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HORN OF AFRICA:Somalia

BRANCH: EAST AFRICA10 August 2011

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OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION

1. Somalia Political Background Security Situation Humanitarian Situation South Africa’s response to the Humanitarian Crisis

SOMALIA1. Political Somalia has been without a functioning government for over

20 years. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was established

following the conclusion of Djibouti Agreement in 2008 following numerous attempts at establishing peace and stability in the country.

The Agreement was welcomed by some sectors of the Somali population and the international community, but was rejected by a number of other clans and groups, including the Islamist group Al-Shabab, who feel that the government is not inclusive and centred on Western ideals.

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Political Situation cont.

Since 2009, the TFG has had three different Prime Ministers and two Speakers of Parliament.

In-fighting and a blatant power struggle between the President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the Speaker of Parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden have limited the effectiveness of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs).

Elections scheduled to take place at the end of August 2011, have been postponed for twelve months until the end of August 2012 to allow stability to take hold in Somalia.

The political situation in Somalia has allowed the security situation to deteriorate with the TFG only in control of a few areas in the capital city, Mogadishu.

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Security Situation Somalia has experienced over 20 years of insecurity, apart from a

short period during 2006, when it was under the control of the Union of Islamic Courts (some of who’s members then formed Al Shabaab).

The insecurity has resulted in a large number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) fleeing to the border Somalia shares with Kenya.

The insecurity situation has also been exacerbated by the presence of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) who are supporting the TFG in its offensive against Al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab controls most of the regions in Southern Somalia, which still remains contested and there is constant conflict between the TFG forces and Al-Shabab over territory in Mogadishu.

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Security Situation cont. Al-Shabab regards the TFG as a an exclusive western centric

government. Al-Shabab are also hostile toward AMISOM as the group feels

AMISOM is supportive of the imposed government and present foreign forces on Somali territory.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attacks on Uganda in July 2010, as a warning to Burundi and Uganda to withdraw their troops, who make up AMISOM, from Somalia.

The continued instability has also negatively impacted on the dire humanitarian situation in Somalia.

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The Humanitarian Situation

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The Humanitarian Situation cont.

The humanitarian situation in Somalia is deteriorating on a daily basis. It is estimated that 3.7 million Somalis are in a state of crisis.

Southern Somalia, mostly under Al-Shabab control, has been the most affected region, with Mogadishu also declared as one of the areas affected by famine.

The UN has called on the International Community to mobilise itself and to contribute any form of assistance it could to the people of Somalia.

The AU has declared that it will be convening a Pledging Conference on 25 August 2011 in Addis Ababa where African countries are expected to make pledges toward alleviating the situation in Somalia.

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South Africa’s involvement in the Humanitarian crisis

The Government of South Africa has to date raised R8 Million Rands which has been donated by a number of Government Departments

DIRCO has appealed to other National Departments to assist wherever possible in providing aid to the people of Somalia and pledges have already been received from the Department of Social Development.

South Africa is working with locally based aid organisations including:

Gift of the Givers, in cooperation SABC and the IMC Africa Muslims Agency Islamic Relief South Africa Netcare South Africa Al Imdaad Foundation

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SA involvement cont. The decision for South Africa to cooperate with these organisations

was based on the fact that these organisations, apart from Netcare, have representation on the ground in Somalia and Kenya and were able to provide DIRCO with all the relevant information pertaining to the most affected regions, the kind of aid required as well as the security situation in the regions in crisis.

Analyses was also conducted through our diplomatic Missions in the region.

Due to the challenging terrain, the instability and the lack of trust by Al-Shabab of foreign organisations, only 20% of the 2.8 million people affected in Southern Somalia (outside of the capital Mogadishu) are receiving aid.

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SA Involvement cont. An amount of R4 million from various Government

Departments has been pledged to the Gift of the Givers, who have set up a camp in Mogadishu, distributing food, water, and medical assistance to IDPs who have moved toward Mogadishu in search of help. Additional plane-loads of aid will soon depart South Africa for Mogadishu to enhance this effort. Government’s contribution to Gift of the Givers will serve to cover the exorbitant costs of transportation of the goods.

An additional R4 million will be distributed between other organisations

South African Civil Society and communities have been mobilised and the response has been phenomenal

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SA involvement cont. Islamic Relief and Africa Muslims Agency have long been

established in Somalia, and have distribution centres in the affected regions such as Lower Shabelle, Bakool, Bay and Badoia. They also have sustainable development programmes in cooperation with the UNDP, UNHCR, OXFAM, WFP and other internationally recognised organisations, in addition to the emergency relief, much of which they are conducting on behalf of the WFP who cannot reach the areas. Both these organisations also have presence in the refugee camps in Kenya.

The Al-Imdaad Foundation has already indicated that it would be delivering assistance to the refugee camps along the Somalia-Kenya border, particularly Dadaab, which has reached capacity with aid workers and volunteers struggling to keep up with the daily influx of people crossing the border into Kenya.

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SA involvement cont.

Netcare has deployed a fact-finding mission to the region and have indicated that they intend to establish a field hospital in Dadaab or Ifo to see to the primary healthcare needs of the refugees and have deployed a fact-finding mission to the region.

The Somali Diaspora in South Africa have also mobilised to collect funds for aid to their brethren.

Through the Government’s endorsement of these South African and South African based aid organisations, the humanitarian assistance will be given a South African identity and continue in the spirit of Ubuntu and in line with our policy towards an African Agenda.

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SA involvement cont. South Africa is also home to a Somali community of approximately

40 000 who have come as refugees or entrepreneurs. There has been a scourge of attacks on these communities over the past two years. The aid from South Africa could therefore be regarded as a gesture of goodwill to the people of Somalia.

President Zuma, endorsed a comprehensive strategy for Somalia during the State of the Nation address in February 2011, which includes development, capacity and institution building. It is envisaged that through the partnerships formed for delivery of aid, some of the long-term goals in terms of this strategy can be rolled out to assist the people of Somalia in bring peace and stability in their country for a sustained livelihood, should a natural disaster like drought and famine ever occur again.

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