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Somalia
Area: 637,657sq km
Population: 8.86 million (2006 estimate)
Capital City: Mogadishu Mogadishu (currently controlled by the Islamic Courts Union; the Transitional Federal Government – see below – sits in Baidoa)
People: Somali (85%), Bantu, Arabs
Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English
Religion: Sunni Muslim
Currency: Somali shilling (No central bank so various currencies are used, including the Somaliland shilling)
Government: No central government since 1991 but a Transitional Federal Government (TFG) formed in January 2005. Regional governments in Somaliland (NW) and Puntland (NE)
International Organisations: Although there has been no effective government since 1991, the TFG and its predecessor, the Transitional National Government (TNG) have represented Somalia in the UN, the League of Arab States and the African Union.
GEOGRAPHY
Somalia is situated in East Africa with a coastline that borders the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. It shares borders with Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya.
HISTORY
Somali-speaking people inhabit the eastern part of the Horn of Africa, extending into areas of present-day Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. The north west of Somalia became a British Protectorate in 1887. The east and south became established as an Italian colony from 1894 to 1905. After World War II and a brief period of British military administration it became a UN Trust Territory. At independence in 1960 the British Protectorate and Italian-administered Somalia merged to form the Somali Republic. The fundamental goal was to unite all Somali-speaking people in a single country, but this has not been realised.
Civilian rule ended in 1969 when General Mohamed Siad Barre seized power in a military coup. He established a one party system around the concept of 'scientific socialism'. He presided over the disastrous Ogaden war of 1977-8, which was an unsuccessful attempt to liberate the Ogaden from Ethiopian rule. In the 1980s state authority began to crumble as various clan-based groups opposed to Barre’s rule began to form. In the northwest (former British Somaliland), the Somali National Movement (SNM) attempted to seize control in 1988. Barre countered with great violence, resulting in thousands of deaths and the flight of 400,000 refugees into Ethiopia.
Barre fled the country in January 1991 when another rebel group, the United Somali Congress (USC) gained control of Mogadishu. A full-blown civil war developed in the capital when the USC fragmented into rival, clan based factions. This contest remains unresolved and control of Mogadishu is divided among a variety of principally Hawiye warlords.
In January 1992 the UN established a small Cease-fire Observer Force operation (UNOSOM I). It failed to make any impact and as civil war escalated a massive humanitarian crisis developed. In December 1992 a US-led task force (UNITAF) intervened to create a secure environment for relief operations. It succeeded in securing the main relief centres in the starvation area but did not attempt to disarm the Somali clan militias or the warlords. UNITAF handed over to UNOSOM II in May 1993. In response to militia attacks, the Security Council authorised UNOSOM to take all necessary measures against those responsible and to arrest General Aideed. In the confrontation that ensued, 18 US Rangers were killed, which prompted the departure of US troops in March 1994. The last UNOSOM troops withdrew in March 1995 after the loss of thousands of Somalis and 70 UN peacekeepers.
POLITICS
Since 1991 over a dozen externally sponsored peace and reconciliation conferences have failed to provide a basis for restoring a government in Somalia. Meanwhile, local administrations, often clan or Islam-based, developed in much of the country. The most successful of these is in Somaliland. An administration has also been set up in Puntland, in the northeast. Over time, power has shifted somewhat from warlords to business, religious and traditional leaders. Traditional Islamic courts have coalesced loosely into the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which had become a potent political and military force by mid-2006.
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) launched a political conference in Nairobi (Kenya) in October 2002. In the course of 2004 the participants agreed on a Transitional Federal Charter, appointed a Parliament (based on clan representation) and elected Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf as Somalia’s transitional President (10 October). A Prime Minister, Prof Ali Mohamed Gedhi, was appointed and a government was finalised in January 2005. But the new government team quickly showed signs of fragmenting. Abdulahi Yusuf left Nairobi in June and established his part of the government in Baidoa. In summer 2006 a coalition of warlords – claiming to be against extremism and terrorism - attacked the ICU. The latter’s successful counter-attack threatened the security of the TFG. Arab League sponsored talks in Khartoum, from June 2006 onwards, between representatives of the TFG and fsiled to stave off direct confrontation. In December 2006 Ethiopia, in response to a perceived threat to the TFG in Baidoa, launched an attack on the ICU. The latter retreated into the countryside, allowing the TFG to instal itself in Mogadishu in January 2007
Somaliland
In May 1991, the north-western region of Somalia (ie: the former British Protectorate of Somaliland) declared unilaterally its independence as the 'Republic of Somaliland'. A government was elected for an initial 2-year period at a conference of elders and in May 1993 former Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal was elected President. Egal was re-elected for a five-year term by the National Communities Conference in Hargeisa in February 1997. A Parliament composed of members nominated by their clans was established, a new government was formed and a Constitution approved. A referendum on the Constitution took place on 31 May 2001. 97% of those voting supported the new constitution, which confirmed the region's unilateral secession from the rest of Somalia. Municipal elections were held in January 2003.
