Somalia

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 25 August 2022

Summary

State Party Somalia ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 30 September 2015, after participating in several meetings of the convention.

Somalia provided an initial Article 7 transparency report for the convention in October 2019, which formally confirmed that it has never produced cluster munitions and possesses no stocks, including for research or training. It has not been possible to determine responsibility for past use of cluster munitions in Somalia’s border areas.

Policy

The Federal Republic of Somalia signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified it on 30 September 2015. The convention entered into force for the country on 1 March 2016.

Somalia reported in October 2019 that it plans to enact national implementing legislation to guide and enforce the convention’s provisions.[1]

Somalia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 11 October 2019.[2] It last provided an annual updated report in September 2020.[3]

Somalia attended one meeting of the Oslo Process that created the convention, in Vienna, Austria in December 2007.[4]

Somalia last participated in a meeting of the convention in 2014.[5] It was invited to, but did not attend, the convention’s Second Review Conference held in November 2020 and September 2021.

In December 2021, Somalia was absent from the vote on a key United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution urging full implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[6] Somalia voted in favor of the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention in 2015–2017, but has been absent from the vote since then.

Somalia has denounced new use of cluster munitions.[7]

Somalia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Somalia reported in October 2019 that it has never produced cluster munitions and does not possess any stocks, including for research and training purposes.[8] Previously, Somalia told States Parties in 2014 that it was “not a user, producer, or stockpiling state.”[9]

Cluster munition remnants from past use, by unknown actors, have been cleared from border areas of Somalia.[10]

Previous use

In March 2016, the governor of Somalia’s Gedo region, Mohamed Abdi Kalil, accused the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) of “using illegal cluster bombs” in its air operation against the non-state armed group (NSAG) al-Shabaab near Bardere city on 15–23 January 2016.[11] Kenya, a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, denied the allegation.[12] On the basis of available evidence, the Monitor could not conclusively determine if Kenya used cluster munitions in this incident.[13]

A United Nations (UN) Monitoring Group investigation reported that al-Shabaab had repurposed unexploded submunitions from BL755 cluster munitions as components for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to items in an arms cache seized by forces fighting against al-Shabaab in Bardera on 7 March 2016.[14]

Cluster munition remnants believed to date from the 1977–1978 Ogaden War between Somalia and Ethiopia have been cleared and destroyed from border areas, but it is unclear who was responsible for this use.[15] Somalia has said that the cluster munition contamination near its border with Ethiopia dates from the “border wars of 1978–1984,” but has not indicated who was responsible for using the weapons.[16]



[1] Somalia Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 11 October 2019. See, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Database.

[2] The report was originally due on 31 August 2016.

[3] As of 1 July 2022, Somalia had not submitted subsequent annual updated Article 7 reports, which were due by 30 April 2021 and 30 April 2022.

[4] For details on Somalia’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 153.

[5] Somalia participated as an observer at the convention’s annual Meetings of States Parties in 2011–2012 and 2014, as well as intersessional meetings in 2013–2014. Somalia did not attend the First Review Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia in September 2015.

[6]Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 76/47, 6 December 2021.  

[7] Statement of Somalia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, San Jose, 2 September 2014.

[8] Somalia Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Forms B, C, D, and E, 11 October 2019.

[9] Statement of Somalia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, San Jose, 2 September 2014.

[10] For example, in 2016, deminers found an unexploded submunition from a BL755 cluster bomb in Bardera (Baardheere) in Gedo region and found a PTAB-2.5M submunition in Dinsoor in the Bay region. Email from Mohammad Sediq Rashid, United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), 8 June 2017.

[11] Mohamed Abdi Kalil (GovernorKalil), “‪#KDF‪ jets pounded #Bardere city area southern #Gedo region, killing Civilians, destroying livestock Using illegal cluster bombs #Somalia @UN.” 5 March 2016, 08:02 UTC, Tweet.

[12] In January 2016, a Somali media outlet reported an alleged cluster munition attack by Kenyan forces in the Gedo region and published photographs reportedly taken at the site of the attack that showed dead livestock and remnants of United Kingdom (UK)-made BL755 cluster bombs and their submunitions. “Losses shelling forces arrested Gedo and Juba,” Calanka Media, 24 January 2016 (no longer available online); and “Kenya launches deadly retaliatory attack,” Somalia Memo, 24 January 2016.

[13] A United Nations (UN) investigation found that Kenyan forces did conduct airstrikes in the Gedo region in January 2016, but could not confirm whether Kenyan forces used cluster munitions in the attacks. Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on Somalia S/2016/430,” 9 May 2016, p. 10, para. 51. The January 2017 Report of the Secretary-General on Somalia did not include an update on the committee.

[14] Ibid.

[15] In April 2013, the director of the Somalia National Mine Action Authority (SNMAA) informed the Monitor that dozens of PTAB-2.5M and some AO-1SCh submunitions were found within a 30km radius of the Somali border town of Dolow. It is not possible to determine definitively who was responsible for this cluster munition use. The Soviet Union supplied both sides in the Ogaden War, while foreign military forces known to possess cluster munitions fought in support of Ethiopia, including the Soviet Union and Cuba. Email from Mohammed A. Ahmed, SNMAA, 17 April 2013. Photographs of the cluster munition remnants are available here.

[16] Statement of Somalia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, San Jose, 2 September 2014.


