Completed Projects
Natural resource-based conflicts exist in almost
every part of Somaliland, albeit at different scale and magnitude.
Years of war with often several stages of population movement have
blurred de jure and de facto property and access rights to land.
In the almost complete absence of documentation (e.g. cadastral
data) and regulatory authority, conflicts arise over sales, land
encroachment and grabbing, etc. Disagreements over communal land
use and access rights to common and public land also lead to occasional
violence, e.g. between farmers and agro-pastoralists. Nationalization
and later re-privatisation of communal land (e.g. in Awdal), as
well as range enclosures (in Togdheer) are among the key challenges
in pastoral areas. Inter-communal tensions and minor clashes persist
in former frontline areas (such as Gabiley/Awdal and in Eastern
Sanaag). Where conflicts surface near administrative boundaries,
they carry the additional risk of broader politicisation (e.g. in
disputes over electoral boundaries).
Although Somaliland has made remarkable progress
since the collapse of the Somali state, local institutions of conflict
resolution (formal and informal) often remain fragile and unconsolidated.
Conflicts that arise at the local level are managed by sets of sometimes
complementary, sometimes competing formal institutions (government
institutions, etc.), councils of traditional elders, religious authorities,
civil society, etc. The capacity of these bodies to manage and resolve
disputes differs widely, often lacking proactive initiative, shared
analysis, sustainability, cohesion, creativity, and clear institutional
relationships. In some areas, failure to conclude the settlement
of such local conflicts also undermines the consolidation of collective
governance institutions.
Management and resolution of land-related conflicts
is complicated by the legal and institutional pluralism mentioned
above. Land ownership and access is regulated by three different,
sometimes competing, legal principles: Local customary law, universal
religious law and universal state law. Despite the state’s
claim to superiority, its actual capacity to regulate these tensions
is effectively restrained by a varying mix of weak rule of law,
little enforcement capacity, and weak structures in rural areas.
Among the institutions associated with the different legal codes,
traditional councils of elders by and large remain the most influential
and effective bodies to address the problem. However, apart from
other challenges, customary law is unstable and unreliable especially
in fragmented local settings and when conflicts involve groups that
lack strong and commonly shared traditions and institutions.
The project forms part of a wider programme in collaboration
with the » Institute
for Development and Peace (INEF), University of Duisburg-Essen.
A parallel project within the programme exists in Afghanistan, in
partnership with the » Tribal
Liaison Office (TLO). The programme aims to strengthen local
dialogue NGOs to enhance conflict resolution mechanisms in the course
of integrated capacity building, dialogue, and action research processes,
promoting awareness, analysis and good practices relating to land
conflicts.
In January 2007, the Academy for Peace and Development, INTERPEACE
and their partner organizations started a Peace Mapping Project
as part of Phase II of the Dialogue for Peace Programme. The Peace
Mapping Project aims to improve understanding of peace initiatives
and reconciliation processes that have taken place between 1991
and 1997 in Somaliland. Documenting and analyzing key reconciliation
initiatives, observations will be synthesized on particular challenges
and factors that have influenced the success of reconciliation processes.
This opens the possibility to draw broader lessons from this study
which may be replicated elsewhere. During the preparatory phase
of this project, the Academy established a research team and drew
up a preliminary inventory of peace initiatives in Somaliland. The
research team, from April 24-27, 2007 participated in a planning
workshop in Kigali, Rwanda. The participants of the workshop reviewed
the preliminary work undertaken and developed a work plan for the
study. As the peace mapping research is based on Participatory Action
Research (PAR) - a methodology generally employed by INTERPEACE
and its affiliates - a working group was formed to lead and direct
the overall activities.
» Sara Communication Initiative for
Girls Education
UNICEF and the Academy for Peace and Development
(APD) observed a great disparity between the status of young Somali
boys and girls in terms of educational and employment opportunities.
To address this issue, the Sara Communication Initiative (SCI) was
developed in 10 countries of Eastern and Southern Africa in the
early 1990s. As an educational strategy, SCI conveys education through
various media such as film and radio broadcasts. With the aim to
raise public awareness on issues relevant to the rights of the child,
it also covers other issues such as gender equality, HIV/AIDS, education
and early marriage. These issues are skillfully woven into entertaining
plots based on a central character named Sara. The important issue
of children rights has therefore been developed to facilitate community
dialogue and to address the unequal treatment of Somali girls.
Objectives:
Produce and disseminate a communication package on the rights of
the Somali child in order to:
- Create awareness and advocate for the reduction of existing
disparities in the status and treatment of girls.
- Support social mobilization processes designed to realize the
potential of female children and to foster their participation
in their development.
- Produce a dynamic role model for Somali girls that will assist
in their acquisition of psychosocial life skills that are essential
for empowerment.
- Provide a model for improving gender relationships beginning
at early age.
- Communicate information regarding the survival, protection and
development of Somali children, including specific messages on
education, health, nutrition and freedom from exploitation and
abuse.
- Build the capacity of Somali writers, researchers, and artists
through the development of a Somali version of the Sara package.
» On-going Projects
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