January 20, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Government of Somalia ratifies UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

20 Jan – Source: UNICEF – 169 Words

As the world enters into the 26th year of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Somalia has become the 194th state party to ratify the Convention, setting a course to improve the lives of its youngest citizens. “By ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the government of Somalia is making an investment in the wellbeing of its children, and thus in the future of its society,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. UNICEF applauds this important step for Somalia and looks forward to supporting the nationwide effort to translate the rights of the Convention into practical action for every child. “The central message of the Convention is that every child deserves a fair start in life,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “What can be more important than that?” The ratification process will be finalized once the Government of Somalia deposits the instruments of ratification with the United Nations in New York.

Key Headlines

Lower Shabelle administration investigating the killing of Afgoye mayor (Radio Goobjoog)
Security beefed up in Mogadishu ahead of Turkish President visit (Horseed Media)
Ahlu Sunnah accepts the location for Central State formation conference (Radio Goobjoog)
Bula Burte authorities capture boats claiming they belong to Al-Shabaab (Radio Danan)
The administration of Bula Burte denies allegations about food aid (Radio Goobjoog)
Somali opposition lawmakers welcome cabinet recall (Sabahi Online)
NCIC mulling over amnesty for Kenyan youths in the Al-Shabaab (Star Kenya)
Government of Somalia ratifies UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNICEF)
Somali PM faces huge task to form a cabinet accepted by parliament (Xinhua News/Hiiraan Online)
Twin Cities-based Somali youth group seeks funding for expansion (MPR News)

SOMALI MEDIA

Lower Shabelle administration investigating the killing of Afgoye mayor

20 Jan – Source: Radio Goobjoog -145 Words

Provincial Governor, Abdikadir Mohamed Nuur aka CD, told Radio Goobjoog that his administration is investigating the killing of Afgoye Mayor, Ali Jalil, who was killed in a landmine attack near Hawa Abdi locality in the Lower Shabelle region.The governor blamed Al-Shabaab insurgents for the killing, saying this was not the first time a government official was targeted with explosives in the region, and there were previous incidents where high ranking officials were killed. “The terrorists have carried out explosions before, they even targeted me with suicide bombing, they also targeted an AMISOM water/patrol tank , and an army General. We are investigating all these,” Nuur said. The explosion near Hawa Abdi killed Ali Jalil who the governor said was the appointed mayor of Afgoye, though other sources told Goobjoog FM he was yet to take up his post.

Security beefed up in Mogadishu ahead of Turkish President visit

19 Jan – Source: Horseed Media – 211 Words

The government of Somalia has beefed up security measures ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official tour to the capital this week. Security personnel have been deployed in sensitive areas and along the roads leading to the capital’s airport and Presidential palace, and have been checking all vehicles since Monday. Police and other security personnel in several parts of Mogadishu have been put on high alert, checking cars and people perceived to be behaving suspiciously. Horseed Media has learnt that a delegation from the Turkish government composed of the diplomats and security officials arrived in Mogadishu on Mondayto assess the security situation. It will be the second time Mr. Erdogan has visited Somalia in four years.

In 2011, he became the first major Western leader in decades to visit the country. The visit was designed to demonstrate Turkey’s readiness to help victims of a devastating famine, but also to showcase Ankara’s ambition to become a major political and economic player in Africa. Mr Erdogan, who won the Turkish Presidential elections last year, is expected to hold talks with the Somali President and other top government officials concerning the bilateral relations, and will visit ongoing Turkish development projects in the capital.

Ahlu Sunnah accepts the location for Central State formation conference

20 Jan – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 158 words

The administration of Ahlu Sunnah, in the Galgaduud region, has said they have accepted the conference location for the formation of a Central State of Somalia. Ahlu Sunnah Chairman, Sheik Omar Sheik Abdikadir, told Goobjoog News that they requested to host the formation of the state in the past, but that there is no reason to resist now. “There will always be disagreements among people who are shareholders, but this should be worked out when we sit down and discuss…I don’t see a problem with the conference venue, it could be anywhere people agreed on,” he said. He further commented on the security of the conference, saying that they requested the federal government provide a security detail to the conference, adding that they are awaiting a response from the government.

Bula Burte authorities capture boats claiming they belong to Al-Shabaab

19 Jan – Source: Radio Danan – 105 Words

According to the district commissioner of Bula Burte, Abdiaziz Duurow, the district administration captured two boats that reportedly belong to Al-Shabaab fighters. The commissioner said those boats were intercepted at villages in the district, adding that the intention of Al-Shabaab was to use those boats for targeted attacks aimed at disrupting the security of Bula Burte. He said his administration is willing to do all it can to avert crime. There has been no statement from Al-Shabaab regarding the boats in question.