Impact

Last updated: 20 April 2021

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Treaty Status Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

Country summary

Contamination from mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) exists across Somalia’s three major regions: southcentral Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu; Puntland; and Somaliland, a self-proclaimed, though unrecognized, state that operates autonomously in the northwest. (See separate impact profile for Somaliland).

Most of the landmine contamination is along the border with Ethiopia. The full extent of the contamination is unknown.

In December 2015, the UN Mine Action Services (UNMAS) handed over responsibility for mine action coordination and management to the Somali Explosives Management Agency (SEMA). Mine action legislation and revised mine action standards were still pending adoption in 2020. As a result of the lack of parliamentary approval, SEMA had not received national funding and had relied on international support channeled through humanitarian clearance operators for staff salaries and running costs since 2017.[1]

Children and pastoral communities are considered as high-risk groups in Somalia. Children have represented the vast majority of casualties where the age group was known. Risk education is carried out by humanitarian demining organizations and UNMAS in cooperation with SEMA and local community groups in all five state regions of Somalia.

The availability of victim assistance services remained minimal, and those available lacked adequate provisions for the needs of survivors and persons with disabilities. Opportunities, for economic inclusion, psychosocial support, education, and employment were rare or close to non-existent. Healthcare and rehabilitation relied on support from international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A 2018 report on victim assistance found that rehabilitation services including prosthetics were estimated to respond to only 20% of people in need in Somalia. After years of inaction, victim assistance workshops were held in 2019, resulting in the drafting of a victim assistance action plan with multi-stakeholder input.

Treaty status

Treaty status overview

Mine Ban Treaty

State Party

Article 5 clearance deadline: 1 October 2022

Convention on Cluster Munitions

State Party

Article 4 clearance deadline: 1 March 2026

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

State Party

 

Clearance deadline extension requests

Somalia’s initial Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline is 1 October 2022. However Somalia was reported in March 2021 it was preparing an extension request.[2]

Somalia became a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2015 and reported clearance obligations in 2019. Its Article 4 clearance deadline is 1 March 2026. As of 2020, it was unclear whether Somalia would be able to meet its deadline.

Management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview[3]

National mine action management actors

Somali Explosives Management Agency (SEMA)

United Nations Agencies

UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS)

Other actors

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) provides financing for SEMA offices, capacity-building, and technical support since 2017

Mine action legislation

Pending approval in 2020

Mine action strategic and operational plans

  • Five-year national strategy: the “Badbaado Plan for Multi-Year Explosive Hazard Management,” developed in 2015 (second phase began in 2018)
  • National Mine Action Strategic Plan 2018–2020

Mine action standards

National Technical Standards and Guidelines revised in 2019 (pending approval in 2020)

 

Management

The Somali Explosives Management Agency (SEMA) was established in 2013 as the mine action center for southern Somalia, replacing the Somalia National Mine Action Authority created in 2011.[4] The SEMA was expected to assume a mandate with full responsibility for all mine action coordination by December 2015, but the legislative framework was not approved. UNMAS stopped funding SEMA at the beginning of 2016. Due to the lack of parliamentary approval, SEMA had not received any funding from the government and was petitioning for legislation to provide the necessary recognition of status for a dedicated state budget line.[5] Since 2017, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) has been providing financial support to SEMA federal and state offices. It also supported SEMA to develop an annual budget proposal to the Ministry of Interior and Security (MoIS) for 2020.[6]

SEMA operates in Somalia through its five federal state members: the SEMA Puntland State Office,[7] SEMA Galmudug State Office, SEMA Hirshabelle State Office, SEMA South West State Office, and SEMA Jubaland Office.[8]

UNMAS coordinates humanitarian mine action activities under the umbrella of the Global Protection Cluster within the UN Country Team. Since 2015, it has reported that it supported the development of civilian-led clearance efforts along the Somali border with Ethiopia.[9]

Strategies and policies

In late 2017, a National Mine Action Strategic Plan for 2018–2020 was developed with input from SEMA, UNMAS, international operators, national NGO consortia, and international institutions. According to SEMA, the strategy was to be reviewed every six months.[10] The plan was reported to be consistent with the five-year national strategy document, the “Badbaado Plan for Multi-Year Explosive Hazard Management,” developed in 2015 by the Ministry of Internal Security and SEMA.[11] The plan addressed the Federal Government’s approach to explosive hazard management in line with the Somali obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty.

As of September 2020, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) planned to support the update of the mine action strategy in Somalia.[12]

Legislation and standards

The revision of Somalia’s national standards and guidelines was completed in 2019. But, as of 2020, approval by the MoIS was pending.[13]

Information management

SEMA uses the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) and was working with GICHD to introduce the use of IMSMA core.[14] In 2017, ownership of the national IMSMA database was fully transferred from UNMAS to SEMA.

