SOMALIA: Shift aid base to safe areas in-country, urges UN official

[General Duke]

SOMALIA: Shift aid base to "safe" areas in-country, urges UN official

 

NAIROBI, 21 October 2009 (IRIN) - Humanitarian agencies should move from Nairobi to "relatively safe" areas of Somalia to be able to better serve more than 1.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs) caught up in a "deepening" humanitarian crisis, Walter Kälin, Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of IDPs, said on 21 October.

 

"It is essential to find ways to improve humanitarian access and security of humanitarian workers," Kälin told a news conference in Nairobi. "To the extent possible, humanitarian agencies must shift their operations from Nairobi to Puntland, Somaliland and other areas from where the affected regions can be serviced."

 

He said these agencies must be given the staff and resources necessary to effectively work in such a difficult and dangerous environment, and should receive respective support by donors.

 

Marcus Prior, a spokesman for the World Food Programme in Nairobi, told IRIN: “WFP retains several operational bases across Somalia and has international and national staff inside the country. We would like to have an even greater presence, but Somalia is probably the most dangerous place in the world for humanitarian workers to operate in."

 

Conflict in Somalia over the past 18 years has led to hundreds of deaths and the displacement of millions of others internally and externally. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR-Somalia) estimates that 1,550,000 Somalis are IDPs while there are some 312,800 Somali refugees in Kenya and another 146,000 in Yemen.

 

Since 1 July, the agency says, some 89,000 civilians have been displaced from Mogadishu due to fighting between government forces and Islamist militias opposed to the government.

 

Historical divisions

 

Since the ousting of President Siad Barre in 1991, Somalia has been largely controlled by warlords backed by different militias. At least 15 attempts have been made to re-establish a national government, the latest being the installation of President Sheik Sharif Ahmed in January 2009. However, Islamic militias opposed to Ahmed have continued attacks on government forces and civilians as well as African Union peacekeepers.

 

The country is divided into three regions: the self-declared republic of Somaliland in the northwest; the autonomous Puntland region in the northeast; and the south-central part of the country, housing most of the IDPs.

 

A displaced woman: Aid agencies should move to "safe" areas of Somalia to be able to better serve more than 1.5 million IDPs there, Walter Kälin, Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of IDPs said on 21 October

 

Security issues

 

Puntland welcomed Kälin’s call and said it was ready to cooperate with humanitarian agencies.

 

"We will welcome and ensure the security of any agency that wants to establish a base here," said Ali Mohamed Hayaan, director-general of Puntland’s ministry of security.

 

Hayaan said it made sense for aid agencies, wanting to access south-central Somalia, to operate out of Puntland, "since it would be cheaper and closer to those in need".

 

Ali Sheikh Yassin, deputy chairman of the Mogadishu-based Elman Human Rights Organization (EHRO), said while there were "massive violations of the rights of the displaced and, ideally, agencies should be close to them to monitor these violations, however it won’t be easy for aid agencies to move to Somalia.

 

"Unfortunately, the security situation is such that even Somalis like us are operating under the most extreme insecurity."

 

Deepening crisis

 

Kälin, who visited Somalia from 14 to 21 October, said the international community was failing the IDPs when the humanitarian crisis was deepening. He said there was a need for a stronger engagement of the international community in Somalia.

 

"I am shocked by the degree of violence facing the civilian population in central and south Somalia," he said. "Serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, in particular indiscriminate attacks and shelling of areas populated or frequented by civilians, are being perpetrated by all parties to the conflict with total impunity.

 

"Such acts are a major cause of displacement and may amount to war crimes and other crimes under international law."

 

Kälin urged all parties to the conflict - state actors and anti-government groups - to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.

 

Deplorable camp conditions

 

"I am deeply concerned about the unacceptable living conditions in some of the IDP settlements I have visited, including lack of proper shelter, food and drinking water; severe malnutrition of children, very poor sanitation, lack of education and health facilities and severe overcrowding," Kälin said.

 

 

Photo: Courtesy UNHCR

Walter Kälin, Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of IDPs

Calling on donors to be prepared, Kälin added: "Torrential El Niño rains are expected to further aggravate an already dramatic situation."

 

He said lack of humanitarian access to those most in need, dangers for humanitarian workers, such as abductions, as well as a sharp decline in donor contributions, had exacerbated the "long-standing humanitarian crisis and risks bringing it to hitherto unknown levels".

 

Exploitation risk

 

Although he noted there was risk of aid being diverted, Kälin urged donors not to reduce humanitarian aid. "This would only mean punishing the most vulnerable among already destitute communities but also playing into the hands of radical elements who could easily exploit the situation," he said, urging all actors to grant humanitarian access and ensure safety of humanitarian workers.

