Particulars Page
Cover page 1
Table of Content 2
1.0 Foreward Message 3
2.0 Executive Summary 4
3.0 MRDO Brief Background 4
4.0 Report Introduction and Background 5
5.0 Report Goal and Purpose 8
6.0 Report Findings and Results 9
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1.0 Foreward Message
Despite this attention, widespread discrimination and human rights abuses continue at
an alarming rate. At least 90% of Minority and Marginalized Groups in the developing
world are denied the right to education and are disproportionately likely to live in
poverty.
Discrimination on the basis of minority concerning education, food, security, the right to
play and the right to participation as well as sexual, emotional and physical violence
against marginalized groups remains largely undisclosed and unseen in Somalia.
Looking through the results of this study, we can see that this is a large, pervasive issue
in Somalia.
In more humanitarian and emergency contexts within Somalia, abuses against minority
groups could be exacerbated and compounded. Whether through conflict or natural
disaster, abandonment and increased risk of death are very real possibilities for all
minority and marginalized groups. Every organization working with Minority Groups in
Somalia has a responsibility to ensure their facilities and services cater for the group.
The discrimination and violence which people with minorities face are too great to be
ignored, as is the potential percentage of the population facing these abuses. Therefore,
programs need to follow the principle of universal design, ensuring accessibility to all
minority and marginalized groups, rather than viewing working with the group as a
wholly specialized skill-set. By viewing the group as needing only specialized support,
actors are excluding the minority and marginalized groups further and
ignoring/exacerbating their protection concerns. Besides extreme exclusions, the group
is often denied protection and accessibility to their rights on par with other people in less
visible ways. Programs and policies focusing on the group, rarely include them either
implicitly or explicitly. However, they will be found in any such groupings. Although there
are various international standards that recognize the rights of Minority Groups, they
remain a group that seems largely forgotten or overlooked, and therefore excluded,
from general developmental and humanitarian work.
In Somalia more needs to be done. MRDO hope that through this report, we can inspire
more action from partners and the government to ensure that minority groups no longer
remain invisible but rather their protection and equal recognition become a core
component of working on any program or policy addressing Minority and Marginalized
groups, with a particular focus on their protection.
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2.0 Report Executive Summary
Minority groups face acute protection issues in Somalia. These issues range from lack
of education to high incidence of sexual violence, lack of funding opportunities, poverty
and high illiteracy levels, lack of comprehensive research, absence of awareness
programs, etc. Despite the critical nature of the situation, little research has been
performed on the needs and vulnerabilities of the minority and marginalized group in
Somalia. This report by MRDO aims to highlight some of the existing gaps.
The objective of this report is to promote the inclusion of members of minority groups in
decision-making and implementation structures in Somalia.
Minorities have been shown to benefit less from aid interventions and participate less in
decisions. Many minorities are now entirely dependent on casual labor for income. No
census has been carried out in Somalia for decades and data is lacking about total
population numbers, let alone any break down by clan or by minority group. However,
there is strong anecdotal evidence that minorities are under-represented in politics and
governance. Under the 4.5 power sharing formula minorities are allocated 50% of the
opportunities to major clans. And many minority analysts consider that even this half of
what others are allocated is not achieved in reality. This is widely perceived by
minorities as treating them as worth half of any other Somali citizen. Even the 1/9th of
posts are reported as being captured by individuals who are closely aligned with major
clans who wield all the power locally and do not truly represent or speak for minorities.
3.0 MRDO Brief Background
MRDO is a legally registered organization based in Somalia focusing on improving
the lives and livelihoods of marginalized and minority groups and promoting respect for
their dignity and fundamental rights while working as a platform on matters
humanitarian, human rights and development utilizing the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities and other human rights instruments.
MRDO is endeavoring to help marginalized and minority groups, women, children and
other vulnerable groups who have suffered injustices, hardship and neglect due to war,
natural disasters or poverty by offering them the opportunity to develop their
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independence and protect their dignity for a socially, economically and politically
empowered society free of gender inequalities.
The organization is founded on the principles of democracy, respect for human rights
and the rule of law with a strong focus on the vulnerable, marginalized and minority
groups in all the regions of Somalia and beyond that have been subjects of oppression,
discrimination and marginalization for years.