Somalia reported in 2017 that it was in the process of updating the information in the database according to a new country structure consisting of seven states and four levels (federal state, province, district, and village), as well as verification of historical UNMAS data.[15] This process was still ongoing in 2018 and 2019. In 2019 operators were reporting clearance by using the standard template, the data was added to the national database.[16]

National and global goals

Somalia’s National Development Plan 2017–2019 identified mine and ERW clearance as a crucial component of stabilization efforts in the national development process. Contamination was recognized as a hindrance to socio-economic development and a security concern for sustainable development initiatives.[17]

Risk education management and coordination

Risk education management and coordination overview[18]

Government focal points

SEMA

Coordination mechanisms

  • Mine action partners meet quarterly with the national mine action authority
  • Risk education is discussed as part of broader mine action sub-cluster meetings

Coordination outcomes

Risk education is included within the national mine action strategy

Risk education standards

Risk education standards, as part of the mine action standards under review, were awaiting approval in 2020

 

SEMA coordinates risk education with national NGO consortia in each state and international organizations conducting risk education.[19] There is an independent consortium of national NGOs under each of the five SEMA state member offices: Central Somalia Mine Action Consortium (CESMAC), Jubbaland Mine Action Network (JUMAN), Puntland Risk Solutions Consortium (PRSC), Shabelle and Hiran Mine Action Consortium (SHAHMAC, Hirshabelle), and South West Demining Consortium (SOWDEG).

Challenges to the coordination of risk education included the existence of different operating contexts across national and regional levels. SEMA did not have the capacity to conduct quality assurance of risk education activities due to a lack of technical ability and low levels of funding.[20]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination overview[21]

Government focal points

SEMA

Coordination mechanisms

None

Coordination regularity and outcomes

Survivor assistance meetings held in early 2019

 

 

Plans/strategies

Draft Victim Assistance and Disability Action Plan launched, with the possibility for further consultation, by SEMA and UNMAS at the end of 2019

Survivor inclusion and participation

Survivors were involved in the process of developing the draft Victim Assistance and Disability Action Plan

 

In 2019, victim assistance coordination began again some five years after the first and only previous coordination meeting on victim assistance held in Somalia in 2014. In June 2019, SEMA and UNMAS held a two-day survivor assistance workshop. It was attended by national actors and by the Mine Ban Treaty Implementation Support Unit

Laws and policies

Victim assistance workshops, including government actors and representatives of persons with disabilities, were held in Somalia in 2019.[22] Applying the findings of UNMAS-funded victim assistance situational analysis completed in 2018, Somalia initiated an inclusive process for the development of a National Victim Assistance and Disability Action Plan, which was subsequently launched in Oslo in November 2019.[23] Since the late 1990s, the Norwegian Red Cross (NRC), with the ICRC support, helped physical rehabilitation centers run by the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) in Galkayo, Hargeisa, and Mogadishu.[24] Somalia enacted a law in December 2018 establishing a National Disability Agency with the mandate to develop livelihood training centers for persons with disabilities. Somalia fast-tracked ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), on 6 August 2019, due to “intense lobbying by [disabled people’s organizations] DPOs and responsiveness on the part of the government.”[25]

At the 2018 Global Disability Summit in London, Somalia committed to develop and pass a “National Disability Bill” and a national disability policy.[26] In June 2018, the Council of Ministers approved a bill to establish a National Agency for Persons with Disabilities. The bill was presented before the Cabinet by the Ministry of Women and Human Rights.[27] In December 2018, the upper house of Federal Parliament unanimously passed the bill to establish the agency.[28] Early in 2018, the Institute for Education of Disabled People (IEDP), which has also been engaged in victim assistance had previously expressed concerns that the process of establishing the agency was biased.[29]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview (as of December 2019)[30]

Landmines

6.10km² (CHA: 6.09km² and SHA: 0.01km²)*

Cluster munition remnants

Unknown but thought to be small

Other ERW contamination

Unknown but extensive

* Somalia did not identify specific improvised mine-contaminated areas in 2019.

Note: CHA=confirmed hazardous area; ERW=explosive remnants of war; and SHA=suspected hazardous area.

 

Landmine contamination

As a result of the Ethiopian-Somali wars in 1964 and 1977–1978 (also known as the Ogaden war), and more than 20 years of internal conflict since 1991, Somalia is significantly contaminated with mines and ERW. According to UNMAS, antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were laid as recently as 2012 in the disputed regions of Sool and Sanaag.[31]

Contamination from mines and ERW exists across Somalia’s three major regions: southcentral Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu; Puntland; and Somaliland, a self-proclaimed, though unrecognized, state that operates autonomously in the northwest. Most of the landmine contamination is along the border with Ethiopia, mainly as a result of legacy minefields dating from the border conflicts between both countries.

Somalia reported that at the end of 2019 it had 6.10km² of antipersonnel mine contaminated land, although SEMA was in the process of synchronizing data from implementing partners into the national database.[32] Somalia also reported an increase in the use of improvised mines, referred to as victim operated IEDs (VO-IEDs), the extent of such contamination was not identified.[33]

Insecure and poorly managed stockpiles of weapons and ammunition, as well as the use of IEDs and mines of an improvised nature by non-state armed groups, have a serious humanitarian impact. The extent of the threat is not well known, except in Puntland and Somaliland where a range of surveys have been carried out over the past decade.[34]

In 2018, UNMAS reported that mine and ERW contamination in Somalia continued to restrict community access to basic services and economic opportunities and remained an impediment to stability, security, and ultimately, recovery, and development.[35]

Cluster munition remnant contamination

In 2020, Somalia reported six contaminated areas on its historical database, including reports of munitions in Southwest State, Jubaland State, and Puntland. However, no clearance or survey was reported in 2019.[36] Galdogob, a border town in Mudug Province, was reported to have been cleared by UNMAS in 2016.[37]

While the extent of cluster munition contamination along the Somali border with Ethiopia is unknown, in 2014, Somalia claimed it posed an ongoing threat to the lives of nomadic populations and their animals.[38]

ERW contamination

The extent of ERW contamination was not reported. However, the majority of items reported cleared in 2019 were explosive items other than mines. In addition, according to Monitor data. ERW have caused the majority of annual casualties since 2011, when the device type was known.

