Forum: Security Council Issue: The situation in Somalia Student Officer: Zoe von Gerlach Position: President Introduction The situation in Somalia is a complicated one, with a long history. After two decades of chaos and no real government, the country has suffered droughts and clan warfare. The country of Somalia was created in 1960, by the joining of the territory of a former British protectorate and an Italian colony. In 1969, a coup headed by Mohamed Siad Barre declared the country a socialist state. His regime collapsed, when opposing clans drove him out of power in 19991. Since then, chaos has ruled the country, with many failed attempts to create new governments. The first real progress came in 2004, when the main warlords and politicians participated in talks taking place in neighboring Kenya and signed a deal to set up a new parliament, which would later decide on a new president. This was the 14 th attempt to establish a new government since 1991. Other than creating stability throughout Somalia, the new government faced a new challenge. In 2006, Islamists militias drove out the warlords that had been controlling much of the south of the country for 15 years. However, the administration, with aid from Ethiopian Groups and other forces, seized control from the Islamists by the end of 2006. Islamists insurgents that included the Al-Shabab group fought back against opposing forces and regained control of most of southern Somalia again by the end of 2008. When Ethiopia retracted their troops in 2009, Al-Shabab fighters took advantage of the situation and seized control a formerly key stronghold of the transitional government, Baidoa, within the same month. The ruling parliament met in the neighboring Djibouti in late January and swore in 149 new members, all from the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, the main opposition movement. 1
The government also decided to extend the mandate by two years and appointed Sheikh Sharif Ahmad as president, a moderate Islamist. Despite the efforts to include opposing moderate Islamists into the parliament, in May of 2009 Islamist insurgents launched an attack on the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu. This forced the president to appeal for international aid. A couple months afterwards, Al-Shabab proved its position as the strongest insurgent group by seizing control of the southern port city of Kismayo, formerly controlled by Al-Shabab s main rival. In 2011, a Kenyan army incursion and a number of African peacekeeper and Somali government offensives made Al-Shabad withdraw from Mogadishu in August of the same year. Through further pressure, the government also regained control of Baidoa in February, a key town close to the capital called Afgoye in May and the port of Merca in August. In October of the following year, Al-Shabab lost their last urban stronghold, Kismayo, along with the important inland town of Wanla Weyn. To conclude the transitional period that had been going on since 2004, clan elders where reunited and asked to elect 275 new parliament members. Clan elders where chosen for this job, seeing as they had maintained a lot of control over big parts of Somalia during the time following 1991. Warlords were not invited to join in the election. After making their decision, these 275 new parliament members where sworn in in August of 2012 at the airport of Mogadishu. These subsequently elected the president, Hassan Sheik Mohamud who officially became the new head of state on September 10 th, 2012. He is a civic and academic activist with little previous political experience. He in turn appointed the economist Abdi Farah Shirdon as prime minister. Due to the political instability of the country, since the 1990s, poverty and desperation have plagued Somalia. This caused an incredible amount of piracy. International ships have been constantly attacked, but this has decreased thanks to security measures on the trade ships. Besides the political issue, this has long been a major Somali problem. 2
Key Terms Defined Al-Shabab Literal translation is the youth in Arabic. Islamist militant group that is openly aligned with Al- Qaeda and in 2012 announced its merger with the global Islamist terrorist group. Al-Shabab, other smaller warlords and the transitional government fought over territory until 2012 when the government regained control over all of it. Al-Shabab remains the biggest threat and enemy to the Somalian state. It is banned as a terrorist group by the United States of America and the United Kingdom, and is estimated to have about 8,000 fighters. Transitional Period The time period from 2004 to 2012, where a transitional parliament was in power until a new parliament was sworn in in 2012. Somaliland Geographical area in northern Somalia that declared itself independent in May of 1991. Although not internationally recognized as a separate state, the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland has maintained stability and continues its effort to set up a constitutional democracy. It includes the regions of Togheer, Sanaag Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, and Sool. (Somaliland is not discussed in this resolution as it does not consider itself part of Somalia and as it has its own independent government.) 3
Puntland Semi-autonomous state, geographically in the north of Somalia and east of Somaliland. It has been self-governing since 1998, but does not have the aim of gaining independence. Puntland and Somaliland argue about their border, as Puntland claims parts of eastern Sool and Sanaag as their own. (Puntland is not discussed further in this resolution as it is has it has had its own government since 1998.) Piracy The practice of attacking a ship at sea to take control of said ship and steal the contents of it from its rightful owner. This has been a major problem in Somalia due to the political instability. Major Countries and Groups Involved United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) UNPOS was established by the Secretary-General on April 15 th 1995. It was created to aid in the development of long lasting peace. Its mandate included stabilizing the regional economy and reestablishing national security forces, including a police and military, funded by national and international donors and other interest parties. Another main goal of this organization was to help create a working political system to bring order back in to the lives of Somali citizens. With the completion of their ultimatum of setting up a new Somalia Parliament by August 2012, UNPOS had successfully completed their mission in Somalia. United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) By the recommendation of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Security Council created UNSOM on June 3 rd, 2013 when UNPOS handed them over a new mission. Their principal mandate is to support the Federal Government s reconciliation and peace process through strategic policy advice. The other main objective is to help the government spread respect for human rights and women s empowerment, which have presented major issues in the past. It is also supposed to help in investigating and reporting violations or abuses of human rights, especially abuses committed against children or women, or of international humanitarian law committed in Somalia and reporting these cases to the Security Council. It is also requested 4
