August 5, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
UNMAS Clarifies False Reports Regarding Staff Member
05 August – Source: UNMAS – 130 Words
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Mogadishu notes with concern, false media reports to the effect that one of its staff members was killed by gunmen in Mogadishu. UNMAS would like to clarify that none of its staff has been killed or attacked in Mogadishu. The said media reports are false and should be ignored.
UNMAS is mandated to support Somali security structures, providing strategic policy advice and coordination to FGS, rule of law and security institutions including mine action and police, in line with the Somali Compact Goal two on security. UNMAS is also mandated as part of the UN Support Office to AMISOM to deliver counter-IED and EOD activities as part of the non-lethal logistical support package to AMISOM.
Key Headlines
- UNMAS Clarifies False Reports Regarding Staff Member (UNMAS)
- Mortar Rounds Rain Down On Al-Shabaab Bases (Shabelle News)
- Galmudug Police Seizes Counterfeit Money (Goobjoog News)
- AMISOM Seizes Vehicles And Weapons From Al-shabaab Following Offensive In Dalandoole Town (Wacaal Media)
- Parliament Oversight Committee Ready To Take On The Executive (Goobjoog News)
- National Consultative Workshop On Human Rights Kicks Off In Mogadishu ( Radio Bar-Kulan)
- Police Officer Killed In Mogadishu (Horseed Media)
- Michael Howard To Meet SFO Over Somalia Oil Deal (The Week)
- Mayo Doctor Turns Research Into Somali Community Outreach (Postbulletin.com)
- Somalia May Soon Ban Female Genital Mutilation. Are Laws Enough? (The Christian Science Monitor)
- Child Refugee From War Torn Somalia Goes Back To Run For President (Goodnews Network)
NATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM Seizes Vehicles And Weapons From Al-shabaab Following Offensive In Dalandoole Town
05 August – Source: Wacaal Media – 99 Words
Reports reaching us from Bay region indicate that government and AMISOM forces in the area carried out both air and ground offensives at a local Al-shabaab base. The offensive was launched in Dalandoole in the outskirts of Buur-hakabo town with Ethiopian war planes providing aerial support. Sources told Wacaal media that the offensive inflicted huge damages on the militants with two military vehicles seized from them being towed to Baidoa. The two Toyota landcruisers were paraded by the Ethiopian forces who are part of the AMISOM mission in Baidoa. Sophisticated weapons were also recovered from the fleeing militants.
Mortar Rounds Rain Down On Al-Shabaab Bases
05 August – Source: Shabelle News – 122
Kenyan forces, serving under African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM) have on Tuesday night fired several mortar rounds on Al-Shabaab controlled bases in Gedo region. The mortars rained down on Biyo-Guuleed area, just 30km from Bardhere town where Al-Shabaab militants were driven out by Somalia army, along with African Union forces. The casualties resulted from the incident have yet to be established by local authorities for Somalia government. The targeted area is said to be an Al-Shabaab hotbed, according to sources who spoke to Shabelle Media based. The African Union fighters jets launched several airstrikes against Al-Shabaab militants which killed scores of commanders and militants in south of Somalia.
Galmudug Police Seizes Counterfeit Money
05 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 176 Words
Galmudug police has reportedly seized counterfeit currency in Galkaio town after a tip off by members of the public. Muhaydin Yusuf Samatar, police investigator with Galmudug state police told Goobjoog News that Shs10 millions of fake money were printed by criminals and brought to the city to corrupt the markets and take undue benefits. “We seized Shs10 millions Somali Shilling of counterfeit currency and later on burned in public” said the official who warned perpetrators against such fraudulent acts.
Somalia with no effective central bank has not printed currency for more than two decades, opening a wide gap for criminals who print fake monies and then supply to the markets who need replacement for the old notes. Federal government has plans to print new currency but due to budgetary constraints this is yet to be realized, in the past, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud told the press “to print one note would cost us 3 cents of US Dollar, and we would need $40 millions to produce the currency we need, in our budget we don’t have that.”
