Attachments
1. Context
Between 2016 and 2019, the number of IDPs fleeing drought and conflict in Somalia more than doubled from 1.1 million to 2.6 million.1 As a result of stabilization efforts and significant investments in urban areas over recent years,2 the vast majority of IDPs have sought safety in urban and peri-urban areas that were previously insecure. This improved access has enabled humanitarian agencies to provide IDPs with assistance and avert famine. However, because 80 per cent of IDPs prefer local integration over return or relocation as a durable solution,3 displacement in Somalia is increasingly viewed as a critical urbanization challenge.4 Urban areas lack sufficient institutions, finances, and physical infrastructure to meet the needs of ever-growing populations.5 Poverty analysis indicates that IDPs are disproportionately impacted, both in terms of monetary poverty and exclusion.6 As IDPs move to unplanned urban areas, Somalia’s demographics are also shifting from primarily rural clan-based to an urban cosmopolitan population, creating the potential to reignite historical conflicts and exacerbate competition over scarce resources.
In 2016, the Government of Somalia and the UN Somalia Country Team launched the Durable Solutions Initiative (DSI) to develop innovative approaches to finding durable solutions for IDPs and refugee returnees. The Initiative was supported by the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (DSRSG/RC/HC) and the Deputy Prime Minister, and it is now transitioning to a fully owned national movement led by the National Durable Solutions Secretariat. Although additional steps are still required to ensure a whole of government approach,7 the DSI has proven crucial for establishing an inclusive, dedicated forum for the Government and the international community to develop a shared understanding of the challenges of finding durable solutions that span humanitarian, development and peace/ state-building responses. The Office of the Resident Coordinator (RCO) ability to oversee UN capacity across the country has also greatly facilitated the development of joint- UN programming under the DSI. The Somali National Development Plan 2020-2024,8 the Somalia Recovery and Resilience Framework,9 and the UN Strategic Framework Somalia 2017-202010 all include durable solutions as a strategic priority. In late 2019, the Federal Government adopted the National Policy on Refugee-Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons,11 issued the Interim Protocol on Land Distribution for Housing to Eligible Refugee-Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons, 2019,12 and ratified the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention). As of October 2020, the Federal Government was developing national IDP legislation, with the support of an international IDP expert,13 and was also finalizing a national Durable Solutions Strategy.