September 30, 2019, (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Security Sector Program (SSP) kick-started a five–day national training workshop this morning in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa with high level Federal Government of Somalia officials to contribute to the enhancement of institutional capacities in formulation and updating of Somalia’s national Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Reintegration related strategies.
The training was officiated by Commander Abebe Muluneh, Director of IGAD-SSP, H.E Ambassador Abdihakim Abdullahi H. Omer Amey, Somalia Ambassador to Ethiopia; Permanent Representative to AU, IGAD and UNECA and H.E Mr. Abdisaid Muse Ali National Security Advisor to the President of Federal Government of Somalia.
In his opening remarks Commander Muluneh stressed the need to assess and review existing frameworks as well as identify best practices on SSR and Reintegration in relation to preventing and countering transnational threats and radicalization of youth.
The workshop is a follow up to the first IGAD SSR meeting held in September 2017 in Khartoum, Sudan, hence it is anticipated that during this workshop; progress will be reported on the development of the national policies to support initiatives to develop SSR strategies and plans for implementation at national level as well as leverage on their strengths and opportunities in improving the rule of law and security in relation to the implementation of the National Security Architecture (NSA) and Somalia Transition Plan (STP) and to identify possible gaps.
The training will also provide a platform for national and regional technical experts to jointly reflect on their SSR and Reintegration priority areas identified in their National Security Policies (NSP) and to further compare with the African Union and IGAD Peace and Security Policy Frameworks that have been formulated hence exploring ways through which IGAD, AU and UN can exercise their complementary roles and responsibilities to assist the FGS and its FM States in the implementation of SSR and Reintegration strategies and initiatives.
The workshop will also be an opportunity to forge dialogue and a working partnership between IGAD, Somalia and Peace Support Operations (PSOs), in particular SSR & DDR focal points in the AU, AMISOM and other UN relevant agencies in order to enable PSOs to widen their ability to move from peace-keeping to peace-building for them to be influential at strategic-level, SSR & Reintegration policy development and implementation as well as offer IGAD real-time monitoring, evaluation and feedback on national and regional SSR &Reintegration impacts, as they pertain to the security of Somalia.
Its notable that Somalia is experiencing steady progress as a result of years of local efforts and international assistance around security Institutions, counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, humanitarian efforts, and state-building hence requiring the support of the AU and IGAD’s existing policy framework in the implementation of the NSA and STP.
The participants are from the Judiciary, Ministries of Justice; Internal Security and Defense; the Somali National Army; Somali Police Force; NISA, Regional Security offices and the offices of the Prime Minister and National Security.
The meeting is with the financial support from the European Union Trust Fund (EUTF) through the IPPSHAR Programme that is being implemented by IGAD SSP and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).
Background
- The IGAD Security Sector Program (IGAD SSP) is a comprehensive regional program of IGAD, with a mandate that focuses on supporting Member States both operationally and in capacity building to combat regional and international terrorism activities; to enhance the capacity of states to deal with maritime security threats; to contain the intensity and impact of transnational organized crime; and to strengthen the capacity of security institutions.
- The concept of SSR is a crosscutting issue across the areas of operation of IGAD SSP, which is intended to ultimately enhance the capacity of states in their provision of security with respect to the rule of law principles to empower regional coordination.
- IGAD follows the UN Approach to the Rule of Law and SSR Assistance “…the rule of law is a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws.
- As part of Somalia’s peace-building and state-building process the FGS is embarked on SSR through the implementation of the National Security Architecture (NSA). To achieve this objective FGS, AMISOM and international partners have developed Somalia Transition Plan (STP) to develop the necessary institutions, capacities and generate resources to create the socio-economic, political and security conditions for independent Somali Security Forces in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2151 of 2014 on SSR which reiterates the “importance of coordination/collaboration between the different actors involved in supporting security sector reforms”, while recognizing the primacy of national ownership.
