Tuesday 17,Dec,2024 {HMC}. The Federal Government of Somalia, the European Union, and the International Organization for Migration are jointly scaling up support for Voluntary Humanitarian Returns to assist Somali migrants stranded in Libya, offering a safe, humane and dignified route home.

A charter flight carrying 160 young Somali migrants, including several minors, landed in Hargeisa disembarking 38 migrants, before continuing to Mogadishu with the remaining 122 returning migrants. In Mogadishu, the group was welcomed by the Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Federal Government of Somalia officials, and Ambassador[s] of the EU [and Sweden].

This is the third such Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) flight in two months, under the Migrant Protection, Return and Reintegration Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa (MPRR-SSA project); as of today, a total of 694 Somali migrants have returned from Libya and supported for their reintegration in Somalia, through this project.

“The Federal Government of Somalia, with the invaluable support of the European Union and IOM, is ensuring that our citizens can return home with dignity and receive the support they need to rebuild their lives. This initiative reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting the rights and well-being of all Somali in need of return support,” said Ahmed Fiqi, Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

“I am genuinely moved and happy to see more Somali migrants safely returning home after being trapped in Libya in precarious and often life-threatening conditions. These Voluntary Humanitarian Return flights underscore the strength of our collaboration and our shared dedication to providing the safety and dignity of Somali migrants,” said Karin Johansson, the EU Ambassador to Somalia.

According to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, there are more than 1300 Somali migrants stranded in Libya. Insecurity and the lack of essentials such as food, shelter and healthcare in Libya expose migrants to many protection risks. Thousands urgently require protection and humanitarian assistance.

Under Somalia’s MPRR-SSA project, funded by the European Union and managed by IOM, the organization assists Somali migrants in returning home. Upon return, the migrants are supported with small cash grants to address immediate needs, temporary accommodation, medical assistance (including mental health and psychosocial support) and onward transportation for those reuniting with families outside of the capital, later complemented with direct financial support to facilitate their reintegration into local communities.

Source SONNA

Tuesday 17,Dec,2024 {HMC}.  The authorities in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland say their agreement to grant landlocked Ethiopia access to the sea in exchange for recognition remains intact despite Somalia and Ethiopia’s deal to end the feud it caused.

In January 2024, Ethiopia and Somaliland signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that stated Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent nation in exchange for access to the Red Sea.

“The relationship between Somalia and Ethiopia, that is their business. We are minding our own business,” Somaliland’s special envoy to the African Union, Abdulahi Mohammud, told DW. “Any country that tries to interfere in our own internal affairs with regards to [the] case of Somalia vis a vis Ethiopia, that are two different issues that concerns the two countries, not us.”

Reduced tensions in Horn of Africa

Tensions had peaked in April with the expulsion of Ethiopia’s ambassador to Somalia and the exclusion of Ethiopian troops from an African Union peacekeeping force to Somalia.

Ethiopia and Somalia’s leaders have worked on hammering outa compromise to end their nearly year-old bitter dispute in the Turkish capital of Ankara last week.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Ankara Declaration would ensure Ethiopia’s long-desired access to the sea. The two sides agreed to work together on commercial arrangements and bilateral agreements that would ensure Ethiopia access to the sea under Somalia’s sovereign authority.

Technical talks are due to start in February 2025 and be completed within four months.

“The meaning of technical arrangement is to discuss how the agreement will be implemented,” Abdurahman Seid, London-based Horn of Africa political analyst, told DW. But the talks next year should settle the major differences between the two countries, Seid said.

“What we know is [Ethiopia’s] Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has accepted the sovereignty of Somalia. The core thing is that the president of Somalia had set this as a precondition. [He] said that… the agreement with Somaliland does not respect the sovereignty of Somalia. And this [new deal] was accepted by the Ethiopian side.”

Where does it leave Somaliland’s push for recognition?

Seid told DW that in diplomatic language, mention of no “return to the past” in the Ankara Declaration implies that the Somaliland-Ethiopia MoU no longer holds.

“[The Ethiopia-Somaliland agreement] has become voided,” Seid said.

Somaliland unilaterally declared independence in 1991 but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state.

Election campaigns in Somaliland this year focused on the deal with Ethiopia. New President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said it lacked transparency and promised a review to ensure the deal aligns with Somaliland’s strategic interests and broader goals for recognition.

In his recent inaugural address, he pledged to intensify efforts to gain international recognition for Somaliland and implement the agreement with Ethiopia.

“The previous administration has signed an MoU with Ethiopia, and we were pursuing, making sure [the MoU] is finalized legally through parliamentary channels and the legal channels of from both sides. It was at that stage that there is a new administration,” Abdullahi said.

“We have an agreement, a bilateral agreement on the bases of an MoU, it is standing, It’s between Somaliland and Ethiopia. What Ethiopia does with Somalia, that’s a completely different just a different story. As far as we are concerned, we have a binding MoU and we are pursuing it.”

What could come next?

According to Horn of Africa analyst Abdurahman Seid there is a chance that the forthcoming talks between Ethiopia and Somalia could explore alternatives to the MoU between Somaliland and Ethiopia.

“Now they will try to reach a new approach with Turkey mediation. This can be about ports of Berbera, Kismayu about any port of Somalia. Although they set a time frame, it may take long period of time,” he said.

Ethiopia is in dire need of an access to a port to facilitate trade and, according to Seid, it seems to be exploring all options. But Ethiopia and Somalia need to establish trust.

“Ethiopia should not be a threat for Somalia, and Somalia should not be a threat for Ethiopia. What will happen to countries that have a problem with Ethiopia, such as Eritrea and Egypt? Building trust takes time.”

Tuesday 17,Dec,2024 {HMC}. The United Nations said it requires $1.42 billion to increase humanitarian actions in Somalia, where 5.98 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2025.

Launching its 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) for Somalia on Sunday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 4.6 million people will be targeted for assistance focusing on lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance for people with the most severe needs.

OCHA said the plan envisioned scaled-up development and climate financing to address the structural drivers of needs, build resilience, reduce the risk of future disasters and adapt to climate change.

Noting that drought and conflict could be among key risks in 2025, it added drier conditions will increase competition over resources, and heighten risks for disease outbreaks.

The UN agency also said conflict accounted for 53% of a total of 455,000 newly displaced people in the horn of Africa country, while climate shocks accounted for the vast majority of displacements in 2022 and 2023.

It said in 2024, the humanitarian situation in Somalia saw slight improvements as compared to previous years, marked by a devastating drought in 2020-23 and severe flooding late last year.