The administration of Bula-Burte denies allegations about food aid

19 Jan – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 153 words

The Bula Burte district administration has denied corruption allegations after elders in the district accused the administration of mismanaging food aid brought in by the government. Abdiaziz Duurow Abdi, the Bula Burte District Commissioner, in an exclusive interview with Goobjoog FM denied claims of misconduct, and described the reports as fictitious, and as having been dispersed by individuals with personal agendas. “Eight trucks carrying food aid reached the district and we distributed the food to the people it was intended for. The Federal Government of Somalia has all the information about how the distribution was done, and furthermore we always welcome accountability and transparency,” he said. The commissioner emphasized that some of the food aid got soaked during transportation, and was not suitable for human consumption.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somali opposition lawmakers welcome cabinet recall

19 Jan – Source; Sabahi Online 494 Words

Somali lawmakers welcomed Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke’s cabinet recall, calling the move courageous and a show of good faith. Sharmarke dissolved his 60-member cabinet, unveiled less than a week ago, at the weekend after a crescendo in opposition threatened its confirmation. In a letter to lawmakers read aloud by Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Osman Jawari Saturday (January 17th), the prime minister said he decided to retract his cabinet nominees after careful consideration of the “feelings and emotions” of opposing lawmakers. The cabinet line-up comprised 26 ministers, 25 deputies and nine state ministers, an increase of five posts from the previous cabinet, with many former ministers returning to power including key allies of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud such as Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir and Abdikarim Hussein Guled.

In his letter to lawmakers, Sharmarke asked for an additional 14 days to select a more inclusive cabinet. “I will nominate a cabinet that will be acceptable to this parliament and representative of the will of the people of Somalia,” he said. “I will also consider the diverse opinions of the lawmakers in order to present them a cabinet that can earn the confidence of the parliament.” The prime minister’s request was approved overwhelmingly, with 190 lawmakers voting in favour of the extension, ten against it and two abstaining from the vote. Lawmaker Mohamed Omar Dalha called Sharmarke’s move “courageous” and praised the prime minister for his willingness to acknowledge dissenting opinions and to take them seriously.

“This time around he must form a government that can receive the confidence of the people and the parliament of Somalia,” Dalha told Sabahi, adding that lawmakers expect the cabinet nominees to be well qualified and worthy of their positions. “The people he will choose shall not be selected based on nepotism,” he said. “That could spark another political crisis that this country cannot endure at this time. At the same time, he must have some independence to choose his cabinet because ultimately he will be the one that will be held accountable for its failures or successes.”

Lawmaker Abdiwali Mohamed Qanyare, one the 80 lawmakers initially opposed to Sharmarke’s cabinet nominees, also welcomed the prime minister’s move but expressed cautious optimism, saying Sharmarke had not yet reached out to opposition lawmakers for one-on-one consultations. “What we have been wanting all along is for Somalia to have a government that is inclusive and able to take the nation forward, and that can only be achieved if there is a government representative of the various political views that exist in Somalia,” he told Sabahi. Qanyare said he looks forward to the prime minister meeting with lawmakers soon. “The identity of the individual tapped for the post is not important, what is important is [considering] what that person can do for the country and if they are qualified for the job. That [criteria] is something that can satisfy all citizens and lawmakers” he said.

NCIC mulling over amnesty for Kenyan youths in the Al-Shabaab

19 Jan – Source: Star Kenya – 376 Words

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission is drafting a policy for giving a six-month amnesty to youths who joined the Al-Shabaab but want to quit. NCIC commissioner Roba Sharamo said the returning recruits must be integrated back into society immediately to prevent homegrown attacks.“We have a national de-radicalisation strategy adopted by the cabinet which is guiding us. We also have had calls from the coastal political and religious leaders to have an amnesty so that the youths stranded in Somalia and fearing to come back can return to their homes,” Sharamo said. He was speaking in Lamu county on Saturday during a peace meeting organised by the NCIC and the Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims. Sharamo said NCIC is working with the National Police Service, intelligence agencies and local leaders to put the systems in place.

“Only the President can grant such an amnesty. One of our mandates as NCIC is to advise the President directly and once all the systems have been put in place, we will approach him with the recommendations,” he said. Sharamo noted that many of the youths joined the militia group to alleviate poverty, but are opting out because of disappointment. “The Kenya Defense Forces has been dismantling the terror networks in Somalia and the situation has forced many of our youths to come back to the country,” he added.

