So why has Somaliland been able to make progress towards becoming a functional, representative, albeit unrecognized, state in the past two decades while neighboring Somalia, a recognized, sovereign state, still struggles to even protect its own people? When looking at the progress Somaliland has made in contrast with Somalia, does sovereignty really matter when it comes to addressing the needs of a people?
Due to the current famine in Somalia, over 10,000 people have already died, and upwards of seven hundred fifty thousand additional people are predicted to die in the next four months if enough aid is not provided to satiate the hunger and thirst of the nation. About 2.2 million people who are affected by the famine in Somalia live in the southern region controlled by Al-Shabab, where aid is being seriously limited due to the group’s stronghold on distribution (Mary Beth Sheridan). On top of that, IGOs and NGOs, in addition to major actors like the United States, have been attempting to push aid through to those areas of Somalia hit hardest by the famine. This has been extremely difficult without technically giving aid to terrorist groups, because as previously mentioned, the areas most deeply in famine are also the ones most controlled by Al-Shabab, and the aid given by other states almost always ends up in Shabab’s hands. Also, although in this particular case the U.S. has pledged around $160 million dollars in aid to Somalia, it is yet to make good on more than half of that sum (“FAO and emergencies”). In the past, the UN has tried to provide aid to Somalia in vain because there is no stable government to control and distribute the aid (Brons 229). It would seem that the Somali people are floating in limbo between those many international bodies attempting to pull Somalia out of its many troubles.
In contrast, Somaliland has had much less of a problem combatting famine and drought due to both the absence of any non-governmental militant group restraining aid from being distributed and a relatively stable, developing government willing to assist its people. Somaliland’s government has even pooled enough money to donate about $700,000 in relief aid to Somalia, setting up relief sites on the border of Kenya and Somalia where there is a refugee camp and in the UN-controlled capital of Mogadishu (Shawky). It can easily accept any aid it receives from outside sources because it has a government capable of handling it as it should be handled. Its main focuses now are to gain recognition in the African Union and also to continue to stabilize in order to be recognized on an international level as a sovereign state apart from Somalia. Somaliland is also a temporary home to many Somali and Ethiopian refugees alike seeking asylum in this much more stable environment. Despite aid given to Somalia, many refugees have nonetheless been given the boot by Somaliland, which issued a notice earlier this month that all illegal “immigrants” must return to the countries of their origin within the month due to security concerns on Somaliland’s part (“IRIN Africa”). Thankfully, there are international laws against returning refugees to southern Somalia or to areas where they would not have clan ties and protection (Amnesty International). However, there has also been action taken to give some internally displaced people (IDPs), the majority being refugees from southern Somalia, ID cards in order for them to receive aid and stay in Somaliland legally (“IRIN Africa”). Overall, Somaliland is clearly more capable of handling itself in addition to neighboring issues than Somalia is; yet Somaliland is still unrecognized as a state.
A problem persists in Somalia because it is only being addressed at a short-term level and is encountering many trip-ups along the way. It would seem that the sovereignty of Somalia gets in the way of its ability to protect its citizen’s human rights as a sovereign state should. International aid organizations and actors have thus far only addressed short-term problems and have had to return to the same problems several times. Somalia’s issues need to be dealt with at the roots, through counterterrorism against Al-Shabab and through giving the people of Somalia their rights back (Amnesty International). This requires much external assistance because the Somali government is currently not capable of working in the best interest of its people. Somaliland has already made steps in the direction of true sovereignty, and Somalia needs to be given a hand to return to their status as a truly sovereign state. Outside forces need to dig at the foundation of the problem in order to stop coming back to it over and over again.
WORKS CITED
Sheridan, Mary Beth. "U.S. to ease anti-terrorism rules to help Somali famine victims." Washington Post. (2011): n. page. Web. 18 Sep. 2011.
Shawky, Ahmed. "Somaliland donates about $700,000 to Somalia's famine." Bridge. 10 Sep 2011: n. page. Web. 18 Sep. 2011.
"SOMALIA: Puntland, Somaliland act on migrants, IDPs." IRIN Africa. IRIN, 14 Sep 2011. Web. 18 Sep 2011.
Brons, Maria. Society, Security, Sovereignty and the State: Somalia. 1st ed. Utrecht, the Netherlands: International Books, 2001. 217-29. Print.
"Horn of Africa: Funding for agricultural recovery lagging, FAO warns." FAO and emergencies. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 25 Aug 2011. Web. 18 Sep 2011.
