{"id":1101,"date":"2018-05-06T23:39:05","date_gmt":"2018-05-06T23:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/?p=1101"},"modified":"2018-06-13T10:32:33","modified_gmt":"2018-06-13T10:32:33","slug":"pathways-for-peace-reflections-from-somalia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2018\/05\/06\/pathways-for-peace-reflections-from-somalia\/","title":{"rendered":"Pathways for Peace: Reflections from Somalia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this spring, I was invited to participate in the\u00a0launch\u00a0of\u00a0Pathways for Peace<\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>an important study jointly developed by the UN and World Bank. Based on extensive research of what has \u2018worked\u2019 in different countries, the study sets out recommendations for how development processes can better interact with security, diplomacy, mediation, and other efforts to prevent conflicts from becoming violent. Addressing exclusion, including of women and youth, is central to these efforts.<\/p>\n

The study features many useful insights and points to valuable initiatives for a wide range of contexts. From the perspective of Somalia and my experience as Minister of Women and Human Rights Development, three key messages and three next steps are particularly important:<\/p>\n

Three key messages from the perspective of Somalia<\/strong><\/p>\n

First,\u00a0Pathways for Peace\u00a0<\/em>aims to\u00a0shift our focus<\/strong>\u00a0towards\u00a0preventing\u00a0<\/em>conflict<\/strong>\u00a0– rather than responding once lives have been destroyed. Representing a people who experience the enormous costs of conflict every day, my government knows that this is not only the smart thing but also the right thing to do. The increased momentum this report can generate for all actors to work together to prevent such suffering in the future gives me real hope for Somalia and for our globe.<\/p>\n

Second, the study calls for\u00a0deeper partnerships between all international actors<\/strong>\u00a0to advance national pathways to peace. This will make an important difference in Somalia. We have been able to work with a wide range of international partners. However, a lack of coordination has often meant that this support is less than the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n

Finally, the report establishes that preventing conflict means\u00a0investing in inclusion and participation<\/strong>\u00a0of women and youth. This link is paramount in Somalia: more than two thirds of our population are young men and women. During recent droughts, the disastrous October 2017 terrorist attack in our capital and many other occasions, they have demonstrated their immense capacities to forge our country\u2019s pathway to peace with great energy and innovation.<\/p>\n

Somali women have similarly played important roles in building peace, using their positions in communities to foster dialogue and reconciliation between conflicting groups. Women\u2019s organisations also make critical contributions to the delivery of essential services, including healthcare, education and trade. During conflict, women provided the backbone of our economy. In view of these capacities, it is clear that \u201cPeace, stability and development can only be efficiently achieved by addressing the obstacles women face to fully contribute to their country\u2019s development,\u201d as our National Development Plan highlights.<\/p>\n

Somalia\u2019s recent history also shows that real progress on inclusion is possible even in the most challenging situations. Under the leadership of my Ministry, an Independent Human Rights Commission has been established through an inclusive and transparent process. Our 2016 elections in turn enabled women to take up 24 % of seats in parliament, up from 14 % in previous elections. As Deputy Chair of the 2016 Federal Indirect Electoral Team (FIET) I was able to directly support this achievement, and my Ministry is eager to do the same looking ahead.<\/p>\n

Three next steps in Somalia<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Going forward, we must ensure that preventing conflict does not become a new \u2018project\u2019 but a\u00a0shift in our entire approach<\/strong>\u00a0to fragile situations. An approach that is inclusive, sustained and focused on the potential of states and societies to develop their own pathways to peace.<\/p>\n

Second, we need to address women and youth like we address other issues that are key to peace: with\u00a0consistent and dedicated attention and resources<\/strong>. One important implication is the need to invest in the capacity of government actors charged with leading and co-ordinating relevant activities, such as my own Ministry. As highlighted in a recent\u00a0OECD study\u00a0on donor support to gender equality, this is an important gap across fragile and conflict-affected countries.<\/p>\n

Finally, this important report and discussions in Washington D.C. must lead to discussion and real action in our countries. We know\u00a0what<\/em>\u00a0to do. Now let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n

In Somalia there are key windows of opportunity to translate the prevention agenda into action. In particular, the preparations for our elections in 2020-21 and the on-going constitutional review provide unique openings to ensure an inclusive society for generations to come. My Ministry aims to help seize these, including by enabling diverse groups of women to develop joint demands and strategies to make their voices heard.<\/p>\n

We also have significant opportunities to strengthen co-ordination between all national and international actors: Working groups established for each pillar of the National Development Plan, including Pillar 9 on Human Rights and Gender Equality, provide a forum where government, civil society and the international community can coordinate their work, develop joint strategies and serve as champions for more coherent, transformative and far-sighted support.<\/p>\n

It is important that we act\u00a0now\u00a0<\/em>to seize these opportunities. My Ministry looks forward to working together to make the important principles set out in the World Bank\/UN study a reality.<\/p>\n

……………………………………………………….<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on\u00a0The<\/span>\u00a0World Bank<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this spring, I was invited to participate in the\u00a0launch\u00a0of\u00a0Pathways for Peace,\u00a0an important study jointly developed by the UN and World Bank. Based on extensive research of what has \u2018worked\u2019 in different countries, the study sets out recommendations for how development processes can better interact with security, diplomacy, mediation, and other efforts to prevent conflicts …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-articles"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1101"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1110,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1101\/revisions\/1110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}