Somalilandsun – One year since the endorsement of the Somali Compact, a new report from World Vision and Saferworld, “Strengthening the New Deal from the Bottom Up: Perspectives on the Somali Compact and Somaliland Special Arrangement (SSA)”, discusses civil society and community perspectives on the Compact and the SSA. It identifies convergence between their priorities and those set out in the Compact and SSA as well as issues they want to see more strongly prioritized. It highlights gaps that threaten the Compact’s success,
The Saferworld and World Vision report below
Strengthening the New Deal from the Bottom Up: Perspectives on the Somali Compact and Somaliland Special Arrangement (SSA)
Executive Summary
The New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States provides a country-owned and led framework through which to address peace building, state building and development and better coordinate donors in support of these objectives.
Five Peace building and State building goals (PSGs) guide its work: 1. Inclusive politics; 2. Security; 3. Justice; 4. Economic Foundations; 5. Revenues and Services. At the centre of the New Deal in Somalia lies the Somali Compact, endorsed in September 2013. It is intended to be a dialogue and process that promotes political reconciliation and the realization of the PSGs and contains a distinct arrangement for Somaliland known as the Somaliland Special Arrangement (SSA).
One year since the endorsement of the Somali Compact, a new report from World Vision and Saferworld, “Strengthening the New Deal from the Bottom Up: Perspectives on the Somali Compact and Somaliland Special Arrangement (SSA)”, discusses civil society and community perspectives on the Compact and the SSA. It identifies convergence between their priorities and those set out in the Compact and SSA as well as issues they want to see more strongly prioritized. It highlights gaps that threaten the Compact’s success, including:
• The need for greater emphasis on social reconciliation,
• strengthening and re-establishing policing services,
• assessing how to improve traditional dispute resolution mechanisms,
• focusing further on resilience and
• emphasizing provision of quality basic services.
Based on civil society and community perspectives, alongside Saferworld and World Vision’s own research and analysis, the report also examines how the New Deal could best be implemented going forward. It argues for:
• greater focus on conflict sensitivity,
• balancing state building approaches with peace building ones,
• greater inclusion of community based approaches,
• participation by district administrations, civil society and the public and
• a stronger monitoring and evaluation framework and improved coordination with ongoing humanitarian and resilience efforts, to maximize the Compact and SSA’s impacts for all people.
Action now by all authorities in Somalia and Somaliland and the international community will strengthen the potential of the New Deal processes to effect the positive, sustainable and meaningful change that it has been designed to foster.
In particular, Saferworld and World Vision recommend the following as priorities for action:
The Federal government should:
1. Improve consultations with communities and civil society to address gaps in the Compact and ensure that it focuses on and leads to positive outcomes for Somalis. This should include drawing on their technical expertise, particularly within the PSG Working Groups and Sub-Working Groups, and involving them in the design, realization, monitoring and evaluation of PSG objectives.
2. Complete a comprehensive Fragility Assessment that includes the views of the widest range of Somalis; and ensure that it is regularly updated. Such a comprehensive analysis of conflict drivers will help better ensure that the implementation of the Compact and work plans are conflict sensitive. The Assessment will also strengthen baseline indicators for monitoring and evaluation across all the PSGs.
The Somaliland authorities should:
1. Recognise that gaps exist in the objectives of the SSA and conduct consultations, including with communities and civil society, to identify and address them.
2. Incorporate community-based approaches across all of the SSA’s PSG objectives and milestones – especially in regards to PSG2 on security, where community security approaches could prove effective.
3. Continue to proactively consult and engage with a wide range of civil society actors, giving them a clear role in the design of disaggregated monitoring mechanisms, and conduct outreach and consultation with the Somaliland public in the implementation of the SSA, with a focus on information sharing in the Somali language.
The international community should:
1. Support and encourage the Federal Government, Somaliland authorities and other stakeholders in the New Deal processes to address gaps in the Compact, beginning with the Fragility Assessment.
2. Provide timely and transparent information to monitoring and evaluation processes and promote an environment of mutual accountability between themselves, the government, civil society and implementers.
3. Support and promote inter-civil society coordination, representation and engagement on the New Deal process though information sharing and, if necessary, financial support