After the death of Egal in May 2002,Vice-President Dahir Riyale Kahim was sworn in as President. Presidential elections were held in May 2003 in which Riyale narrowly beat his opponent. Parliamentary elections were held on 29 September 2005. Somaliland’s stability has been widely acknowledged but it has not received formal recognition from the international community. It has stood aside from wider reconciliation processes but indicated its readiness to discuss relations with Somalia on a basis of equality once a new government is established in Mogadishu.
Puntland
Puntland established a parliament and a Regional Government in 1998 and enjoys relative peace and stability. It defines itself as a federal state and has no aspirations to independence. A political crisis occurred in 2001 when President Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf (now TFG President) refused to stand down at the end of his constitutional term. Col. Jama Ali Jama won fresh elections but Yusuf refused to accept the vote. After clashes between their respective militias, Yusuf eventually triumphed and went on to consolidate his position. Gen Ade Musa has taken over the leadership in Puntland since Yusuf’s election as TFG President.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The human rights situation is defined by the absence of effective state institutions. Somalis enjoy substantial freedoms - of association, expression, movement – but live largely without the protection of the state, access to security or institutional rule of law. Institutions are emerging in some parts of the country, especially Somaliland. Islamic courts play a significant role in Mogadishu. Overzealous application of supposedly Islamic law in the aftermath of the ICU’s successful struggle to secure Mogadishu attracted widespread media attention. Women generally have difficulty making their voices heard in the political arena but are currently playing a very active role in civil society organisations, which are flourishing in the absence of government.
ECONOMY
GDP: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$2.483 (2006 estimate)
Annual Growth: N/A
Inflation: N/A
Major Industries: Agriculture - livestock and bananas being the principal exports.
Major trading partners: Yemen and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia was a major trading partner until it placed a ban on livestock from Somalia in 2000 following an outbreak of Rift Valley fever.
Somalia’s economy operates in the absence of public sector management or regulation and without any formal economic or monetary policies. There is nonetheless a vibrant informal economy largely based on trans-national trade and livestock. About 50% of the population are pastoral. The urban private sector is also strong, especially in services such as telecomms. Commercial infrastructure and institutions are functional and relatively sophisticated. This vigorous economic activity is underpinned by remittances, estimated to be up to US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1 billion per year.
DEVELOPMENT
60% of Somalia’s population lives below the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1 per day poverty line. Human development indicators are uniformly low: only 14% of school age children attend school; Somalia has the worst health indicators in Africa with less than 0.5 doctors and 2 nurses per 100,000 people. Public service delivery is rudimentary in Somaliland and Puntland, and non-existent elsewhere. Where health and education services are provided by NGOs or UN agencies they are mainly operated by community-based local authorities. Providing development assistance to a needy country in the absence of functioning public institutions is a particular challenge. The UN leads with a humanitarian and development programme based in Nairobi.
UK development support to Somalia is increasing. DFID spent £8 million in 2004/5 and plans to spend £13.2 million in 2005/6.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Ethiopian relations with Somalia are fragile. Ethiopia has a large Somali population (Region V) and still harbour memories of Somalia's occupation of the Ogaden in 1977/78. Ethiopia has played an active part in the IGAD led peace process in Somalia but several Somali factions view Ethiopia’s engagement with deep suspicion. Ethiopia’s relations with the Somalis were greatly complicated when the former deployed troops to defeat the ICU. Kenya, also with a significant Somali population and host to the reconciliation process, is looked upon by Somalis with much less suspicion, despite occasional border incursions by warring Somali clans.
SANCTIONS
UN Security Council resolution 733 (1992) imposed an arms embargo on Somalia. The United Nations Arms Embargoes (Liberia, Somalia and the Former Yugoslavia) Order of 1993 sets out the licensing requirements in the UK for all acts associated with the sale or supply of arms to Somalia. Corresponding Orders exist for the Dependent Territories and Crown Dependencies.
Unfortunately, the UN arms embargo has been widely flouted. Since 2002 the Security Council has authorised an Expert Panel - subsequently a Monitoring Group - to investigate violations of the embargo. They report six monthly to the Security Council. There is a developing debate whether the embargo should be selectively lifted in order to allow security sector reform in the TFIs.
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