Somalia is without a doubt the most neglected crisis in the world today. Over the past seventeen years, Somalia has been subject to ongoing civil wars, droughts and floods. Most observers agree that the crisis has never been as acute as it is today.

The immense gap between the level of need and the corresponding humanitarian response is striking. Agencies struggle to provide food, water, health care, and other basic assistance to one million internally displaced people because of the worsening security crisis. Additionally, their own bureaucracies have not sufficiently adapted to the ground realities of this situation. Further complicating matters, the official Somali government propped up by the international community is viewed as illegitimate by its own people.

In order to stabilize Somalia and keep this crisis from spreading further, the international community must act now to find a viable solution to the political crisis in Somalia. International assistance is not a substitute to diplomatic engagement. The US must pressure the Ethiopian government to end numerous human rights abuses. The UN needs to increase its capacity to monitor and deliver impartial assistance by increasing numbers of international staff inside the country. And international peacekeepers must not be deployed until political preconditions are met, and unless UN member states are willing to provide them with the troops, equipment, and mandate to confront armed resistance and address the root political causes of the Somali conflict.

Policy Recommendations

• The UN Security Council must approach the use of an international military force with extreme caution, and take seriously the Secretary General's assessment that a peacekeeping deployment can only be successful when political efforts have created a modicum of peace to keep.

• AMISOM should expand only under similar conditions as those that would permit the deployment of a UN force.

• The US Administration must condemn human rights violations committed by the Ethiopian forces. The US Congress should investigate the conditions under which military support was provided to Ethiopia, ensuring it adheres to the principles outlined under US law.

• UNHCR must dramatically increase its Somalia-based staff – focusing on national staff – to a level that enables ongoing protection work through periods of high insecurity.

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In February and March 2008, advocate Patrick Duplat and peacebuilding advocate Erin Weir assessed the conditions faced by displaced Somalis in parts of Lower Shabelle, Mogadishu and along the Mogadishu-Afgooye road. During the mission, they interviewed representatives from UN agencies, local and international NGOs, government and local authorities, as well as Somalis who have been affected by the conflict.