iR2P

In this video, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) say the fighting in Somalia is more intense than it has been in 15 years. Hundreds of thousands have fled Mogadishu. A single clinic has treated over a thousand civilians for war wounds since September. Malnutrition indicators are above the emergency threshold; a third of the population are in urgent need of food aid, but very little is available due to a combination of insecure conditions. MSF has been forced to evacuate frequently and to use armed security guards, but this was not enough to prevent 3 staff being killed on 28 January this year.

As well as saluting the courage of MSF’s humanitarian action, we should be listening to their appeals to pay more attention to the long-running crisis in Somalia. This is a situation of widespread violence. It is not necessarily systematic in the sense of being orchestrated, but many agree that the concept of R2P certainly applies. In March, UN Envoy Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah told the Security Council:

What is needed now is engagement by the international community. I am not asking outside countries to become active for moral or altruistic reasons. They have a clearly mandated responsibility to become involved in a country where there are widespread violations of human rights and humanitarian law (…)

The report of the Secretary-General and the interagency fact-finding mission to Somalia (S/2008/178) clearly illustrates that the international community has a clear and unambiguous responsibility towards the people of Somalia. That responsibility obliges the Security Council to look beyond the limitations that the current security situation imposes and to reflect on a possible outcome and come up with ideas as to what is possible (…) We are asking for real engagement by the United Nations and the Security Council.

The Security Council also has the responsibility to protect and assist the legitimate Government in Somalia as it does in other conflicts. Silence and lack of action are not viable options at this time. The international community in general, and the Security Council in particular, must participate in a serious manner in a peacebuilding process in Somalia.