ISS / APSTA Roundtable: The Quest for Peacemaking and Peacekeeping in Somalia

Date: 2008-12-10 to Invalid date

ISS / APSTA Roundtable: The Quest for Peacemaking and Peacekeeping in Somalia
Nairobi, 10-11 December 2008

Closed event - by invitation only

The collapse of the state of Somalia and the attendant crisis following the ousting of General Mohamed Siad Barre from power in 1991 earned the country the reputation of being synonymous with persistent lawlessness, internecine clan rivalries and violent warlordism, resulting in internal and external displacement of its population. It is now commonplace to consider these maladies as an established feature of the country’s reality. Tragically, the international community has shown a marked reluctance to meaningfully re-engage with Somalia and find a solution to the crisis since the failure of the UN intervention in the early 1990s.

Unfortunately, the situation is not getting better. A new cycle of fighting has raged in the Horn of Africa country since 2006, especially following the Ethiopian offensive that expelled the Islamic Courts Union. The insurgent movements fighting the Transitional Federal Government and the Ethiopian forces, particularly Al-Shabab, have in recent months regained the momentum and now appear to be making preparations to take control of the whole of South-central Somalia. The crisis has indeed contributed to the obnoxious state of piracy in international waters from off the coast of Somalia to the Gulf of Aden.

It is even more worrisome that the complexity of the situation of Somalia seems to suggest that the prospects of finding a durable solution to the conflict look gloomier than ever before. This seminar creates an occasion for a closer look at what is being done and what should be done to address the crisis.

This seminar seeks to offer researchers from African Peace Support Trainers Association (APSTA) member institutions, experts and policy makers from the AU, including the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade Coordination Mechanism (EASBRICOM) and the UN, among other actors, an opportunity to deliberate on the challenges and prospects for successful peacemaking and peacekeeping in Somalia.

The roundtable is being organised by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in its capacity as the Secretariat of the (APSTA). The seminar will be held at the Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya, from 10-11 December 2008. 

Enquiries: Solomon Dersso, Tel: +27 12 346 9500; Email: [email protected]