"Somalia: Urgent need for effective human rights protection under the new transitional government." Amnesty International. Amnesty International, Mar 2005. Web. 18 Sep 2011.
This was a very interesting article. Knowing very little about Somaliland I was surprised by how successful they have become while Somalia isn't improving. I think you brought up some interesting points regarding the differences in government between the two and I think Somalia's more democratic government, opposed to the terrorist organization leading Somalia, is definitely a reason that they are better off. However, because Somalia and Somaliland are in the same geographical area it would make sense to me that neither country would have the ability to survive through a drought of this degree, regardless of how goods are being distributed. I would think it would be difficult for either country to produce goods, especially agriculture. So are they producing another good? How is Somaliland able to not only provide for themselves but to give aid to Somalia? Does Somaliland have additional resources which Somalia does not? Also if Somaliland does have resources are they able to trade with other states, in order to receive food and water which are both necessary and scarce during a drought, being they're not yet recognized as a state.
ReplyDeleteAlso the point that the US and many other countries and organizations have not been supplying aid due to the fact that the Al-Shabab is in control of the area. If a state is not providing for their citizens should governments recognize their sovereignty? Obviously giving supplies to the government has not been successful but should IO's the UN or individual countries be able to administer goods in a country themselves? Should we respect the Somalian government and view the Somalians as people who live in Somalia and therefore subject to what the Somalian government does or should we view the Somalians as world citizens? Providing aid to Somalia is obviously difficult and I'm not necessarily saying we should begin a fight against the Al-Shabab, however with the projected number of deaths Somalia will face if they don't receive aid I think we need to begin thinking of new ways to administer aid.
I was equally surprised by the major contrasts between Somalia and Somaliland while I was doing my research for this paper. I think it really can come down to the ability of a government to address the needs of its people (short and long term). In this case, Somaliland actually HAS a multi-party democracy that is functioning well enough to provide aid to its neighbor, in contrast to Somalia's entire lack of stable government. A transitional government that still cannot assist its people and cannot protect them from the threat of terrorist is not a sovereign one, by definition. Somaliland is able to aid its people in this drought because it has control over the aid, whereas Somalia has little ability to enforce the distribution of aid where it needs to be.
ReplyDeleteOn your second point, I really believe that since Somalis are essentially stateless people, whether they are in their own country or refugee immigrants in other countries, they need to be aided by outside organizations and countries. There is no hope for Somalia to suddenly pick itself back up and aid a drought that is soon to wipe out much more of the Somali population before it's too late.
I think you pose a really thought-provoking question. As I read your article, I found it incredible that a government that is pretty much completely stable and able to meet the needs of its people can still be ignored while a messy transitional government that can barely keep order in its country can still be considered a sovereign state. What exactly has been keeping the UN or other powers from officially recognizing Somaliland as a state? Do you know what kind of efforts Somaliland has made to have itself recognized? It could be possible that they are comfortable the way they are and don't want to change anything because they are doing so well right now. What kind of benefits would official recognition bring to Somaliland?
ReplyDeleteAlana, I think one of the reasons Somaliland has had trouble being recognized is that the African Union opposes it. Some western states have shown favor toward recognizing Somaliland but they have not wanted to take a position contrary to that of the AU or recognize it before the AU does. (This article was fairly informative http://somalilandpress.com/western-intervention-in-libya’s-civil-war-may-provide-hope-for-somaliland-23817)
ReplyDeleteThanks, the article told me a lot I didn't know before about Somaliland's relationship with the AU and how that affects its recognition from Western states! I still wonder, though, why the AU refuses to act according to its own principles and accept Somaliland as a state. Is it possible they feel threatened by its democracy and stability, which could possibly lead to more power?
ReplyDeleteI think the most relevant question to ask in relation to Somaliland is not why it has not become a state, but why it has been so succesful as compared to Somalia. Although it is certainly a travesty that Somaliland goes unrecognized, this international technicality is irrelevant next to the fact that Somaliland can protect and feed its population and Somalia is anarchy of the worst possible kind.
ReplyDeleteMany areas in the world are suffering similar to Somalia, in that the people are tormented by militants and starving. This kind of situation seems to be widespread throughout large areas of Africa. Steph- why do you think Somaliland has been so succesful as opposed to Somalia? If you have any thoughts on this question, then how could they be applied to other states so that we can have more success stories similar to Somaliland?