Casualties

Casualties overview

Casualties

All known mine/ERW casualties (between 1999 and 2019)

3,313 casualties (1,296 killed, 1,664 injured and 353 with survival unknown)

Casualties in 2019

Annual total

32 (decrease from 53 casualties in 2018)

 

Survival outcome

13 killed, 19 injured

Device type causing casualties

32 ERW

Civilian status

32 civilians

Age and gender

2 adults (gender unknown)

28 children (including 1 girl, 2 boys, and 25 for which gender unknown)

2 age and gender unknown

 

 

Casualties in 2019: details

In 2019, at least 32 ERW casualties were recorded in Somalia in 2019.[39] Children accounted for 88% of casualties in 2019. Since 2015, children represented the majority of annual casualties where the age is known in Somalia, ranging from 78% to 88% of all casualties during the five-year period.

In 2017, the SEMA took over management of the IMSMA database and the reporting of casualties from UNMAS. Some 1,300 casualties were registered in the UNMAS database.[40] Somalia did not report casualties or survivor data for 2018 or 2019 in its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports, and detailed national data recording individual casualties was not available.

The total number of all-time casualties in Somalia is unknown. The Monitor has recorded 3,313 mine/ERW casualties in 1999–2019, including 1,296 people killed, 1,664 injured, and 353 with their survival status unknown. In 2014, the Somalia Coalition to Ban Landmines (SOCBAL) surveyed 850 mine/ERW survivors in Mogadishu alone. In 2001, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) reported that 1,731 injured mine/ERW casualties were recorded in Bay and Bakool regions and 2,626 people killed between 1995 and 2000.[41]

Cluster munition casualties

The number of cluster munition casualties in Somalia is unknown. In a 2014 statement to the States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Somalia recognized that there are cluster munition victims in Somalia living in severe conditions with mostly unmet needs.[42]

Addressing the impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

Clearance operators

Government organizations

Police explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team, Puntland

International

  • Danish Demining Group (DDG) since 2007
  • HALO Trust since 2015
  • Mines Advisory Group (MAG) since 2008
  • NPA since 2013
  • Ukroboronservice (contracted by UNMAS) since 2017

Clearance

Land release overview[43]

Clearance in 2019

0.12km² mixed antipersonnel and antivehicle mines

8.42km² antivehicle mines

6.86km² ERW

Ordnance destroyed in 2019

6 antipersonnel mines

123 antivehicle mines

27,342 undifferentiated explosive items

Landmine clearance in 2015–2019

2015: 0km²

2016: 1.2km²

2017: 0.76km²

2018: N/R

2019: 0.12km²

Total land cleared: 2.08km²

Progress

Landmine

Behind target

Cluster munition remnant

Unclear

Note: N/R=not reported.

 

Somalia is behind target in the implementation of its Mine Ban Treaty clearance obligations and intends to submit a request to extend its Article 5 deadline.[44] Somalia has noted challenges to clearance and land release, including: a lack of efficient coordination between SEMA and operators; insufficient funding; lack of an adequate overview of the extent of contamination; and inaccessibility of areas due to insecurity.[45]

Land release: landmines

In 2019 Somalia reported clearing a total 15.4km² of which 0.12km² was mixed antipersonnel mines and antivehicle mines, 8.42km² was antivehicle mine contamination, and another 6.86km² was ERW.[46] Somalia did not provide any information on the item types included under ERW and whether improvised mines were included.

In 2019, Somalia reported it considers VO-IEDs to be improvised antipersonnel mines according to the Mine Ban Treaty as noted in the Oslo Action Plan. Somalia was working to integrate data on improvised mine casualties into the national database, without specific mention of planning survey to calculate the extent of contaminated areas.[47]

Land release: cluster munition remnants

No clearance of cluster munition remnants was reported in 2019.

Risk education

Operators and service providers

Risk education operators[48]

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

National

Benadir Regional Administration(BENAMAC)

Delivery with DDG

Central Somalia Mine Action Consortium (CESMAC)

Delivery with MAG

Jubbaland Mine Action Network (JUMAN)

Delivery with MAG

Puntland Risk Solutions. Consortium (PRSC)

Delivery with NPA

South West MineAction Consortium (SOWMAC)

Delivery with DDG, MAG, and NPA

International

DDG

Provides risk education for IDPs

HALO Trust

Risk education linked to clearance activities and reaching IDPs in the community

NPA

Risk education prior to clearance

UNMAS

Risk education activities implemented as part of humanitarian and stabilization activities and for IDPs

Note: IDPs=internally displaced persons.

 

Beneficiary numbers

Beneficiaries of risk education in 2019[49]

Risk education operator

Men

Boys

Women

Girls

HALO Trust

2,299

6,049

1,651

3,068

UNMAS

17,601

12,006

7,274

6,108

 

SEMA reported more than 22,000 beneficiaries of risk education in 2019, including 5,993 men, 9,498 boys, 6,958 women, and 5,981 girls. The data was not disaggregated by implementing organizations.[50]

Implementation

Target groups

Men are the most challenging to reach out during provision of risk education due to their unpredictability. This is mainly linked to the fact that they are breadwinners engaged in labor works and, most of the time, are not available for risk education.[51]

Risk education is provided in schools, but not as part of the formal curriculum.

