April is Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month. Last year, we commemorated the month through a series of posts remembering the devastation and lives lost to genocide and mass atrocities in the past. This year, we will commemorate Genocide Prevention and Awareness Month by highlighting current conflicts where the ongoing atrocities urgently demand an effective U.S. government response.
The Background
Since 1991 Somalia has remained in a state of crisis with ongoing political instability and violent conflict. Power struggles between clan warlords and militant groups have killed thousands of civilians. More than two decades of violence and instability has incapacitated the county’s social, economic, and governmental structures. In response, U.S. military forces, along with UN peacekeeping forces, have been active in the region to varying degrees since 1992.
While recent developments, such as the 2012 presidential election and the most recent political transition when President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was elected on February 8, indicate some progress, the country still remains critically unstable. Additionally, exacerbating the political crisis is a natural one – Somalia is experiencing the worst drought since the 1970s, making the country at risk for famine.
The role the United States has taken in restoring stability in Somalia has been centered on military intervention. Throughout the past decade, the military has engaged in more drone strikes and counter terrorism operations. And recent reports indicate that President Trump will increase U.S. military engagement in the country. He approved the Pentagon’s proposals to expand its military operation in Somalia with less stringent rules of engagement. Before these changes, in order for airstrikes to be authorized, the military needed high-level, interagency vetting and to be nearly certain that no civilians would die. Last month, President Trump signed a directive that declared Somalia an “area of active hostilities”, rolling back these safeguards and expanding the power and flexibility that the military has in the region. These actions directly threaten civilians in the region.
This military escalation is especially alarming against the backdrop of a starving civilian population and a White House Budget Proposal that would decimate U.S. ability to provide the humanitarian assistance that the people of Somalia desperately need. An approach that is focused on military intervention is limited, short sighted, and often has unintended negative consequences that work against U.S. interests. The consequences of such an approach in Somalia have been severe and will continue to devastate the country unless action is taken to protect the funding and structures that enable the U.S. government to protect civilians, provide humanitarian assistance and build peace.
The Human Cost of Somalia’s Conflict
Between 350,000 and 1,000,000 Somalians have died due to the conflict since 1991.
1.46 million Somalians are displaced.
Somalia has one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world.
Half the country (6.2 million people) is severely food insecure.
More than 4 million people require humanitarian assistance, including water and health care.
Take Action
President Trump’s budget proposal makes massive, disproportionate cuts to the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, despite the overwhelming number of crises occurring around the world that demand U.S. Government attention and resources.
These cuts would dramatically undermine the U.S. Government’s ability to respond to current crises, as well as decimate our ability to prevent future conflicts. This short-sighted decision – coupled with dramatic increases in military spending – serve to further entrench cycles of violence that are costly, threaten national security interests, and endanger human lives.
Contact you representatives to urge them to support funding for diplomacy and development.