Regional Organizations in African Security by Fredrik Soderbaum Rodrigo Tavares

Author:Fredrik Soderbaum, Rodrigo Tavares [Fredrik Soderbaum, Rodrigo Tavares]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780415850285
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2013-04-25T00:00:00+00:00

CHRONIC INSTABILITY IN SOMALIA: UN AND IGAD INTERVENTION

The collapse of the central government in Somalia in 1991 came after decades of dictatorial rule by Siad Barre and three years of civil war. The coalition that succeeded Barre became embroiled in its own internal strife, leading to fractionalization in the country. The UN intervened to address the insecurity in the country, deploying the UN Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) in May 1992. The feuding clans made it virtually impossible for UNOSOM to be effective. The UN then drew on Chapter VII of its charter and deployed what was thought to be a more robust mission in the form of the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), led by the United States and dubbed “Operation Restore Hope.” UNITAF set the scene for UNOSOM II, which was tasked with disarming the warring factions as well as peacebuilding. However, the obstacles encountered by UNOSOM I resurfaced and the mission gradually became discredited and ended in 1995.

In 1999 after five years of continuing violence and conflict with no discernible change in sight, a National Reconciliation Conference was held in Arta, Djibouti. This was mainly the result of an effort led by the Djiboutian President, Ismael Omar Guelleh. It was only at a later stage that IGAD expressed its support for the Arta Process. The aforementioned meeting led to the formation of a Transitional National Government (TNG), which was supported by a coalition of Arab and African Countries. But an Ethiopian-backed Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council undermined the peacemaking and peacebuilding process in Somalia.27 The Arta agreement, thereby, did not receive universal endorsement and had limited effectiveness, even as some neighboring countries like Yemen endorsed the initiative. As well, Northern Somalia (Somaliland) and eastern Somalia (Puntland) were pursuing their own agendas, including a declaration of autonomy. And the IGAD members harbored their own individual agendas with regard to Somalia. In particular, Ethiopia, which has a sizeable Somali population within its borders, sought to influence and control any IGAD initiative.

During the IGAD initiative, a parallel diplomatic effort was established by the Arab League with a focus on forging a Government of National Unity in Somalia. Siad Barre’s Somali regime had engaged in violent conflict with both Ethiopia and Kenya over their respective irredentist claims. The Barre regime also harbored similar intentions toward the Somali-populated Djibouti.

IGAD, however, persisted with attempts to reestablish a peace process inter alia by convening a meeting in Eldoret, Kenya, on October 27, 2002. The meeting sought to address the obstacles to forging peace, even as it confronted a series of problems, including “a combination of mismanagement, regional rivalry, insufficient outside political support and financial constraints.”28 IGAD subsequently convened a meeting in Nairobi that forged an agreement, leading to the establishment of the Somalia Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The TFG drafted the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC), which was adopted in February 2004. On October 14, 2004, the IGAD–led initiative led to the election, by members of the Somali Transitional Federal Parliament, of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as head of the TFG.

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