The Somali peace conference in Nairobi, Kenya, has concluded and transitional national government has been formed. The Somali people welcome the progress made so far and hope that their nightmare will soon come to an end. These good tidings are, nonetheless, accompanied by the fact that the formal process has been dominated by self-interest and machinations of power sharing. The cost of this has been the marginalization of the country’s most civic and skilled citizens who could have made vital contribution to peace-making through formal channels. Consequently, this group of non-partisan Somalis whose sole interest is the restoration of peace, reconciliation, and democratic and effective national government has gathered again here to analyse the challenges of the transition and how both Somalis and their well wishers can best tackle those impediments effectively. This cohort has committed itself to coordinate its efforts with other concerned Somalis and members of the International Community in order to productively engage civic-minded citizens and others to ensure that the transition is as successful as it could be.
After carefully examining those challenges, we have come to the conclusion that this first phase of the transition should focus all efforts on the following key areas:
- Reconciliation
- Security
- Governance/Institutions
- Economic Recovery
- Education
- Health
The formal peace process, which has produced a national transitional government, has not advanced beyond power sharing. We think that the transitional institutions will come to naught unless there is genuine reconciliation, both at the political and social levels. Reconciliation and restoration of law and order are intertwined; they will determine the effectiveness of the resuscitated institutions in meeting security requirements and basic economic and social needs. Thus, we think it absolutely imperative that every effort should be made to invest heavily in reconciliation and security. These two areas of the transition form the scaffolding of the new era. Efforts to induce successful reconciliation and security must be rooted in a critical understanding of Somali history and tradition in the context of the speedily changing global order. The specific strategies, mechanisms, actors, and organizations deployed to ensure sustainable reconciliation and security must be Somali driven. The role of the international community should be to support and compliment Somali initiatives and promote Somali ownership.
We are pleased to know that a preliminary agenda has been set in the form of the “Rapid Assistance Program (RAP),” and appreciate the anticipatory thinking of key members of the international community in taking this initiative. However, we hold that the “RAP” has important shortcomings that would need to be immediately rectified. Two such inadequacies are: the absence of Somali participation in the formulation of the program, and the dominance of international NGOs/agencies in the implementation of the various projects.
The group identified a number of issues that need to be addressed in the short and medium terms, and propose specific recommendations that are listed below under each priority area. Six key recommendations are:
- The immediate creation of a national civic forum, a platform for critical public debate on ideas and issues relevant to the transition and beyond.
- For the National Reconciliation Commission to fruitfully accomplish its objects, it ought to be autonomous, and its members must be people of impeccable credibility and non-partisan stance. Reconciliation between the north and south must be a high priority.
- The political actors must demonstrate their commitment to the process by handing over all of their heavy weapons to properly designated authorities.
- The transitional regime must be made of a small cluster of imminent portfolios [no more than a dozen]. Competence and a record of integrity, among other qualifications, ought to be used as criteria for each appointment.
- The peace process must heavily invest in a massive job creation (several hundreds of thousands in urban and rural areas) to jumpstart the economy and create constructive alternative livelihoods for Somali young men and women.
- The educational infrastructure must be rebuilt on the basis of initiatives developed by Somalis already engaged in education. This will include the capacity to publish textbooks in the country.
- Medical facilitates and training institutions must be rehabilitated, and substantial invests must be made in the prevention of diseases, such as malaria, TB and HIV/AIDs.
- An inventory of highly qualified Somalis who have earned degrees from internationally accredited post secondary institutions.
A more detailed outline of the six major areas identified is in Annex 1. This section is a summary of the challenges and proposed strategic interventions and recommendations.