Nomadic and pastoral communities were also target groups for risk education in Somalia.

Somalia did not report conducting specific risk education for cluster munition contamination.[52]

UNMAS reported that 63 sessions for persons with disabilities were held in 2019, in which 18 boys, 13 girls, 122 men and 22 women were reached.[53]

Delivery methods

In Somalia local communities often mistrust people from international organizations, and messages were better delivered by people from the community. External messages delivered through text messages and social media were unlikely to be considered unless the operator was already known and trusted in that community.[54]

In 2019 Danish Demining Group (DDG) was working in the greater Benadir region delivering mine risk education to IDP settlements and supporting the promotion of women leaders as part of a larger peacebuilding and stabilization program.[55]

In 2019, the HALO Trust provided risk education in areas of clearance operations before, during, and after starting manual clearance activities. Face-to-face risk education was delivered following the oral tradition of impacted communities, with messages delivered person-to-person. Leaflets were distributed, but due to the low levels of literacy, they cannot be used as a standalone activity. It also provided risk education in an emergency response to communities displaced by flash floods in Hirshabelle State in October 2019. [56]

In 2019, NPA hired, trained, and managed staff from the Puntland Risk Solutions consortium to deliver risk education activities.[57]

In 2019, UNMAS provided risk education to partners working to implement humanitarian and stabilization activities in the country. Risk education was also integrated into other humanitarian activities such as through support to IDPs and returnees.[58]

Victim assistance

Victim assistance providers and activities

Victim assistance operators[59]

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

Governmental

SEMA

Casualty data and survivor assistance focal point

National Agency for Persons with Disabilities

Coordination and policy development

Ministry of Health

Healthcare and assistive devices

National

Institute for Education for Disabled People (IEDP)

Vocational training, promoting formal education for children with disabilities, income-generation for women with disabilities

Somalia Coalition to Ban Landmines (SOCBAL)

Local NGO activities to support victims

Somali Disability Empowerment Network (SODEN)

Advocacy and awareness raising

Somali Association of the Blind

N/R

Somali Red Crescent Society

Assistive devices and rehabilitation services

International

ICRC

Emergency medical care

NPA

Victim and victim assistance services data recording

Note: N/R=not reported.

Major recent developments

Needs assessment

In 2018, UNMAS Somalia and the SEMA commission finalized a report that identified the gaps in assistance to victims and provided information on how the mine action sector could help fill such gaps. The report included interviews with over 100 national and international stakeholders and visits to the Federal Member States. Nevertheless, Somalia stated in its 2018 and 2019 Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports that further assessment was needed in order to identify which organizations supporting persons with disabilities also engage in victim assistance activities.[60]

In 2018, an UNMAS victim assistance assessment reported that survivors and persons with disabilities expressed frustration about the frequency of surveys and research projects theyweare subjected to without receiving a corresponding offer of assistance.[61] Similarly, survivors interviewed during a 2013 Somalia Coalition to Ban Landmines (SOCBAL) survey often reported that they had already been surveyed several times, including having their contact details and photographs taken by international and local NGOs, but were frustrated that no assistance had followed.[62] SEMA continued to propose conducting a national survey of landmine survivors to determine the numbers of survivors and their needs and requested, but not received, international support for the survey.[63]

In 2019, Somalia stated it was facing victim assistance funding challenges from national sources and international donors and “could not reach the goals for supporting the Landmine victims, survivors, and general disability assistance unless the international community and donor states realise this goal.”[64]

Medical care and rehabilitation

Basic services in Somalia are severely lacking due to political instability, precarious security conditions, and climate impact. It is difficult for international organizations to deliver aid.[65] First response, trauma, and medical care have some, but limited, availability. Access is difficult, particularly in rural areas. There is a lack of capacity to perform complex surgery, which requires travel to Mogadishu or abroad.[66] Medical care in Somalia is supported by the ICRC, which supports emergency surgical services at two hospitals in Mogadishu and hospitals in Baidoa and Kismayo.

A 2018 report found that approximately 20% of rehabilitation needs in Somalia were covered by existing services, and that there was a shortage of assistive devices.[67]

The SRCS remained the primary provider of rehabilitation services and assistive devices, but the range is limited with no such services available in the southwest of the country.[68] ICRC MoveAbility partnered with the SRCS and NRC to provide and develop physical rehabilitation services. ICRC MoveAbility focused on providing technical expertise and logistical support to the centers, which have a lack of supplies and qualified staff, and limited government assistance. In 2020, the ICRC and the NRC continued to support the Mogadishu rehabilitation center through physiotherapy trainings and, training for prosthetic and orthotic professionals. [69]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

Overall, persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable and are at risk of social exclusion in Somalia. Poverty and social exclusion are interlinked, the lack of employment is the major cause of poverty. Efforts have been made in the Somali government to improve the employment participation rate but significant obstacles to gain and retain, employment remained. Access to education and to vocational training, limited availability of housing, assistive technology, and accessible transport are still lacking.[70]

Psychological support remains deficient in Somalia. As of May 2018, no improvements were reported in the provision of socio-economic support or in the social inclusion of survivors in Somalia.[71] The government of Somalia committed to establish vocational training centers for persons with disabilities to provide entrepreneurial skills and workforce development. Those efforts would be aligned with policies and programs to expand access to credit for micro-enterprises and targeted support for small business creation.[72]

Persons with disabilities offer each other informal support. Those who provide psychosocial support have only basic training working at local DPOs. The few professionals who can support more complex cases are inadequate to meet the psychological needs of the many affected by the protracted conflict.[73]

Cross-cutting

Women with disabilities continue to be vulnerable to sexual violence and forced marriage. The government of Somalia proposed to focus on women and girls in their efforts to support persons with disabilities to address the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination based on gender and disability in Somalia.[74]



[1] Statement of Somalia, Mine Ban Treaty Fourth Review Conference, Oslo, 27 November 2019.

