40 Aid agencies warn of catastrophe in Somalia

Lack of food, increasing insecurity and a looming drought. 40 Aid agencies in Somalia are warning of a catastrophe in this African country. Today the UN Security Council will debate the Somalian crisis and discuss the proposal of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to deploy 27.000 UN peacekeepers there. They're meant to replace the troops of the African Union. Urgent action is necessary, say the aid workers. )

Every month 20,000 people are leaving the capital Mogadishu because of the fighting between Islamist insurgents and Ethiopian troops supporting Somalia's government forces. Civilians fear they're getting caught in crossfire. Last October international and local aid organisations already warned that Somalia was heading towards a crisis. Over the last months the situation has worsened.

Drought looming
Particularly in the southern central part of Somalia life is becoming increasingly insecure. And it's getting more and more difficult for the internally displaced people to get food, especially now a drought is looming. Two million people need daily help to survive, says Bea Spadacini of the international aid organisation Care:

international aid organisation Care:

"There are about 250.000 internally displaced people in a 16 kilometre stretch near Mogadishu. In this area there are makeshift camps where people are camping under trees with plastic sheets and a bit of wood to cook. They really have nothing, they are totally dependent on aid agencies for survival. It's the worst place for kids to grow and there is a very high rate of malnutrition."

Basket case
In the eyes of the international community Somalia is a basket case, says Spadacini. There is a tendency to forget that there are real people suffering in Somalia. But Spadacini herself hears numerous stories about the "real people" from her 180 Somali colleagues. As with most expat aid workers, Spadacini is based in Nairobi because it's too dangerous to live in Mogadishu:

"One of our staff family was so desperate at the situation in Somalia that he tried to escape to Yemen and his two daughters were drowned. These are the kind of stories that affect us directly because these are people we know. They are the real heroes. They put their lives at risk. They have to negotiate at checkpoints everyday. After 5 o'clock they can't leave their houses anymore."

These stories highlighting the violation of human rights on a large scale have not been discussed at the UN Security Council so far, says Leslie Laskow from Human Rights Watch. Although Somalia is one of the most serious crises in the world right now, the Security Council is only focused on the political security aspect.

Unwillingness to admit abuses
According to Laskow, there is an unwillingness at the Security Council to acknowledge that all parties, including the Ethiopian troops, are commiting serious abuses. Especially the United States and the United Kingdom, who have strong ties with Ethiopia and have a permanent seat in the Security Council, are hesitant. Therefore, according to Laskow, the most important step for the Security Council is to acknowledge that all parties are committing abuses:

"Because Somalia has been without a state seems to create a kind of view that there is a lawless vacuum and international law don't apply and that it's all right for people to commit serious abuses. The Security Council has a very serious role changing that perception and making it very clear to everybody engaged in the violence in Somalia that standards do apply, that international law applies and that the people responsible for these crimes will be held accountable."

Furthermore Laskow wants the Security Council to create a commission of inquiry to investigate crimes and identify individuals who are responsible. UN troops on the ground who replace the troops of the African Union, could improve the situation but only if their mandate will be to protect civilians. Bea Spandacini of the aid organization CARE agrees that the most urgent need right now is to put at the centre of the discussion the humanitarian situation of the Somali people.