Horn of Africa

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Topic(s): Food Security, Resource Scarcity

Staff

Alex Evans

Megan Gleason-Roberts

Alischa Kugel

Somalia’s New Deal: The Compact and its Implementation So Far

This year, CIC’s Somalia team has been closely analyzing peacebuilding efforts in the country. Most recently, we took a close look at the Somali New Deal Compact with an eye to its effectiveness as a peacebuilding tool. With a conference on the Compact scheduled to take place in Copenhagen this November, it is important to reflect on how this framework was developed and to study how it has been implemented to date.

Publication Date: Aug 08, 2014

Author(s): Thomas Zimmerman

Region/Country: Horn of Africa

Topic(s): Post 2015 Development

Program(s): Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies

A New Deal for Somalia? : The Somali Compact and its Implications for Peacebuilding

This policy monitoring brief analyzes the process that led to the “Somali New Deal Compact,” the framework’s potential effectiveness as a peacebuilding tool, and potential ways to strengthen it. We find that the New Deal Compact in Somalia appears to have created a paradigm shift in international policy rhetoric around Somali ownership and leadership. However, the process to develop the Compact has also revealed a series of difficult trade-offs (related to process, risk, and implementation) between political and technical imperatives for both Somali and external actors.

Publication Date: Jul 30, 2014

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Thomas Zimmerman

Region/Country: Horn of Africa

Topic(s): Fragile States

Program(s): Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies

Peace is Necessary for the African Continent to Achieve its Development Aspirations

After a marathon negotiation session, the Open Working Group (OWG) on the Sustainable Development Goals finalized its outcome document.

Publication Date: Jul 28, 2014

Author(s): Eric Kashambuzi, Ashley Skiles

Region/Country: Horn of Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa, West Africa

Topic(s): Post 2015 Development

Program(s): Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies

UN Crisis Diplomacy and Peacekeeping: An Emergency Health Check

The UN is currently in poor health but the severity of its condition is not yet clear, Richard Gowan argues in this paper commissioned by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue for the 2014 Oslo Forum for senior mediators. Gowan assesses the impact of events in South Sudan, Syria and Ukraine for the UN, and warns that the organization's operational and political credibility is weakening.

Publication Date: Jul 15, 2014

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Richard Gowan

Region/Country: Europe, Horn of Africa, Middle East

Topic(s): Peace Operations, United Nations

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

UN Peacekeepers: Not perfect but just good enough

Over the past six months, United Nations peacekeeping has come closer to catastrophe than at any time since the Rwandan genocide and Srebrenica massacre. The UN mission in South Sudan was caught off-guard when the country imploded last December. The crisis has claimed at least 10,000 lives. More then a million civilians have fled their homes, with 80,000 sheltering in UN compounds

Read the full Chatham House article UN Peacekeepers: Not perfect but just good enough

Publication Date: Jun 06, 2014

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Richard Gowan

Region/Country: Europe, Horn of Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): Crises, Fragile States, Peace Operations, United Nations

The UN: Memo to the next Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister,

“Now would be a good time to review and overhaul your UN policies – if only to make space for more pressing priorities.”

Read the full Memo to to the Prime Minister in Pragati

Publication Date: May 09, 2014

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Richard Gowan

Region/Country: China, Europe, Horn of Africa, South Asia, India

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): International Security, United Nations

Building Peace in Somalia: A CIC Project on Policy Performance

Peace, Somalia, CIC, Policy Performance, Thomas Zimmerman

© UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Somalia has long faced a diverse and daunting set of challenges. Countless political actors have unsuccessfully struggled to build a stable central government capable of holding territory and delivering services. In many ways, the fundaments that have fueled instability and violence for decades remain, but since the September 2012 election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, there has been palpable optimism amongst many Somalis and international actors, and there is a sense that we may be in a window of opportunity to make durable gains in Somalia.

Publication Date: May 07, 2014

Author(s): Thomas Zimmerman

Region/Country: Horn of Africa

Topic(s): Post 2015 Development

Program(s): Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies

Can Africans Do A Better Job Of Peacekeeping In South Sudan?

The commander of the rebel movement in South Sudan has agreed to talk peace — if he can make it out of his secret war bunker.

Read the full NPR article Can Africans Do A Better Job Of Peacekeeping In South Sudan?

Publication Date: May 06, 2014

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Richard Gowan

Region/Country: Horn of Africa

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): Fragile States, Humanitarian Crises

Project Brief | A Window of Opportunity for Somalia: Will External Actors' Peacebuilding Frameworks Help or Hinder the Effort?

CIC has initiated a project to study external actors’ peacebuilding frameworks in Somalia. The purpose is to ascertain whether and how the international community is applying recent international learning on peacebuilding, and is able to forge coherent and effective approaches to helping countries pursue peaceful political settlements.

Publication Date: May 06, 2014

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Thomas Zimmerman

Region/Country: Horn of Africa

Topic(s): Fragile States, Peace Operations, United Nations

Program(s): Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies