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CIVILSOCIETY
Overview
Contemporary understanding of civil society is a relatively new phenomenon in Somaliland.
During the years of military rule between 1969 and 1991, civil society was viewed with
suspicion and mistrust; outside of support to refugees displaced by fighting between Somalia
and Ethiopia in the late 1970s, the ability of civil society to play a meaningful role remained
limited. These limitations were painfully underscored in the early 1980s, when a group of
citizens formed a self-help organization with the aim of rehabilitating a hospital. Naming
themselves
Uffo
(Breeze), the group’s actions angered the authorities, who subsequently
arrested most of the group’s members. In February 1982, these detainees were sentenced to
long prison terms by a military court, triggering large protests in Hargeisa and other towns.
Violent confrontations between security forces and civilians resulted in arrests, curfews, road
closures, and other punitive actions.
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Following the collapse of the Barre regime in 1991, civil society organizations
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began to
emerge to meet basic citizen needs that the new government could not yet fulfill, whether due to
the government’s inability to receive aid due to lack of recognition, or because of its lack of
capacity. Civil society organizations therefore became natural partners to international
organizations in their efforts to provide both initial humanitarian aid and later development
assistance, ranging from emergency support to ongoing health and education efforts.
Internationally supported civil society organizations such as the Academy for Peace and
Development also emerged to play key roles in conducting research, organizing public debate
and addressing issues such as land-based conflicts and decentralization.
Over the years, civil society activism has “swelled and ebbed,” depending, in part, “on the
tolerance levels of the incumbent government and the leeway it is prepared to give to civil
society.” The closure of the human-rights organization Shuronet in 2007 heralded a period of
tension between the two sectors and since 2009, the space for civil society has begun to grow
again.
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Perceptions of civil society organizations have fluctuated as well, with many often
viewed as “‘briefcase organizations’ that exist only by name.” Clan affiliation has also posed an
obstacle at times, with regard to issues ranging from staffing to service delivery to image.
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Omaar, Rakiya.
Seizing the Moment: A Case Study on Conflict and Peacemaking in Somaliland
. Publication. 3rd
ed. N.p.: Future Generations Graduate School, 2010. Print. Peace Building Ser.
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This document uses the more neutral/inclusive term “civil society organization,” while also recognizing that the
term “non-governmental organization” (NGO) is often used interchangeably. Official Somaliland documents use
the term NGO, defined by the 2010 NGO Act as a “voluntary group of individuals and associations that are non-
partisan, impartial and not operated for profit. They can be of international, national, regional, district or at village
level (community-based organization) whose sole objective is to best serve their members and the community in
improving social services, emergency humanitarian issues, environment conservation and preservation of natural
resources, good governance, protection of human rights and the promotion of social welfare and community
livelihoods as well as the introduction of intellectually/vocationally uplifting trainings and the maintenance of
sustainable development.”
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Mohamed Fadal, Social Research and Development Institute, “Somaliland Elections: A Growing Ownership and
Experience,”
Somaliland: Facing the Challenges of Free and Fair Elections.
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Democracy in Somaliland: Challenges and Opportunities
. Rep. Hargeysa: Academy for Peace and
Development/Interpeace, 2010. Print.