[2] Draft of Somalia’s Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, shared by the Somali Explosives Management Agency (SEMA) during the Stakeholder Workshop on Article 5 Deadline Extension (virtual), 22 March 2021.

[3] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p.7; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report (for calendar year 2018).

[4] Interview with Mohamed Abdulkadir Ahmed, SEMA, in Geneva, 9 April 2014; and email from Kjell Ivar Breili, UNMAS, 12 July 2015.

[5] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form J.

[6] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report (for calendar year 2019), p.7.

[7] Formerly known as PMAC. PMAC was established in Garowe with UNDP support in 1999.

[8] Email from Mohamed Abdulkadir Ahmed, SEMA, 14 October 2016.

[9] UNMAS, “Programmes: Somalia,” undated.

[10] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form J.

[11] “Somalia National Mine Action Strategic Plan,” Draft Version, November 2017.

[12] GICHD presentation, “The Importance of NMAS,” at the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) Conference on Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA): Innovations and Strategies in HMA, 22 September 2020.

[13] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 1.

[14] Ibid., p.7.

[15] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2018), Form C.

[16] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports (for calendar years 2019 and 2018).

[18] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Jessica Rice, Programme Officer, HALO Trust Somalia, 4 May 2020; and Hussein Ibrahim Ahmed, UNMAS Somalia, 13 May 2020; and Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 4.

[19] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2018), Form C.

[20] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Jessica Rice, Programme Officer, HALO Trust, 4 May 2020.

[23] Statement of Somalia, Mine Ban Treaty Fourth Review Conference, Oslo, 25–29 November 2019; and UNMAS, “Victim Assistance Assessment Report in Somalia,” 12 December 2018.

[24] ICRC MoveAbility, “Disability Rehabilitation Inclusion, Somalia,” undated, p. 1.

[26] Somalia Ministry of Women and Human Rights, Form for Submitting Commitments, Global Disability Summit 2018; and Patrick Onyango, “One Year On: Somalia’s Commitments to Persons with Disabilities Signify a Return to the International Human Rights System,” undated.

[28]Somalia Senate passes bill to-establish disability agency,” Garowe Online 12 December 2018.

[29] Institute for Education of Disabled People (IEDP), Press release, “Complaint for Corruption Against the National Human Right Commission Election,” 1 January 2018.

[30] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 2.

[31] UNMAS, “Annual Report 2012,” New York, 2013, p. 21. Sovereignty over these territories is claimed by both the self-declared independent Republic of Somaliland and Puntland.

[32] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 3.

[33] Ibid., p. 5.

[34] UNMAS, “2015 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects, Somalia,” undated.

[35] UNMAS, “2018 Portfolio of Mine Action Projects, Somalia,” undated.

[36] Somalia Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form F, p. 8.

[37] Response to questionnaire by Mohamed Abdul Kadir Ahmed, Director, SELA, 19 June 2015; and emails from Mohamed Abdul Kadir Ahmed, SELA, 14 June 2016, and Mohammad Sediq Rashid, Project Manager, UNMAS Somalia, 8 June 2017.

[38] Statement of Somalia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, San José, 2–5 September 2014.

[39] Monitor analysis of Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED) data for calendar year 2019. Approved citation: Clionadh Raleigh, Andrew Linke, Håvard Hegre, and Joakim Karlsen, “Introducing ACLED-Armed Conflict Location and Event Data,” Journal of Peace Research, Issue 47(5), 2010, pp. 651–660.

[40] Somalia, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form J.

[41] UNDP/UNOPS, “Somalia Mine Action Progress Report, January–June 2001,” p. 6; and ICBL, Landmine Monitor 2001: Toward a Mine-Free World (New York: Human Rights Watch: 2001), pp. 261–262.

[42] Statement of Somalia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, 3 September 2014.

[43] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), pp. 3–4.

[44] Statement of Somalia, Mine Ban Treaty Forth Review Conference, Oslo, 27 November 2019.

[45] Ibid.

[46] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), pp. 3–4.

[47] Ibid., p. 5.

[48] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2018), Form I.

[49] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), pp. 4–5.

[50] Ibid.

[51] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Hussein Ihrahim Ahmed, UNMAS Somalia, 9 May 2020.

[52] Ibid.

[53] Ibid.

[54] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Jessica Rice, Programme Officer, HALO Trust, 4 May 2020.

[55] DDG, "Where we work: Somalia" (undated); and Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2018), Form I.

[56] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Jessica Rice, Programme Officer, HALO Trust, 4 May 2020.

[57] Email from Rasmus Sandvoll Weschke, Advisor, Conflict Preparedness and Protection, NPA, 5 June 2020.