4.0 Report Introduction and Background
4.1 Overview
The Somali minorities collectively and minority members individually suffer denial and
abuse of the whole range of basic human rights set out in international and regional
conventions including the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Convention
Against Torture (CAT), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,
all of which are legally binding on Somalia. Many of the abuses Somali minorities have
experienced in conflict situations are also violations of the Geneva Conventions and
other provisions of international humanitarian law.
The HCT Centrality of Protection (CoP) strategy identifies three priority areas where
protection is lacking in different parts of Somalia and poses a significant challenge to
the entire humanitarian response as identified by the Protection Cluster’s analysis in
consultation with the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and Inter-Cluster Coordination
Group (ICCG).
The first of these priorities is to “identify and address differential risks of exclusion and
discrimination, including those based on societal discrimination, power structures,
vulnerability, age, and gender (and the need for inclusion of all relevant responders in
order to prevent exclusion).” In particular the exclusion of persons with minority clan
affiliations features prominently in the strategy as well as the accompanying action plan
with the goal to expand the evidence-based on exclusion and discrimination faced by
persons with minority clan affiliations in Somalia in order to effect change.
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4.2 List of Minority and Marginalized IDP Sites in Hirshabelle
NO IDP NAME Districs Type Ethnical clan latitude long latitude Household
1 Xamir-Gaab Beletweyne Minority Eyle 4.754550 45.2053493 100
2 Cadiley Beletweyne Minority Eyle 4.722387 45.2058969 150
3 Ala-Amin 2 Beletweyne Minority Reer Shabele 4.758358 45.1817116 100
4 Ala-suge Beletweyne Minority Reer Shabele 4.753603 45.1880735 140
5 Ceynaba Beletweyne Minority Gaboyo 4.736537 45.1825920 70
6 Iftin Beletweyne Minority Makane 4.753906 45.1888083 110
7 Gaboyo2 Beletweyne Minority Gaboyo 4.737611 45.2142200 120
8 Bilan 1 Beletweyne Minority Elaay 4.736197 45.2102842 158
9 Ala-Bari Beletweyne Minority Makane 4.735589 45.2110884 70
10 Bilan 2 Beletweyne Minority Mushunguli 4.754550 45.2167790 100
11 Danyeere Beletweyne Minority Reer Shabele 4.757549 45.1873349 65
12 Budul Beletweyne Minority Reer Shabele 4.750979 45.2032361 118
13 Shilow Beletweyne Minority Elaay 4.735003 45.1811702 80
14 Dayax Sigalow Beletweyne Minority Makane 4.756215 45.1866632 127
15 Jiiqle Beletweyne Minority Makane 4.727591 45.2187947 120
16
Daryeel Buulo
Yacquub Beletweyne Minority Shiidle 4.729815 45.2195186 80
17 Sugow Beletweyne Minority Reer Shabele 4.751888 45.2078861 58
18 Sigalow-kheyrqabe Beletweyne Minority Eyle 4.748446 45.1927082 79
19 Jinawkey Beletweyne Minority Makane 4.724891 45.2073510 70
20 Macruuf Beletweyne Minority
Reer Ciise
Shabelle 4.757264 45.1836509 130
21 Bardaale Beletweyne Minority Ajuuraan 4.735589 45.1900398 50
22 Moyko Jowhar Minority Shiidle 2.758730 45.4984500 361
23 Shiiq Oyaaye Jowhar Minority
Garmagalay-
shiidle 2.778666 45.5265961 257
24 Shiiq Omar Jowhar Minority Shiidle 2.775020 45.5116650 105
25 Barwaaqo Jalalaqsi Minority Makane 3.372319 45.5958122 240
26 Wadajir Jalalaqsi Minority Eyle 3.374186 45.6129569 155
27 Wadajir Buloburte Minority Eyle 3.849192 45.5587407 139
4.3 Details of affected Minority villages evacuated in riverine areas
# Village name GBS GBS HH Total of HHs
1. Abdi-Doon 4.8555 45.11398 328 328
2. Kurtumarey 4.85755 45.11006 210 210
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3. Darusalaam 4.85839 45.09868 527 527
4. Doolo-madow 4.86077 45.08928 734 734
5. Jiijo 4.8669 45.0771 237 237
6. Qarsoni 4.84993 45.11953 372 372
7. Bacad-Buke 4.84993 45.16417 289 289
8. Harcadeey 4.8656 45.16974 133 133
9. Balad-salam 4.82674 45.16417 312 312
Total 3,142
No. of HHs
MRDO team conducted an assessment of minority in evacuated areas in the Northwest
villages that have been historically neglected in terms of humanitarian assistance.
