47
and women’s empowerment on the public agenda,
88
although many women’s organizations
lament that substantial progress remains to be seen, particularly with regard to political
participation. Civil society has also played an active role in ensuring free and fair elections,
including the establishment of the Somaliland Civil Society Election Forum, which aimed to
provide a mechanism through which civil society could conduct oversight and advocacy during
the 2012 elections. The youth umbrella, the Somaliland National Youth Organization, also
achieved particular success with its advocacy campaign to reduce the minimum age to serve as a
candidate for local council, from 35 to 25.
Though generally positive at the moment, civil society’s relationship with the government
continues to face some tensions. Some of this tension stems from the greater allocation of
donor resources to civil society rather than to the government – whether due to restrictions on
providing assistance to an unrecognized government authority or because, in previous years,
civil society was seen to have stronger capacity than official institutions – combined with the
government’s belief, referenced above, that these resources have not been spent effectively or
responsibly. Other actors may believe that civil society has “taken” their work from them,
particularly with regard to the traditional peace building role of the
Guurti
and the role that
some civil society organizations have played in this area. It is unclear to what degree civil
society is cooperating with what would otherwise be clear institutional partners, such as the
Somaliland National Human Rights Commission.
Though in other contexts the media is often considered part of civil society, in Somaliland there
is little cooperation or solidarity between the two. Civil society has generally not taken up
media-related causes – such as attacks on journalists – and the media do not appear to provide
much coverage of the work of civil society. Outside of the Somaliland Non-State Actors
Forum, civil society’s relationships with other non-state actors – such as the business
community and academia – also appear weak, though not necessarily negative. In a positive
direction, civil society does appear to take great interest in strengthening the system for higher
education. The diaspora is seen by Somaliland civil society as a “double-edged sword,” with
mixed appreciation for the knowledge it brings, but some mistrust as outsiders who interfere.
Problematically, civil society’s ties to the public at large seem strangely absent.
Future Considerations
With the NGO Act in the early stages of implementation, it is too early to evaluate how its
interpretation and operation may unfold. The current focus on expectations for international
organizations to align themselves with government priorities obscures the possibility that
similar expectations may extend to local organizations as well. Experience in other countries
suggests this could present particular challenges for organizations with an advocacy or
watchdog agenda that may be seen as too critical of the government. Independent oversight of
implementation of the act may help ensure that its registration, funding, coordination and
reporting mechanisms do not become a future means of control. The medium-level priority
given to governance in the
National Development Plan
– and the lack of an explicit role for
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See, for example, Ahmed Abdi Jama, “Level of Gender Equity and Women’s Empowerment in Somaliland,” in
Reflections and Lessons of Somaliland’s Two Decades of Sustained Peace, State Building and Democratization
.
