The United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) was present in this country April 1992–March 1993 (UN 2003f, par. 1). It was established to monitor the ceasefire in Mogadishu and escort deliveries of humanitarian supplies to distribution centers in the city (Ibid.). It later worked with the Unified Task Force in the effort to establish a safe environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance (Ibid.).
The United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was present in Somalia March 1993-March 1995 (UN 2003g, par. 1). It was established to take appropriate action, including enforcement measures, to establish throughout Somalia a secure environment for humanitarian assistance (Ibid.).
Initial variables of the data collection process:
UN/UN peacekeeping policy reform
No record. Somalia is the subject of UN resolutions.
Perception of peacekeeping
No record.
Domestic political environment
Somalia has not had a nationally-functioning state government since the descent into civil war at the beginning of the 1990s (EIU 2006ao, 4).
A three-year interim government and a Transitional National Assembly (TNA), installed in November 2000 with international support, achieved little change to this situation. Representatives of 22 Somali groups opened reconciliation talks in Kenya in October 2002 and agreed to establish a 275-member Federal Transitional Parliament (FTP) in January 2004. The FTP came into being in Kenya in September 2004 and a new interim government was formed, although its return to Somalia has been plagued by disagreement within the transitional government over where the FTP should be established: Somalia's interim president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, believes the FTP should be based in Jowhar, while the speaker of the FTP, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, leads a faction wanting the FTP to be based in Mogadishu. Although the FTP met for the first time on Somali soil in Baidoa in February 2006, there has still been no agreement on where the body will be based in future—the meeting was a one-off gathering held in a food warehouse. The self-styled Somaliland Republic in the north declared independence on May 16 1991, but has not been recognized by any foreign government. (Ibid., 5)
The routing of Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) militia by Ethiopian troops and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces in late December has again changed the dynamic of power in the country significantly. The TFG will con-centrate on securing the capital, Mogadishu, and attempting to disarm warlord militia remnants and Islamist fighters. The process will be slow and difficult and outbreaks of fighting and guerrilla-style attacks by Islamist forces still in the city will be commonplace for the next several months. Plans to deploy an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force will move ahead and some troops are likely to be in place by end-February. Opposition to the AU force is expected in some areas of the country and UIC remnants will also target AU troops. The UN, the EU and the US will continue to back the peace process. Somaliland's chances of international recognition will remain slim in the forecast period and will become increasingly dependent on developments in southern Somalia. (EIU 2006cl, 2)
The economy still functions, but it is difficult to assess (EIU 2006ao, 17). Assessment of economic performance has been impeded by a lack of reliable data since the outbreak of civil war in 1991 (Ibid.). This of course creates many problems for anyone interested in researching this area. However, in January 2004 a joint initiative between the World Bank and several UN agencies announced that a new socioeconomic survey would form the first of a series of annual publications aimed to assist with rebuilding (Ibid.). This created a positive outlook. For example, “the World Bank announced in April 2003 that it was resuming operations in Somalia, suspended in 1990, through its low-income countries under stress initiative” (Ibid.).
Military affairs
Only Somaliland has an identifiable national armed force, although Abdullahi’s interim government has suggested a new 30,000-strong Somali security service to be made up of the numerous current armed militias allied to clan-based political groups (Ibid., 13). International organizations such as the UN have been involved, for example “the UN has endorsed an arms embargo since 1992 in an attempt to support peace and reconciliation, but this has been widely violated” (Ibid.).
Foreign policy
All of Somalia’s neighbors, as well as Egypt and Libya, have been involved in attempts to reconcile the Somali factions (Ibid.). Ethiopia has also sent troops to the southern regions in pursuit of militia from Al-Ittihad, an ostensibly Islamist grouping blamed in Addis Ababa for terrorist attacks within Ethiopia (Ibid.). Ethiopia believed it needed to address these issues firmly and government forces crossed into Somalia several times in the late 1990s, and by 2000 had established a more permanent presence in the Gedo region (Ibid.).
These incursions received implicit support from the international community following the terrorist attacks in September 2001 on the US, as Al-Ittihad was suspected of supporting the chief suspect, Osama bin Laden. Somalia is recognized by the international community, although given the difficulty in negotiating reconciliation some observers have begun questioning whether new alternatives should be considered, such as the recognition of Somaliland as an independent state. (Ibid.)
Climate changes
No record.
Independent negotiations taken by DPKO to seek troops
No record.
Independent negotiations taken by contributor countries to engage non-contributor countries
No record.
Meetings organized by other international organizations to engage in dialogue about peacekeeping
No record.