The key findings were as follows:
The assessment found that minority settlements in the Northwest villages have
never received any assistance during the recent Gu seasonal rains and floods.
These populations were left without access to critical relief supplies, shelter, and
other aid.
The minority communities have never received any assistance in the aftermath of
the post Elinino floods. Despite the devastation caused by these floods, the
vulnerable minority populations residing in the evacuated areas were completely
overlooked by humanitarian efforts.
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The lack of support during both the Gu rains/floods and post-Elinino periods has left
these minority groups in dire conditions, with many lacking accesses to food, clean
water, shelter, and other basic necessities. Their situation has been further
exacerbated by their displacement from their home villages.
The assessment highlighted an alarming pattern of systemic neglect and
marginalization of these minority populations, who appear to have been entirely
excluded from humanitarian response efforts in the region over an extended period
of time.
In light of these findings, MRDO is calling for an immediate intervention and significantly
scaled-up assistance to address the acute needs of the minority evacuated populations
in the Northwest villages. Coordinated efforts by governmental and non-governmental
humanitarian organizations will be critical to provide these vulnerable groups with life-
saving relief and support their long-term recovery and rehabilitation.
4.4 Justification For Minority Inclusion Detailed Site Assessment
In-line with the HCT CoP strategy action plan, the Protection Cluster undertook a desk
review of assessments and tools used in the humanitarian response. The outcomes of
this desk review indicate a clear need for a more robust evidence based to identify the
occurrence of exclusion and discrimination faced by persons with minority clan
affiliations to inform advocacy for change and more inclusive programming.
List of Riverine villages affected Gu floods:-
These comprise of Balad-nuur, Donkudle, Xabasho cad, Guro Jadhi, Jameeco,
Macaruf, Dharkeynta, Kilidheere, Qoydo, Burjodheer, Baladsalam, Deefow, Quracley,
Boolo, Dhaywabar, Bacaad, Kalakalac, Jiijo, Doolo meadow and Buulcad.
These villages have been affected by Gu rains and Shabelle river floods by destroying
and damaging their crops and canals. Worst is that these group have never received
any form of support and assistance since Dayr Elinino and the ongoing current situation.
The group is in dire need of assistance including not limited to hygiene kits, shelter,
clean water, food, health and other assistance.
5.0 Report Goal and Purpose
The specific objective of the study was to identify and address different risks of
exclusion and discrimination, including those based on societal discrimination, power
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structures, vulnerability, age and gender and the need for inclusion of all relevant
responders in order to prevent exclusion in northwest villages evacuation sites.
The report is very relevant to SDG 16 as it will promote inclusion in Somalia’s society
and in particular in local government institutions. It will also make institutions more
effective (in reaching furthest behind populations) and more accountable. Additionally,
the report will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local levels
including SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 Reduced Inequality and SDG 16 (Peace
Justice and Strong Institutions).
The report presents our findings from the questionnaires and study conducted as part of
the formative evaluation and routine monitoring with input garnered predominantly from
other service providers in the region.
6.0 Report Findings and Results
Minorities are excluded from roles in local and national governments. Clan dynamics
influence appointments more than merit. It is impossible for minorities to “break into”
such offices and structures.
The assessment found that minority settlements in the Northwest villages have
never received any assistance during the recent Gu seasonal rains and floods.
These populations were left without access to critical relief supplies, shelter, and
other aid.
The minority communities have never received any assistance in the aftermath of
the post Elinino floods. Despite the devastation caused by these floods, the
vulnerable minority populations residing in the evacuated areas were completely
overlooked by humanitarian efforts.
The lack of support during both the Gu rains/floods and post-Elinino periods has left
these minority groups in dire conditions, with many lacking accesses to food, clean
water, shelter, and other basic necessities. Their situation has been further
exacerbated by their displacement from their home villages.
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The assessment highlighted an alarming pattern of systemic neglect and
marginalization of these minority populations, who appear to have been entirely
excluded from humanitarian response efforts in the region over an extended period
of time.
In light of these findings, MRDO is calling for an immediate intervention and significantly
scaled-up assistance to address the acute needs of the minority evacuated populations
in the Northwest villages. Coordinated efforts by governmental and non-governmental
humanitarian organizations will be critical to provide these vulnerable groups with life-
saving relief and support their long-term recovery and rehabilitation.