to update the Council every 90 days on the situation in Somalia. UNSOM has its headquarters in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISON) AMISON is a multidimensional Peace Support Operation that was developed in Mogadishu in April of 2007. At present, it consists of nearly 6,000 peacekeepers and roughly of a total authorized strength 8,000. Their peacekeeping troops helped immensely in seizing back the power from Al-Shabab. AMISON s mandate s first and most important point is to take all necessary measures to reduce the threat posed by the islamic Al-Shabab and other armed opposition groups to the government. It is also supposed to help in expanding the Federal Government of Somalia s (FGS) control over its territory, to assist the FGS in creating the appropriate conditions for governance, which include the aid in protecting FGS s institutions, and to provide technical and other support to these FGS institutions. Their goal is also to help the government in paving the way for fair and transparent elections in the future, with the next one foreseen for 2016. AMISON s mandate also includes to facilitate humanitarian assistance in Somalia, to help with the return of refugees, to help coordinate the assistance by other African Union institutions which are working to help stabilize the country, and to provide protection to African Union and United Nations personnel in Somalia. The countries that contribute to AMISON troops are Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Uganda. The countries that are contributing to the police forces in Somalia are Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda. Other Important Actors As mentioned in this report several times, Somalia s neighboring countries have shown repeated efforts to try and help the Somali situation. During the lack of a government after the fall of Siad Barre s regime, countries like Kenya and Djibouti held conferences to try and discuss and debate over possible solutions. Neighboring countries have also been extremely helpful in lending 5
troops and police forces to AMISON, to help drive out and protect the country against opponent groups like Al-Shabab. Most Recent Security Council Resolutions on Somalia Security Council Resolutions on Somalia [2014] 29 May - On the extension of UNSOM s mandate for a period of 12 months [S/RES/2158] 5 March - On the extension of a partial arms embargo on Somalia [S/RES/2142] Security Council Resolutions on Somalia [2013] 18 November - On the renewal for another year authorizations for international action to fight all acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia in cooperation with Government authorities [S/RES/2125] 12 November - On the extension of AMISOM's mandate and an increase in troop strength [S/RES/2124] 24 July - On the arms embargo against Somalia according to resolution 733 (1992), as well as resolutions 1844 (2008) and 2093 [S/RES/2111] 2 May - On the establishment of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) [S/RES/2102] 6 March - On the definition of a new United Nations presence in Somalia, agreeing that the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) should be replaced by a new special political mission [S/2013/2093] 6
Possible Solutions There are many possible solutions to the question of Somalia, since the issue covers a wide range of problems, which are constantly changing and developing in different ways. UMSON and AMISON are already doing a great job, and the best thing the international community can do is to support these two organizations. It is very important to help the FGS in the transformation in creating a true democracy. It is crucial to help in the creation of a Constitution that ensures basic human rights and dictates the separation of powers. It is also necessary to make sure that the next elections scheduled for 2016 and all the ones that will follow will be fair and transparent. The piracy issue mainly came about because local fishermen have lost their livelihoods, as modern shipping vessels using bottom trawling ruin fisheries along their coast. To help towards eradicating the piracy issue, it is necessary to encourage and urge ships trading in the region to take many security measures on their boats. Armed guards are already widely implemented on these, and have helped the issue greatly. There are also many other security measures ships can take, and it would be good to outline them and spread this knowledge around. Related to the issue of piracy, is the unstable economy of the country. It would be constructive if international help was provided to give advice and train local economists and businessmen to restabilize the nation s economy. A big problem to Somalia s security is the widespread gun ownership among its population. Although it is not a simple problem to fix, there are many ways that gun ownership can be regulated, and reduced. Seeing as this is not only a problem in Somalia, international awareness of the issue is constantly spreading. Informing governments on the topic is crucial in working against this, seeing as FGS opponents are not only operating in Somalia but also in other countries. To ensure that Al-Shabab will not regain control of any Somali territories, it is essential to fix this issue. Another solution to many problems in Somalia is to work towards improving human rights. There are constant infractions in international humanitarian law and basic human rights. Women and children are especially affected. Ways have to be found to educate the population human rights and to encourage respect for these in every possible way. 7
Since the country has been divided for the last two decades, between different warlords and clans, in order to create a well-functioning and peaceful country it is necessary to have united people. Therefore, it would help if programs or other forms of interactions were organized so that children and adolescents from different regions would come together. Helpful Resources for Additional Research UNPOS http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/main/activities_by_region/africa/somalia_pira cy UNSOM http://unsom.unmissions.org/ AMISON http://unsom.unmissions.org/ All Security Council Resolutions from 1992 until 2013 http://unsom.unmissions.org/ Facts about Somalia from the CIA website: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html Works Cited Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html>. "Security Council Documents." United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia. United Nations. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://unsom.unmissions.org/default.aspx?tabid=6256&language=en-us>. 8
"Security Council Resolutions." Security Council Resolutions. United Nations. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://unpos.unmissions.org/default.aspx?tabid=9712&language=en-us>. "Somali MPs in Landmark Meeting." BBC News. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/worldafrica-19314308>. "Somalia." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/somalia>. "Somalia News." News. New York Times. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/somalia/index.html? offset=255>. "Somalia Profile." BBC News. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14094503>. United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia. United Nations. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://unsom.unmissions.org/>. "United Nations Department of Political Affairs - Piracy off the Coast of Somalia." UN News Center. United Nations. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/main/activities_by_region/africa/somalia_piracy >. 9
"United Nations Department of Political Affairs - Somalia: From Transition to Transformation." UN News Center. United Nations. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/main/about/updates/pid/24266>. United Nations Political Office for Somalia. United Nations. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://unpos.unmissions.org/>. "Who Are Somalia's Al-Shabab?" BBC News. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/worldafrica-15336689>. 10