[58] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Hussein Ibrahim Ahmed, Project Manager, UNMAS Somalia, 9 May 2020.

[59] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p 6; and Kiran Manku, “Supporting Persons with Disabilities in Somalia,” K4D Helpdesk Report, 23 January 2018.

[60] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports (for calendar years 2019 and 2018).

[61] Rebecca Roberts, “Victim Assistance Assessment Report,” UNMAS, Mogadishu, 12 December 2018.

[62] SOCBAL, “Mogadishu Landmine/ERW Victims Survey 14–28 July, 2013: Summary Report,” 2013.

[63] Somalia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2018), Form J; and statement of Somalia, Session on Mine Victim Assistance, Mine Ban Treaty Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties, December 2017.

[64] Statement of Somalia, Mine Ban Treaty Fourth Review Conference, Oslo, 25–29 November 2019.

[65] ICRC MoveAbility, “Somalia Fact Sheet,” November 2019.

[66] Presentation by Mohammad Sediq Rashid, Project Manager, UNMAS Somalia, Twenty-Second International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors and United Nations Advisers, Geneva, 5 February 2019; and Rebecca Roberts, “Victim Assistance Assessment Report,” UNMAS, Mogadishu, 12 December 2018.

[67] Ibid.

[68] ICRC, “Somalia: Encouraged by colleagues, a woman heads Mogadishu rehab centre.” 7 March 2017; and Response to Monitor Questionnaire by Hussein Diad Mohamed, Project Manager, SOWMAC, 14 May 2018.

[70] Mohamed Farah, “Disability and Social Exclusion in Somalia,” SODEN, undated.

[71] Response to Monitor Questionnaire by Mohamed Mohamud, SOWMAC, 21 May 2018.

[72] Somalia Ministry of Women and Human Rights, Form for Submitting Commitments, Global Disability Summit 2018.

[73] Rebecca Roberts, “Victim Assistance Assessment Report,” UNMAS, Mogadishu, 12 December 2018.

[74] Somalia Ministry of Women and Human Rights, Form for Submitting Commitments, Global Disability Summit 2018.


Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 16 October 2020

Policy

Somalia acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 16 April 2012, and the treaty entered into force for the country on 1 October 2012. Somalia has not yet instituted national implementation measures, but stated that it is aware of its obligation and is “committed to doing so in the future and to reporting on these measures.”[1]

Somalia submitted its initial Article 7 report for the Mine Ban Treaty on 30 March 2013, and submitted updated transparency reports in 2018 and 2019.

Somalia attended the Mine Ban Treaty’s Fourth Review Conference in Oslo, Norway in November 2019, but did not attend the intersessional meetings held in June–July 2019. Somalia made a statement at the Fourth Review Conference where it expressed support for the convention and the Oslo Action Plan.[2]

Somalia is a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Somalia is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Several Somali factions previously renounced use of antipersonnel mines by signing the Deed of Commitment, administered by Geneva Call.

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Somalia has stated that it has never had production facilities for antipersonnel mines within the country.[3] Somalia has also stated that it possesses no stockpile and has not retained mines, and that searches have not turned up any unknown stockpiles.[4] Previously, in its initial Article 7 report, Somalia stated that “large stocks are in the hands of former militias and private individuals” and that it was “putting forth efforts to verify if in fact it holds antipersonnel mines in its stockpile.” Some factions involved in armed conflict in Somalia are believed to possess mines.[5] Previously, demobilizing militias have turned in mines,[6] and some mines were turned in by armed groups for destruction in the past.[7]

No transfers of antipersonnel mines have been reported since 2012. The Monitor reported transfers in previous years.[8] No open sale of antipersonnel mines has been reported since 2009.[9]

Use

There have been no allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by government forces in Somalia. Previously, reports of use by al-Shabaab insurgents have been alleged in several news reports, but the Monitor is not in a position to verify these reports.[10] Recent reports alleging landmine use by al-Shabaab appear to refer to command-detonated bombs rather than victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs).[11]

Non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in Somalia use IEDs in large numbers, and media reports often refer to command-detonated IEDs and bombs as “landmines.”[12] Victim-activated mines and other explosive devices are prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty, but command-detonated mines and devices are not. Monitor analysis of media reports indicates that most, if not all, of the recovered explosive weapons and explosive attacks attributed to mines involve command-detonated or time-detonated bombs. In 2019, the United Nations Security Council’s Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea documented use of large bombs, but no improvised landmines.[13] Previously, in October 2011, Somali authorities and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces discovered an IED-manufacturing facility in Mogadishu, after which the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) noted, “The presence of improvised pressure plates indicates that [al-Shabaab] intends to employ Victim Operated IEDs, against vehicles or dismounted troops.”[14]

In the past, antipersonnel mines were used by various factions in Somalia, but in recent years the Monitor has not been able to verify any reports of new use by any of the NSAGs operating in the country.



[2] Statement of Somalia, Mine Ban Treaty Fourth Review Conference, Oslo, 29 November 2019.

[5] The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of the Somali Republic was created in 2004, and ceased being the official government name in 2012. The former TFG Deputy Prime Minister told the Monitor in 2005 that he believed militias in Mogadishu alone held at least 10,000 antipersonnel mines. Interview with Hussein Mohamed Aideed, Deputy Prime Minister, in Geneva, 15 June 2005.

