04/03/2008

On Monday, March 31, Refugees International Advocate Patrick Duplat delivered a speech in front of members of the United Nations Security Council regarding humanitarian concerns in Somalia. The following is the text of his remarks:

Refugees International has just returned from a 5 week mission to Yemen and Somalia to evaluate the humanitarian situation and assess security conditions and the prospects for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force. In Somalia, my colleague Erin Weir and I traveled to Mogadishu, along the Mogadishu-Afgooye corridor, and into parts of Lower Shabelle. My presentation today draws from our direct observations, as well as discussions with a number of Somalis, UN and NGO staff both in Nairobi and in Somalia. Part of that information was given to us on a confidential basis, for fear of retribution and because speaking out has become increasingly dangerous in this environment.

The humanitarian situation has reached crisis proportions. As an organization working to promote the welfare of refugees and displaced people, Refugees International is extremely concerned at the lack of protection for displaced Somalis. The high number of refugees making the dangerous crossing of the Gulf of Aden into Yemen is a testament to their desperation.

The humanitarian environment is an extremely difficult one for operating agencies, and their programs are dictated more by the constraints they face, than by the needs of the beneficiaries. The total aid dollars committed by international donors now amounts to close to half a billion, a huge investment, but the needs are still greater. Until access improves, the response will continue to be insufficient.

Ultimately, it is the political and security environment that holds the humanitarian situation prisoner – and hence will be the focus of my comments today. I will frame my remarks with reference to the recent Secretary General’s report and the conclusions drawn by the strategic assessment mission – as they aim to serve as a blueprint for the Security Council’s actions.

First and foremost, Refugees International is concerned that the international community has shaped its response with the implicit assumption that the Transitional Federal Institutions constitute a viable, legitimate basis upon which to build a government in Somalia. Based on our interviews, it is clear that Somalis view the TFG as an illegitimate body propped up by an occupying power. Moreover, many senior UN officials have privately expressed considerable reserve as to the political viability of the government. One image which was used to characterize the TFG is that of a hologram. It has the appearance and the trappings of a government but it is empty of any real substance.

The mistrust of the Somali people in their transitional government derives from the lack of physical presence or service delivery in large parts of the country, and is reinforced by the gross abuses committed by both TFG and Ethiopian forces. The international community has been slow to acknowledge the scale of the abuses, and loath to criticize a government they support. What are the immediate implications? Abuses must be stopped. Perpetrators must be held to account. The international community’s focus on Security Sector Reform and government capacity-building is premature. Rule of law cannot be built on a legacy of abuses.

On the security front, three scenarios are currently being discussed: the bulking up of AMISOM, the deployment of a multinational stabilization force and a UNPKO. We strongly support the cautionary tone taken in the Secretary General’s report and the emphasis for a phased approach needing political buy-in from opposition actors. In this regard, I would like to emphasize:

• First, peace cannot be militarily imposed. The question should not be about troop numbers, but about acceptance.


• Second, a UNPKO in this environment is not neutral, nor will it be seen to be neutral by the Somali people, whatever preconditions are established. If the Security Council authorizes a UNPKO, the mission mandate must focus on the ways in which it can address the political roots of this crisis. Any effort to frame a future mission as a primarily ‘humanitarian’ undertaking would be received with cynicism as well as violent opposition from armed groups.


• Third, for now the AMISOM force is generally accepted as a non-threatening presence insofar as it does not represent a threat to armed interests in Mogadishu. But AMISOM should only be expected to proceed with expansion under similar conditions to those that would permit the deployment of a UN force.


• Fourth, members of the Security Council need to consider the challenges of contemporary peacekeeping as well as the military and financial resources that would be needed for what would be the single largest peacekeeping deployment in the world. A UNPKO resolution should be more than just a symbolic gesture and a weak, under-resourced peace operation would do more harm than good.