somali people and the sense of nationhood, radicalisation of the Somali youth is a dangerous and an ongoing process. Somalis are Somalis because of their culture and Somali culture has become the first victim of the conflict. Somali culture has been under utilized in the state building. Traditional and cultural ways of resolving conflicts have played a pivotal role in the present peace and stability in both Somaliland and Puntland. The Somali way of solving conflicts is lacking in the South and central regions and it should be encouraged and supported. 17. Possible road map to exit the crises in Somalia The above arguments suggest a different picture of Somalia compared to the one presented by International community and represent starting points to work on for supporting peace-building initiatives and theorize a constructive disengagement from the country. The constructive disengagement option for Somalia has been recently put forward by a US policy adviser who, suggests that giving up a bad strategy is not admitting defeat and advances the idea that in the Somali case, where foreign interventions have routinely produced the opposite of the desired effect, doing less might be better 1. This option was referred to US policy against terrorism in Somalia, but can reasonably apply to the political and 1 Bronwyn Bruton, 2009, In the Quicksands of Somalia. Where doing less Helps more. Foreign Affairs Vol. 88, N. 6, pp

7 humanitarian strategies implemented so far in Somalia by the International Community. Constructive disengagement of the International Community from Somali politics, including the direct support to one part in conflict (the TFG) with military training and arms supply will probably benefit Somali population in the long term. Surely, reduced arms availability in the country and reduced military training would lead to reduced violence and consequently reduced loss of human lives and reduced human insecurity. With reduced violence, south central factions may gradually start negotiations, as it happened in Somaliland in 1991 or agree on power sharing mechanisms as it happened in 2006 during the Islamic Courts Union ruling in Mogadishu. Also, as noted during a recent seminar on the security situation in Somalia 2, lessons learned from extremist groups Afghanistan and Iraq suggest that local factions have no interest in letting the population starving because this would turn the people against them; therefore, when the principles of neutrality and independence are compromised, constructive disengagement from humanitarian and development activities will probably force local factions to respect international aid activities on the field. This severity in sticking to humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality will possibly lead to reduced tensions upon humanitarian and development aid diversion, thus impacting positively on the do not harm principle. If the most likely alternative to the mentioned option is a persisting and worsening conflict scenario among factions, being them clan or religious based, with increased human insecurity, Somalia might be the first case in history where the humanitarian imperative imposes not to intervene. Observe! Proceedings of the 9th Horn of Africa conference 2010 will be published as a book by Media Tryck of Lund University at the end of this year as planned. 2 The hanging Security Situation in Somalia: Implications for Humanitarian Action Seminar hosted by The Brookings Institution, University of Bern, 12 January 2010, Summary Report.