Somalia: World pays attention to pirates again

The United States, Britain, France and Panama introduced a draft resolution, urging maritime powers to fight off pirates on the Somali coast that have been endangering cargo and fishing boats. UN officials said it is time for action to be taken, arguing that the government of Somalia is not in a position to deal with the escalating piracy on its own. (Side note to pirate fans: Piracy definitely still exists in the modern world...and not just along the coasts of Somalia. Check out this "2008 piracy attack map," created by the International Maritime Bureau.)

The latest on the crisis
For background on the crisis in Somalia, click here.

On Jan. 30, UN officials said the situation in Somalia is "the world's worst humanitarian crisis," even worse than the ongoing genocide in Darfur that has now lasted over four years. On April 25, the UN reported how renewed violence has driven 7,000 more people from Mogadishu. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 700,000 people have been driven from the capital in 2007 alone. The transitional government's army; intervening Ethiopian troops; as well as dozens of clan-based militias, anti-Ethiopian groups, and Islamic militants have been clashing violently since Jan. 2007 to devastate the nation's capital and its surroundings. Rarely does the word "chaos" characterize the circumstances of a city so perfectly as it does today in Mogadishu. Refugees International also calls Somalia the "world's most neglected crisis," as the violence has been significantly hampering international relief efforts.

The UN envoy to Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah is trying to bring together the pertinent actors for a low profile meeting in Djibouti on May 10 to restart a dialogue so the various actors can come to a "minimal political understanding." Though Somalia has been requesting the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force, Ould-Abdallah says that the force would probably not have much effect until there has been internal political progress. This is a wise statement, given the poor history of humanitarian intervention in Somalia (shadows of Black Hawk Down) and the almost undecipherable state of affairs Mogadishu.

After both the transitional government and some opposition groups began circulating peace proposals in March, the ENOUGH Project , released a report on April 24th that argues how a rare window of opportunity for peace may be emerging. Prendergast, authoring the report, rightly says how securing a ceasefire will entail addressing the opposition's basic demand of Ethiopian troops withdrawing. The core of initial negotiations need to center around the terms of the withdrawal, taking into account any consequences this may impose upon the political process and the lives of civilians. As the transitional government's mandate is running out, the challenges that lie ahead include complex negotiations of all parties to form a power-sharing agreement and a transnational unity government for Somalia to be able to function as a state. UN envoy Ould-Abdallah will need significant international support as this process hopefully moves forward.

The report further recommends that the UN Security Council undergo the following to create international leverage:
• Impose targeted sanctions against any Somali leader clearly fomenting further violence and the small percentage of the Somali diaspora that is financing the fighting
• Establish a commission of inquiry to investigate violations of international law
• Refer the case of Somalia to the International Criminal Court for investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity. Until the cycle of impunity is ended, there will be no hope for peace in Somalia.