[6] Photographs of the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration program available on the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) website in July 2009 showed landmines and improvised explosive devices. See, AMISOM, “Pictures of some collected/surrendered Weapons and Ammunitions to AMISOM,” undated.

[7] See, ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Somalia: Mine Ban Policy,” 28 June 2013.

[8] Between 2002 and 2006, the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia published a number of reports containing allegations of the transfer of antipersonnel and other mines from a number of countries, including States Parties Eritrea and Ethiopia, to various Somali combatants. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2008, pp. 1,004–1,005; Landmine Monitor Report 2007, pp. 978–979; Landmine Monitor Report 2006, pp. 1,065–1,066; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 870–871; and Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1,112. In response to the claims by the UN Monitoring Group, the Presidents of the Mine Ban Treaty Seventh and Eighth Meetings of States Parties wrote to the chair of the group for clarification and further information, but did not receive responses.

[9] In June 2009, Reuters reported the continued sale of mines and other weapons at markets in Mogadishu. One arms dealer claimed to sell mines (type unspecified, but likely antivehicle) for approximately US$100 apiece. “Arms Trade-Dealers revel in Somali war business,” Reuters, 9 June 2009. For further details, including sellers and markets identified by the UN Monitoring Group, see Landmine Monitor Report 2008, pp. 1,003–1,005.

[10] See, “Landmine danger persists in Somalia,” UN IRIN, 1 February 2013; and Majid Ahmed, “Somalia struggles to deal with threat of landmines and unexploded ordnance,” Sabahi, 8 August 2013.

[11] See, for example, “At least 7 killed in landmine attack in central Somalia,” Xinhua, 2 April 2018.

[12] According to a June 2011 UN Monitoring Group report, “Improvised explosive device technology in Somalia is relatively low-tech compared with other conflict arenas. The most common explosives used in attacks are TNT and RDX, which can be extracted from mortars and other high explosive artillery shells. More rudimentary improvised explosive devices include anti-tank mines and medium-to-high-caliber ammunition that can be altered for remote detonation. As for fragmentation improvised explosive devices, bomb makers lay 3-10 cm pieces of rebar, nuts and bolts, and ball bearings cast in resin on top of the explosive.” UN, Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1916 (2010), S/2011/433, 18 July 2011, p. 45, para. 138. The UN Monitoring Group found that antivehicle mines were modified for remote detonation and deployed as IEDs in Somalia, sometimes with additional metal objects (bolts, metal filings) welded to the casing to enhance the fragmentation effect. UN, “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia pursuant to Security Council resolution 1853 (2008),” S/2010/91, 10 March 2010, p. 50, para. 174. For details on the recovery of “landmines” by African Union forces, see: Abdulkadir Khalif, “Amisom forces uncover buried explosives,” Daily Monitor, 19 December 2011; and “Somalia: Landmine Blast Rocks Ethiopian Convoy in Beledweyne, Central Region,” Shabelle Media Network, 14 May 2012.

[14] UN Security Council, “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea pursuant to Security Council resolution 2002 (2011),” S/2012/545, 13 July 2012, p. 167, para. 21. Citing an unpublished UNMAS report, “Confirmed Find of Bomb Making Equipment – 12 October 2011,” UNMAS, 13 October 2011.


Support for Mine Action

Last updated: 16 November 2020

In 2019, eight donors contributed US$10.4 million for mine action activities in the Federal Republic of Somalia; this is similar to the 2018 level of contributions.[1]

The largest contribution came from the United Kingdom (UK), which provided $4.2 million, with two additional countries—Norway and Germany—contributing more than $2 million each. Two donors—Italy and Norway—contributed a combined total of $1.5 million for victim assistance activities in 2019.

International contributions: 2019[2]

Donor

Sector

Amount (national currency)

Amount

(US$)

UK

Clearance and risk education

£3,291,186

4,202,186

Norway

Clearance, risk education, and victim assistance

NOK21,026,586

2,389,358

Germany

Clearance

€2,130,000

2,384,322

Netherlands

Clearance and risk education

€539,905

604,370

Japan

Capacity-building

¥25,064,679

229,909

Finland

Clearance and risk education

€200,000

223,880

Italy

Victim assistance

€200,000

223,880

Denmark

Capacity-building and risk education

DKK1,202,543

180,283

Total

 

N/A

10,438,188

Note: N/A=not applicable.

International support to Somalia’s mine action activities has totaled some $49 million since 2015, with assistance ranging between $8 million and $10.9 million annually.

Summary of contributions: 2015–2019[3]

Year

International contributions

(US$)

2019

10,438,188

2018

10,737,145

2017

8,805,529

2016

10,903,537

2015

8,180,172

Total

49,064,571

 


[1] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Natascha Hassan Johns, Head of section, Denmark Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence, 26 June 2020; response to Monitor questionnaire by Anni Mäkeläinen, Desk Officer, Unit for Arms Control, Finland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 13 July 2020; Germany Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 16 March 2020; Italy Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form I, 25 June 2020; Japan Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 March 2020; Netherlands Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 2020; New Zealand Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 2020; email from Ingrid Schøyen, Senior Advisor, Humanitarian Affairs, Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 5 June 2020; and United Kingdom Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2020.

[2] Average exchange rates for 2019: DKK6.6703=US$1; €1=US$1.1194; ¥109.02=US$1; NOK8.8001=US$1; £1=US$1.2768. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 2 January 2020.

[3] See previous Monitor reports.