Coast region Supkem chairman Sharif Khitamy said that the youths have adopted an ideology that can only be changed through dialogue and integration programs. Khitamy said it is the duty of leaders, Imams, pastors and opinion leaders to rehabilitate them. “Some of our youths have virgin minds and it our duty as leaders to train them on the right paths to follow or else terror groups like al Shabaab will take advantage of them,” he said. Commissioner Adan Mohammed said the militia group took advantage of the youth. “Somalia did not have a stable legal government for almost 20 years and the terrorists targeted and recruited the innocent youth,” Mohammed said. He said they are at a critical stage and need proper guidance. It is estimated that Kenyan youths make up 10 per cent of Al-Shabaab and that 700 of them have returned to the Coastal region.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Government of Somalia ratifies UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

20 Jan – Source: UNICEF – 169 Words

Somali PM faces huge task to form a cabinet accepted by parliament

20 Jan – Source: Xinhua News/Hiiraan Online – 537 Words

Somali Parliament on Saturday approved a two-week extension period requested by Somalia’s Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke to form an inclusive government. Sharmarke dissolved his proposed list of cabinet ministers barely hours after it was set to face a confidence vote by the country’s top lawmaking body. Angry lawmakers vowed to reject Sharmarke’s cabinet appointees whom they accused of incompetency since the list had ministers who served in the previous administration. Experts said on Monday the PM who was elected into office late last year will face a lot of difficulties in trying to come up with a new cabinet list which will enjoy confidence of the Somalis especially Members of Parliament.

According to Abdihamid Hassan Wehliye, a public policy lecturer at Simad University and political analyst, Sharmarke will have a difficult task in convincing Somalia’s divided parliament to approve the new government. He said the country’s federal parliament remains divided since October 2014 after fallout between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the then Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed. “Most lawmakers want to be in Sharmarke’s list of ministers. He has to consider their concerns if he is to form a government anytime soon,” Wehliye told Xinhua. “Clan based parliament rather than political parties is the country’s political implications as well as the top leadership of the country,” he added. Wehliye said time was running out for the parliament which has 18 months left to approve bills and endorse commissions before the end of the current administration. Sharmarke on Saturday acknowledged the need to build consensus in his efforts to establish a national unity government tasked with achieving the Vision 2016 agenda.

“I appreciate the continued support of the Federal Parliament to my administration in our endeavor to deliver critical services to the Somali people and to accomplish the key tasks ahead of us,” he said in his letter to the Speaker, recalling his cabinet list. Experts said dissolving the proposed government list was the only option available for the PM who was endorsed by parliament late last year. “Most of the parliamentarians had already voiced opposition to Sharmarke’s list. Dissolving it was the only option he had,” said Abdirahman Omar Osman, a former Information Minister. “Majority of the cabinet appointees served in the former government under Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed. This is one of the major concerns raised by Somali lawmakers,” Osman added.

Twin Cities-based Somali youth group seeks funding for expansion

19 Jan – Source: MPR News – 244 Words

A Twin Cities program that helps Somali-American youth is asking for millions of dollars in state money for a plan to combat the threat of radicalization.The nonprofit Ka Joog will detail its two-year plan for expanding educational, employment and arts programs across the state Tuesday. Ka Joog has won honors from the White House and the FBI for its work with Twin Cities youth. Executive director Mohamed Farah said he’d like to replicate Ka Joog’s success in other cities, where he said threats of radicalization may exist. “I think ISIS, and same as al-Shabab, is willing to engage pretty much anybody they possibly can,” he said. “If they can get a kid in St. Cloud or Willmar, if they have a platform, they’ll do it. So everyone is pretty much at risk.”

The group is asking for $4 million but has yet to find a sponsor for the bill.”When we talk about radicalization, it’s not just about getting radicalized overnight,” Farah said. “There’s a lot of underlying issues. There’s a lack of employment, lack of mentorship and guidance, the lack of education. All of these underlying issues are what we’re trying to solve.” Farah said Ka Joog’s ambitions are in line with a Department of Justice pilot program aimed at preventing violent extremism in the Twin Cities. Meanwhile, the U-S Attorney Andy Luger is leading an initiative that aims to bolster youth and jobs-training programs as a way to counter violent extremism.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“The parliament that has become a theater for political absurdity and a source of instability in the country. An enormous amount of time has been spent squabbling over trivial political motions and less debating key legislation that could have paved the way for elections.”

Democratic Elections in Somalia Can Wait, Cohesive Politics Can’t

19 Jan – Source: African Arguments – 792 Words

At his swearing-in speech in December 2014, Somalia’s new prime minister, Omar Sharmarke, promised to speed up progress towards the country’s ‘Vision2016’ goals. This essentially means holding a national democratic election – a novel one-person one-vote exercise – towards the end of 2016, when the current government’s mandate comes to an end. The prime minister acknowledged that there are significant shortfalls towards achieving Vision2016, yet he didn’t spell out how he intends to effectively remedy these. Prospects for holding elections in 2016 are growing more elusive by the day. With the scheduled timeline, almost everything that would be required to make elections happen seems distant. For example, the electoral commission, political parties and electoral infrastructure are all yet to be established.