Parliament Oversight Committee Ready To Take On The Executive Branch
05 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 147 Words
Somalia parliament finance and accounts committee has taken 7 days seminar in Nairobi and ready to take on the executive branch of the Somali government. Members of the parliament were given courses relating to procurement, bidding and tender processes in the government, investments and government auctions and laws governing public–private partnerships.The seminar was organized by the UN development agency UNDP and was lectured by industry expert Dahir Elmi Warsame. Running from 29th of July to 4th of August, the seminar was designed to build the capacity of MPs to execute their mandate of accountability with the government which is often accused of embezzlement of funds and corruption in some ministries. Chairman of the portfolio committee MP Saman Mohamed Sheikh Dahir said that they would use the skills learnt in the parliament and harnessed their capacity to take on the Federal Government. Parliament has 9 months before their mandate expires and huge tasks lie ahead.
National Consultative Workshop On Human Rights Kicks Off In Mogadishu
04 August – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 393 Words
A national consultative workshop to assess Somalia’s human rights record opened in Mogadishu on Monday, a few months before Somalia is due for peer review. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a process through which country’s human rights situation is assessed by the UN Human Rights Council every four years. Somalia will be peer reviewed in January to February 2016. Next year’s Universal Periodic Review will be Somalia’s second, the first review having been conducted in 2011, where the country received 155 recommendations in the outcome report from the UN Human Rights Council.Organized by the Ministry of Women and Human Rights, with support from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), the consultative workshop brings together top officials of the Federal Government of Somalia, delegates from the Federal States and members of the civil society.
In her opening remarks, the Minister of Women and Human Rights Zahra Ali Samantar urged workshop participants to take the consultations seriously. She said, “the Ministry of Women and Human Rights has prioritized the gathering of information that will be used to respond to the recommendations. To address the recommendations, it is necessary that all federal states, regional administrations, and every government official study the recommendations that concerns them and provide input for the national report. The Ministry also emphasizes that every ministry in the federal government of Somalia should designate a focal point that will work on the Universal Periodic Review national report ahead of the deadline for submission in October 2015.”
The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia (SRSG), Nicholas Kay said the process provided an opportunity for participants to highlight achievements made and challenges faced by the country over the last five years.“It is really a great pleasure to be with you today at the first consultative workshop on the Universal Periodic Review for the preparation of Somalia’s national report. I commend the Federal Government and the Somali stakeholders for their commitment to the Universal Periodic Review process and the ministry of Women and Human Rights for leading the process,” said Kay. The Universal Periodic Review is based on the National Report to be submitted by the Federal Government in October 2015, summary of stakeholders’ submission including civil society reports and the compilation of UN information. It also takes into account dialogue with Somali delegations during the review sessions.
Police Officer Killed In Mogadishu
04 August – Source: Horseed Media – 187 Words
Unidentified gunmen have killed a Somali police officer in the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, the latest deadly assault targeting the government official and security personnel. According to an unnamed security official, the incident took place when assailants opened fire at Colonel Aweys Mohamed Dirie in the Hamar Jajab neighbourhood. Dirie, who was on his way to work, lost his life on the spot as the attackers fled the scene, the official added. In another incident in Mogadishu, a Somali military official sustained injury after a bomb attached to his car seat exploded while driving on Tuesday morning. So far, no group has yet claimed the responsibility of the attacks. But the al-Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab has carried out similar attacks in past. Attacks by the group have increased since the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Michael Howard To Meet SFO Over Somalia Oil deal
05 August – Source: The Week – 379 Words
Michael Howard, David Cameron’s predecessor as leader of the Conservative Party, is to meet officials from the Serious Fraud Office in connection with a criminal investigation into Soma Oil and Gas, the company for which he acts as non-executive chairman.The SFO launched its investigation last week. On Monday it emerged the basis for the probe is a United Nations report alleging conflicts of interest related to oil exploration in Somalia. In particular the report is critical of payments worth almost $600,000 to the Somali oil ministry and further amounts to its legal advisers, which were made in the year after it signed an exclusive deal in August 2013.
The Financial Times notes the exploration deal itself, the first to be signed by the country’s Western-backed government, which was at the time just one year old, had been criticised over concerns it was reached without an open tender process and despite the UN recommending a moratorium on oil exploration. The paper noted at the time that Lord Howard had “spearheaded” the negotiations. Soma said in a widely quoted statement that the SFO had confirmed “no suspicion whatsoever attaches to Lord Howard” and that it has “always conducted its activities in a completely lawful and ethical manner”.
