November 01

Contact Group On Piracy Off The Coast Of Somalia

Somalia Piracy Trackbacks (0)

Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia The Contact Group, or CGPCS, established in 14 January 2009 by United Nations Security Council resolution 1851 (2008), is a voluntary, ad hoc international forum of approximately 70 countries, organizations and industry groups with a common interest in combating piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. This website provides details of recent activities. It includes factsheets and reports on recent piracy as well as UN policing.

From LSE Library blog

July 01

Understanding Al-Shabaab

Terrorism & Counter-Terrorism Conflict and conflict resolution Somalia Trackbacks (0)

Somalia: Understanding Al-Shabaab

Summary

On 8 May 2009, Al-Shabaab reinforced by a faction of Hizbul Islam and former Islamic Courts Union’s (ICU) leader Sheikh Aweys began what they claimed was a final assault on the capital Mogadishu in an attempt to destroy President Sheikh Sharif’s fragile National Unity Government. A wave of targeted assassinations of ICU officials and Al-Shabaab commanders in mid-April onwards, the reshuffling of military and political alliances among Islamist factions and inflammatory rhetoric that has led to a polarization of political positions has all but eliminated prospects for reconciliation between the government and the opposition.

At the time of writing the government is managing to keep hold of southern Mogadishu. Nevertheless Al-Shabaab continues to gain ground in central Somalia and is positioning itself for what it hopes will be a decisive military victory. This report briefly examines the nature of Al-Shabaab’s ideological stance, their political ambitions and why this movement constitutes the gravest threat to the survival of Sheikh Sharif’s government and the Djibouti peace process that gave it birth...[Full paper]
 
Situation Report, Institute of Security Studies 

Date issued: 3 June 2009
Author: Paula Cristina Roque

Contact: phandy@issafrica.org

January 26

Somalia. International Crisis Group

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Somalia: To Move Beyond the Failed State
Source: International Crisis Group

Since 1991 Somalia has been the archetypal failed state. Several attempts to create a transitional set-up have failed, and the current one is on the brink of collapse, overtaken yet again by an Islamist insurgency, despite the support of an Ethiopian military intervention since December 2006. Over the last two years the situation has deteriorated into one of the world’s worst humanitarian and security crises. The international community is preoccupied with a symptom – the piracy phenomenon – instead of concentrating on the core of the crisis, the need for a political settlement. The announced Ethiopian withdrawal, if it occurs, will open up a new period of uncertainty and risk. It could also provide a window of opportunity to relaunch a credible political process, however, if additional parties can be persuaded to join the Djibouti reconciliation talks, and local and international actors – including the U.S. and Ethiopia – accept that room must be found for much of the Islamist insurgency in that process and ultimately in a new government dispensation.

+ Full Report (PDF; 1.1 MB)

Docuticker permalink

January 14

Crises In The Horn Of Africa. House Of Commons Library Research Paper

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Interlocking crises in the Horn of Africa
This site provides free acces sto the full text of a House of Commons Library research paper which was published as 08/86 in November 2008. The 74 page report provides a solid grounding in issues relating to recent interrelated conflicts, wars and security crises in nations located in the Horn of Africa. These include descriptions of the origins and key events of conflict in Ethiopia-Eritrea conflicts; Somalia; Somaliland and Djibouti. A bibliography of references to further reading is also provided. From: Intute.ac.uk
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2008/rp08-086.pdf
December 18

Somalia And Piracy. UN Security Council

United Nations Somalia Piracy Trackbacks (0)

The Security Council met yesterday to discuss Somalia and piracy off the coast (S/PV.6046 to be issued; see the press release). The resolution adopted at the meeting calls on states and regional and international organizations "to take part actively in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia" (S/RES/1851(2008)). Also recently issued is the report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia, mentioned in the resolution's preamble (S/2008/769).