Vision2016 comprises several distinct transitions; reviewing the provisional constitution, completion of the federal system, establishing federal member states and building capable government institutions. But none of these benchmarks have been successfully completed, despite a great deal of resources and time spent on them. Since Vison2016 came into being in 2013, the country has suffered from cyclical political-infighting between the president and PM that has stalled progress towards achieving the vision. This has had a negative impact on already weak government institutions. As a consequence of this, the security situation has gone from bad to worse, and Al-Shabaab has struck back in brazen fashion, increasing urban guerrilla attacks.

These problems are compounded by the appalling political environment throughout the country. In less than two years, the president has sacked two prime ministers. Whilst the fundamental source of the political-infighting has its roots in the provisional constitution, the bigger problem lies in not addressing the problem, but rather watching it to unfold at the expense of public institutions. The most critical aspect of holding democratic elections is political cohesion. The country is more politically fragmented than ever before.

“We therefore call for a 30% women representation to be respected in all future elections and to be included in the constitution as a policy…It is time to change this narrative where women continue to make up a single digit.”

New cabinet appointment by the Federal Government of Somalia: A letter from the Somali Women Diaspora Community

20 Jan – Source: Hiiraan Online – 451 Words

To: His excellency President of the Federal Government of Somalia H.E. Mr. Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, The Speaker of the Parliament H.E. Mr. Mohamed Osman Jawari and The Prime Minister of Somalia H.E Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake.

The Somali Women Diaspora Community would like to urge the Somali Government to recognize the political participation of Somali women. It should be recognized that women have been playing a vital and active role in the initial dialogue and reconciliation amongst various communities. We therefore call for a 30% women representation to be respected in all future elections and to be included in the constitution as a policy. This comes following the appointment of the new cabinet announced on Sunday January 11 2015 with 26 Ministers, 9 State Ministers and 25 Deputy Ministers for a complete cabinet of 60 members out of which women only make up 5 members (8%) in total cabinet.

It is time to change this narrative where women continue to make up a single digit, in this regard the Somali Women Diaspora Community wishes to draw your attention to the following points in response to the appointment of the new cabinet, which we believe is a decision that has far reaching implications to women and their participation in the ongoing political process of Somalia:

The United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security October 2000 calls for the right of women to be involved and engaged in peace and security processes;
The New Deal Somali Peace and State Building Goals (PSG) Priorities and Principles stipulates that Somali Federal Government must contribute in enhancing the role that women play in the political arena;
Recognize that women in Somalia are an important agency in political stabilization and the ongoing peace process of the country in this alone their voice needs to be included in the local and regional stabilization processes;

That said, the importance of women’s participation in reaching sustainable peace should be emphasised and verbalised to ensure the representation of Somali women at local, national and international decision making processes. On that note, we would like to draw your attention to understand the importance of women’s participation in political activities. Therefore we are appealing for an inclusive political process that recognises women’s active contribution in the peace building, stabilization activities and the political representation of the country. This should be part of the strategy to ensure the realization of women’s social, cultural, civil and political rights. Hence, we are expecting from the Excellences to consider our concerns and act accordingly.

Thank you,

Somali Women Diaspora Community

Top tweets

@amisomsomalia: We will hold a Q&A today @ 2PM with our Police component to discuss ‘Capacity building in the SPF’#AskAmisomPolice

@unicefsomalia: Congratulations #Somalia for ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child #CRC http://uni.cf/1ujWX2y

@ASSIYYA: If only our government realised the magnitude of disruption caused by road closures. In all honesty, I don’t think they give a damn #Somalia

@Cidilibaax: TNG,TFG &FGS has misused over $1.1billion unaccountable #Somalia is impoverished nation they need help@UNSomalia #Puntland @hrw @UN @UNDP

@Hamza_Africa: #Turkey president @RT_Erdogan expected to visit #Mogadishu on Friday.This is Erdogan’s 2nd visit to#Somalia, 1st was in 2011.

@MogadishuNews: My friend @ragehomaar interviews Endo Adde for @itvnews in #Mogadishu #Somalia

‏@Bridget_PJM: Note to West: Somalia is more than Shabaab and pirates RT @SomaliaRise High school in #Mogadishu #Somalia.

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Image of the day

Children in Somalia can look forward to a brighter future after the Government ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC.) President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed the Convention – committing Somalia to promote and protect children’s rights – at a ceremony in Mogadishu today. Photo: UNICEF Somalia