Policy Briefs

An idle youth with chronic unemployment is a ticking bomb and a danger to the nation as they are attracted to join dangerous groups to do harm, terrorist and violence acts. These dangerous groups exploit the youth to utilize them as means to kill, maim, rob and rape, and thus destroy the future of the next generation. If given the right opportunity, Somali youth have the potential to reinvigorate and become the saving grace of the nation. Reeling from a battered self-defeat of war and its aftermath as a country embarking on restoring Somali youth to become productive citizens should be given a priority. There is the potential to inspire the Somali youth to pursue education, employment and creative means to contribute peace and security as well as the development of the country.

This policy paper will examine rape culture in the context of traditional norms, historic nature of rape, rape as a weapon of war and the manner in which rape has climaxed in recent years. The aim is to analyze and dissect how powerlessness, inequality, entrenched cultural perception of gender and women’s place in society and the breakdown of social norms due to the Somali state failure are contributing to the increase in the incidences of sexual violence against Somali women, leading to horrific cases of rape on Somali women and girls. The policy brief will inform the impact of intersectionality of patriarchy, objectification, gender stereotypes, and normalized rape culture all precipitating the onset of rape and subsequent lack of reporting and criminalization.

On 5 April 2019 the President of the Federal government, Mr Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, has called for a meeting of the National Security Council, inviting the presidents of the Federal Member States to Mogadishu on 19 – 23 April 2019. Notwithstanding the suggestions that this NSC meeting is convened at the behest of Somalia’s international partners ahead of a crucial meeting to review Somalia Transition Plan for Security late April 2019, there is a concern that it may have been organised to shelf the Garowe conference.

The Horn of Africa (HoA) region has been riddled with inter-state armed conflict, poverty, drought, extremism and famine. Dictatorships and authoritarian regimes have ruled much of the region and contributed to the broken political and social system in the region. Decades of underdevelopment coupled with social disparity and divisions along ethnic, religious, tribal, cultural and political lines have contributed to the conflicts and social upheavals within the region. The Horn of Africa had not smelt any signs of integration until of recent in April 2018 when Mr.Abiy Ahmed was named Prime Minister of Ethiopia. It would be overly simplistic to attribute the concept of horn of Africa regional integration only to the inspiration of Mr Abiy Ahmed. For some time, this idea of regional integration was floated in a number of local and international forums as the springboard to construct viable polity to improve security and trade in the region.

Between March and June (2018) SIDRA Institute, in partnership with the Swedish organization Kvinna till Kvinna, undertook a study that gathered up to date data regarding women, peace and security in Somalia. The study -which main results are summarized in this Policy Brief- developed a series of data collection tools and methodology to collect information from secondary sources (i.e. literature review) and primary data (using qualitative methods). The study was informed by the review of policy and legislative documents of the governments, international and local development partners and other key stakeholders. Primary information was collected through focus groups discussions and key informant interviews in five cities in Somalia (Garowe, Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Adado and Galkacyo) and from other stakeholders in Nairobi.

To better understand the position the Somali government should take regarding the Gulf crisis, the Somalia Institute for Development and Research Analysis (SIDRA) carried out a policy briefing study in five of the major cities of Somalia (Mogadishu, Kismayo, Baidoa, Garowe and Adado). The study collected data through public surveys and key informant Interviews. For the public interview, 166 respondents were engaged in each city and a total of 830 respondents completed the study questionnaire. 50 key informant interviews were conducted in the five cities.

Female educational attainments are associated with women’s capacity to make informed decisions about various aspects of life, including health, marriage, and reproduction. To discuss the challenges and opportunities facing women in higher education and possible solutions, SIDRA arranged a knowledge exchange conference to discuss ‘gender in higher education in Puntland, Somalia on 21-23 November, 2016. This policy brief is based primarily on the output of the conference.

Climate change poses a great risk to the livelihoods of the Somali people. This is because the Somali natural environment and associated production systems are highly vulnerable to climate change. This policy brief address this problem by: (1) Assessing the key bio-physical constrains faced by the Somali natural environment, (2) Examining development challenges that reduce the adaptive capacity of the natural environment and production systems, (3) Based on 1 and 2, identifying actions that can be taken by government, local communities and development agencies to reduce climate change vulnerability.

Experience in the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals has brought out the limitations of the top down approach. There is an urgent need for localizing its successor programme, the Sustainable Development Goals. such an approach in Somalia would call for both structural and institutional changes in order to facilitate citizen participation in defining and implementing the SDGs. This policy brief sets out a preliminary agenda for the same.

The process of constitutionalizing democratic elections in Puntland began in 2008 under President Adde Muse’s through a draft constitution which was later adopted following a constituent assembly vote during President Farole’s administration. The draft constitution received an overwhelming acceptance in 2012 with 472 votes from 480 delegates. This resulted in the introduction of a multi-party system for the first time in Puntland’s history. The government enacted the new electoral law that culminated in the establishment of Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission. The first democratic local council elections were then slated for July 2013 but just a day before the polls, there was violence in Qardho and Galkayo towns leaving at least three people dead and resulting in the indefinite postponement of the elections, which were to be the first democratic election in Puntland since 1969. It is against this backdrop that this paper seeks to explore the perception and expectations of the citizens in Puntland towards this democratization process. Further, it seeks to identify the fundamental issues that need to be addressed prior to the commencement of this process and to provide a basis for public dialogue, which will ensure an evidence-based policy making process.