Reuters states that the UN report is particularly critical of payments totalling $590,000 to the oil ministry for “capacity building arrangements”, which were to be used to provide technical assistance including paying salaries for specialists. It alleges at least six officials who drew Somali government salaries were also on the payroll, which would “in some cases have almost trebled their salaries”. Around $100,000 was earmarked for construction of a “data room” that was never completed, it adds.
Mayo Doctor Turns Research Into Somali Community Outreach
04 August – Source: Postbulletin.com – 837 Words
A soccer championship halftime show isn’t the most likely place to see a presentation on hepatitis awareness from a Mayo Clinic researcher, but one doctor’s team is doing what it takes to get the message out to the local Somali community. Dr. Lewis Roberts’ research shows that Somalis are much more likely to have certain types of hepatitis, which can lead to liver cancer. He wants them to get checked out before it’s too late. “A lot of people have no awareness, and they feel well. They don’t realize they are ill until they reach the end stages of liver failure because of the liver’s ability to regenerate itself and compensate. So by the time they begin to have symptoms, it is way too late to intervene and save the liver,” said Roberts, a clinician and researcher in the gastroenterology and hepatology department at Mayo Clinic, said.
Roberts grew up and attended medical school in Ghana, and after coming to the United States for a Ph.D. program at the University of Iowa, decided to stay to pursue research opportunities since Ghana was in the middle of a recession. He was accepted to the highly selective Clinical and Translational Science program at Mayo Clinic, during which he received training to both practice as a clinician and do robust research work. After completing his training, he decided to specialize in treating and researching liver cancer because of its prevalence in Africa. According to the American Cancer Society’s 2008 counts, liver cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in men in Africa, and the third highest cause of cancer deaths in women after cervix and breast cancer. Roberts said this number may in reality be much higher, as many deaths may be attributed to other diseases of the liver due to incorrect diagnoses.
Once he started on staff, Roberts said he noticed that a disproportionate number of his patients were Somali. Several years later, Abdirashid Shire, who received an undergraduate degree in Somalia and a doctorate degree in London, came to Mayo Clinic in the clinical and translational program and began working with Roberts. Then, Somali community members began reaching out to Shire directly for help with liver cancer-related problems. “That’s when I began to think that there was more to this than face value, and that we needed to involve a community perspective,” Roberts said. After digging through medical records in an attempt to identify every Somali immigrant who had ever visited Mayo Clinic, Shire unearthed that Somali individuals were 10 times more likely than non-Somalis to have chronic hepatitis B and three times more likely to have hepatitis C. Both cause inflammation in the liver and are risk factors for developing liver cancer.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The most successful anti-FGM campaigns have bound together legislation…with community-led programming to reduce the stigma of not undergoing FGM. [W]hile FGM may seem like an incredibly intimate and individual act, it is an intricate part of the social structure of many communities. So the entire community must “buy in” to efforts to end the practice…it’s through changing attitudes, not just laws, that we will end FGM.”
Somalia May Soon Ban Female Genital Mutilation. Are Laws Enough?
04 August – Source: The Christian Science Monitor – 691 Words
Somalia may soon take a crucial step toward ending female genital mutilation and cutting. The country’s Minister of Women and Human Rights has announced plans to introduce a bill banning the practice nationwide, Somali news outlet Horseed Media reported Tuesday. The decision would make the East African nation the latest to move forward with legislation against FGM/C – an important part of efforts to terminate the dangerous but deep-rooted custom, experts say. “[The] time has come for us to eradicate this bad practice and protect the rights of girls and women in our country,” said Sahra Mohammed Ali Samatar, Somalia’s Minister of Women and Human Rights.
FGM/C – which involves the altering, injuring, or removal of the external genitalia of women or girls for non-medical reasons and has been condemned by the United Nations as a human rights violation – affects about 100 to 140 million girls worldwide, the majority of whom reside in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. In terms of absolute incidences, the nation with the highest prevalence of FGM/C is Egypt, where over 27 million women have been mutilated to date. Somalia, however, tops the list when it comes to proportion of the population: 98 percent of girls in the country are subject to the practice, which is performed mostly on children ages 4 to 11, according to UNICEF.
But change is afoot, as the risks of the practice – which include emotional, physical, and psychological trauma and, in some cases, death – make their way into public awareness and discourse. Egypt, for instance, outlawed the practice in 2008, and has since seen the issue increasingly broached within families and communities. “There is definitely a shift on the ground in terms of the openness of people,” Mona Amin, who runs the Egyptian National Population Council’s FGM/C campaign, told The Guardian. “Young girls don’t feel embarrassed to talk about the problems of the practice in front of their parents … It’s a very important shift in attitude.”