 

Although he did not visit south and central Somalia, Kälin said he had received testimonies regarding violence and the appalling living conditions of IDPs in the Afgoye corridor, close to the Somali capital, which has one of the highest IDP densities worldwide.

 

"Existing humanitarian aid is pitifully insufficient compared to the needs of the displaced who often face severe protection risks and marginalization," he said. "Vulnerabilities are heightened by the fact that many IDPs have been displaced more than once."

[Haatu]

Welcome it with open arms. These so called envoys that sleep in hotels in a foreign land and steal our donated money, need to learn the tough life our brothers live in.

[Juje]

This if undertaken will be monumental.

[Qudhac]

lol duke

 

waar waxba somaliland excuse ha dhigan, you should just say puntland wants haruurka dhacay ee muqdisho la geeyo

[General Duke]

Originally posted by Qudhac:

lol duke

 

waar waxba somaliland excuse ha dhigan, you should just say puntland wants haruurka dhacay ee muqdisho la geeyo

So the Duke is the UN official making the argument?

[Peace Action]

This will be very good development. In Puntland the aid agencies that reside there waste a lot of many going back and forth to Nairobi. Everytime there is security problem such bombing, they run to Nairobi wasting a lot of resources.

 

Unfortunately until the fighting stops in Mogadishu, the UN will have the perfect excuse not have offices in relatively safe areas in Somalia.

[rudy-Diiriye]

alshabab should be put in charge of the aid since they control the majority of somalia. easy.

 

The warlords cant be trusted to be incharge of the aid distributions, they are missed up and corrupted big time.

[NASSIR]

The country is divided into three regions:

the self-declared republic of Somaliland in the northwest; the autonomous Puntland region in the northeast; and the south-central part

of the country, housing most of the IDPs.

It's time the IDPs in the two Northern admins be given more attention.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

They should have done this long ago and is loooooooong overdue too. Time to relocate from the cushy villas of Westlands and comfy beds of Parklands of Nayroobi suburbs.

 

Kii cabsanaayo, especially non-Soomaalis, haka tago shaqada. It is usually Soomaalis who do the dirty work and risks, being sent to dangerous places and towns which they can't refuse not to go, yet paid poorly.

[NASSIR]

A relevant article from the wsj.com.

A February U.N. internal report,

written by U.N. officials and approved by several of its agencies, including the WFP, said

the food-distribution system in Somalia posed "considerable risk to the reputation and effectiveness of the organization,"

according to a copy reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

 

The WFP declined to comment on the report. The WFP says its operation in Somalia, one of the agency's largest, reaches 3.5 million people. Officials from the U.N., African Union and Somali government say they are increasingly concerned about the dependability of some of the contractors used by the WFP, which handed out $35 million in food-aid distribution contracts in Somalia last year. It now uses 29 contractors.

 

The U.K. says it is considering withdrawing financial support for the Somalia program because of concerns about food distribution; the U.S. has also threatened to do so, according to a U.N. official close to the situation and a Western diplomat with knowledge of the donors' concerns.

 

British officials said they are waiting for the outcome of the WFP's investigation before deciding whether to suspend funding.USAID, the U.S. agency that gives international humanitarian assistance, is the biggest provider of funding to the WFP's Somalia program.

 

A U.S. official said the government "has been reviewing our policies and procedures for the provision of humanitarian assistance in Somalia," including ensuring that the donations comply with U.S. antiterrorism laws.

The U.S. has given more than $124 million in food aid for Somalia so far in the 2009 fiscal year,

according to the U.S. official

[Xaq]

Should be based in Galkacyo. It has all that is needed in terms of logistics. It has:

-Airport

-Road links to central and south Somalia

-Close to the areas of major need

[Mr. Somalia]

^^

War anaku xaaraan quutayal manihin ee Gaalkacyo akteeda yeysan usoo dhawaan! Anigu waxaan aaminsanahay, UN-tu enay tahay tuugo aan barako laheyn oo ah shar Soomalida losoo diray.

[Juje]

Reer Galkacyood saying xaranta naga fogeyay - cajiib aduunkan wax walba wa arke.

 

Originally posted by Mr. Somalia:

^^

War anaku xaaraan quutayal manihin ee Gaalkacyo akteeda yeysan usoo dhawaan!

[Mr. Somalia]

^^

A devout disciple of the art of mo'oryaanimo such as yourself, should never speak of what is xaaraan and what is not. Now... do us all a favor and go find us an Amin Amir cartoon depicting a couple of shell shocked and bloodied M-society folks!

 

Seriously Juje- you have been digging your own grave for about 20 years now. Have you even considered stopping ?

[Juje]

Originally posted by Mr. Somalia:

Seriously

Juje

- you have been digging your own grave for about 20 years now.

Yep! I dug yours first though and buried you alive.