UN Pulse permalink

December 10

War On Terror - From Afghanistan To Somalia. International Council On Security And Development

Terrorism & Counter-Terrorism Policy Afghanistan United States of America International relations Somalia Trackbacks (0)
Chronic Failures in the War on Terror - From Afghanistan to Somalia
The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS), formerly known as The Senlis Council is an international think tank known for its work in Afghanistan and other conflict zones. It is a project of the Network of European Foundations' Mercator Fund. This site provides free access to the full text of its report published in May 2008.ISBN0-9555008-4-2. The 81 page report compares and contrasts insurgencies in Afghanistan and Somalia. It then considers American foreign policy toards the regions and possible future trends. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.senliscouncil.net/modules/publications/chronic_failures_war_terror
December 04

Piracy

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Piracy at Sea
URL: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/piracy_at_sea/index.html

Description:
Collection of news and analysis about piracy at sea, such as material about 2008 activities by pirates from Somalia. Includes an interview with a spokesman for the Somali pirates, slideshow on Somali piracy, and other material back to the mid-1980s. Also include links to related sites. From The New York Times.

Annotation copyright LII.ORG

November 22

Somalia. UN Secretary General

United Nations Somalia Trackbacks (0)

The latest report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Somalia has been issued (S/2008/709). The report provides an overview of the political and security developments over the past few months, reports on the activities of the UN and the international community, and records the observations of the Secretary-General on the situation in Somalia.

Permalink UN Pulse

August 07

UN Security Council Mission To Djibouti (On Somalia), The Sudan, Chad, DRC And Ivory Coast

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The report of the Security Council mission to Djibouti (on Somalia), the Sudan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Côte d'Ivoire, 31 May to 10 June 2008, has been issued (S/2008/460). The report summarizes the discussions held in each country and presents the findings and recommendations of the mission. Annexes include the terms of reference and composition of the mission. A full list of the Security Council missions since 1993 is available in the UN-I-QUE database.

UN Pulse Permanent link 

June 24

Children And Armed Conflict In Somalia

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Children and armed conflict in Somalia
The latest report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Somalia has been issued (S/2008/352). According to the summary,
"The report stresses that the level of grave violations against children in Somalia has been increasing over the past year, particularly with regard to the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict; the killing, maiming and rape of children; and the denial of humanitarian access to children."

UN Pulse Permanent Link: Children and armed conflict in Somalia

June 13

Children And Armed Conflict In Somalia

United Nations War Violence Children Somalia Trackbacks (0)
The latest report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Somalia has been issued (S/2008/352). According to the summary,
"The report stresses that the level of grave violations against children in Somalia has been increasing over the past year, particularly with regard to the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict; the killing, maiming and rape of children; and the denial of humanitarian access to children."
 UN Pulse Permanent Link: Children and armed conflict in Somalia
February 01

Human Rights Watch: 2008 Report

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2008 Report: Democracy Charade Undermines Rights [pdf]
Human Rights Watch Highlights Abuses in Pakistan, Kenya, China, Somalia

(Washington, DC, January 31, 2008) – The established democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections for political expediency, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2008. By allowing autocrats to pose as democrats, without demanding they uphold the civil and political rights that make democracy meaningful, the United States, the European Union and other influential democracies risk undermining human rights worldwide.

States claiming the mantle of democracy, including Kenya and Pakistan, should guarantee the human rights that are central to it, including the rights to free expression, assembly and association, as well as free and fair elections. But in 2007 too many governments, including Bahrain, Jordan, Nigeria, Russia and Thailand, acted as if simply holding a vote is enough to prove a nation “democratic,” and Washington, Brussels and European capitals played along, Human Rights Watch said. The Bush administration has spoken of its commitment to democracy abroad but often kept silent about the need for all governments to respect human rights.

“It’s now too easy for autocrats to get away with mounting a sham democracy,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “That’s because too many Western governments insist on elections and leave it at that. They don’t press governments on the key human rights issues that make democracy function – a free press, peaceful assembly, and a functioning civil society that can really challenge power.”

In its World Report 2008, Human Rights Watch surveys the human rights situation in more than 75 countries. Human Rights Watch identified many human rights challenges in need of attention, including atrocities in Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Sudan’s Darfur region, as well as closed societies or severe repression in Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Libya, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. Abuses in the “war on terror” featured in France, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among others.

To download report go to: http://hrw.org/wr2k8/pdfs/wr2k8_web.pdf