Kenya also banned the practice in 2011. In May, just before he left office, former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan signed into law a nationwide ban on FGM/C – a move that many saw as his way of ensuring his legacy included fighting for women’s rights and protections, The Huffington Post reported. And indeed, concrete legislation is “an important framework to have in place, and shows a commitment from the government,” Cody Donahue, a child protection specialist for UNICEF, says in a phone interview. Still, banning the practice is just one step towards ending it, he says. FGM/C is still a reality for about 92 percent of married Egyptian women between 15 and 49 years old, according to a government report released in May. Women’s rights advocates have raised similar concerns about Kenya and Nigeria.
“She sees health care, sanitation, education and jobs as the building blocks to eliminating poverty and laying a new foundation for the nation. Though a 67% unemployment rate may be overwhelming, she believes Somalis could benefit greatly through access to microfinance — small loans that help build simple farming, fishing or other businesses so people can lift themselves out of poverty.”
Child Refugee From War Torn Somalia Goes Back To Run For President
04 August – Source: Goodnews Network – 654 Words
After fleeing her homeland almost 25 years ago, Fadumo Dayib has decided she wants to be president of Somalia. “I’m generally an optimist,” Ms. Dayib told Good News Network. She certainly needs to be, since she’s the first female candidate in the nation and going up against some fiery opponents in a male-dominated country. Her life story provides reason for optimism, too. She’s beaten enormous odds during her 42 years. She learned to read at age 14, an impressive feat for any Somalian woman – and used that skill to earn a master’s degree in health care and public health, and a second one in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Dayib and her family left as refugees fleeing Somalia’s civil war when she was just a child, living briefly in Kenya before settling in Finland. She returned to Somalia briefly as part of a U.N. mission to build clinics and provide health care in 2005, but left the country again when the U.N. deemed it was no longer safe to stay. Always in the back of her mind, Dayib, now a mother of four, wanted to heal the wounds in her homeland and knew the changes would have to come from the top—which is why, having graduated from Harvard this spring, she is running next year to become the first woman president of her native country. “Somalia needs a multidimensional approach to tackling issues,” Dayib told Good News Network. “But everything boils down to tackling poverty.”
Somalia is still recovering from more than 20 years of civil war and its aftermath, and the country lacks many basic services; but Dayib believes Somalia is poised for a brighter future. Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama visited neighboring Ethiopia, another African nation rebounding after decades of strife and famine—Dayib herself points to Liberia and Rwanda as examples of African nations that have rebuilt themselves after civil war. All three countries have been torn apart by factional infighting, but Liberia and Rwanda have been restoring civil order and a new government. She now sees Somalia following in their footsteps – establishing in 2012 its first parliament in two decades, and, next year, holding it’s first democratic presidential election since 1967.
TOP TWEETS
@UN_Women:#Somalia announces plans to introduce new law banning #FGM nationwide: http://owl.li/QrgeJ via@horseed #endFGM
@SalahOsman0:International Monetary Fund (IMF) says#Somalia has made significant progress in stabilising Economy #Mogadishu http://citizentv.co.ke/news/
@farahblue A dozen of foreign companies greased the wheels of our government,but we, d people of #Somalia will not accept any illegal contract #Tuugo
@cgnetwork Somalia: Detained Journalist in Somalia Released: [Dalsan Radio] Six journalists have been…http://goo.gl/fb/CH7vF0
@UNSomalia :Faduma Abdullahi Mohamud named new Permanent Rep of #Somalia to @UN Office in Genevahttp://bit.ly/1E6Gbch
@asmali77:Pres. @UKenyatta receiving credentials from Amb. Gamal M. Hassan of the Federal Republic of #Somalia at@StateHouseKe
@AlinoorMB: #UNHCR help repatriate over 100 Somalis from#Kenya‘s #Dadaab camps to #Somalia‘s capital #Mogadishu pix @UNHCR_Kenya
IMAGE OF THE DAY
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia (SRSG), Nicholas Kay, inspects the UN Guard of Honour during a handover ceremony to mark the end of tour for the unit in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Photo: UN Photo / Tobin Jones