POSITION PAPER
Delegate Name: Saiarjun Gopinath
Committee: United Nations Security Council.
Country: Republic of Niger.
1st Agenda: Addressing the political situation in Somalia.
Content
Overview
I. Al-Qaeda's most potent affiliate in Somalia continues to be Al-Shabaab. The terrorist
group continues to carry out arbitrary assaults on government forces, foreign
peacekeepers, and civilians by taking advantage of Somalia's severe humanitarian
crisis and the government's inadequate state capacity.
II. There are some goals of the Al Shabaab in which they can take full control of
Somalia: Overthrow and destroy any trace of the Federal Government of Somalia
(FGS) and establish a theocratic government, eliminate all foreign influences and
forces in Somalia, establishing a “Greater Somalia” by putting all ethnic Somalis
across East Africa under a strict Islamic rule.
III. Due to its current policy and target of totally eliminating Al-Shabaab, the Somali
government lacks the ability to garner support for itself and is unable to establish any
solid institutional services or infrastructure.
IV. Somalia is only aggravated by the multifaceted nature of its population and history
and its uncertain governance with a slight involvement of foreign countries such as
the US and the UK also the intervention of Al Shabaab, which contributes greatly to
instability within the country.
V. Al-Shabaab having a massive citadel over south Somalia and the central government
guarding complete control over the capital of Somalia Mogadishu, there is a clear
division between territorial authority in Somalia creating a lot of issues, Perhaps the
northern region is further divided by Somaliland and Puntland which causes a lot
more confusion and a lot more tension amongst the torn region of Somalia.
VI. After six successive failed rainy seasons causing historic droughts and flooding.
Roughly 8.3 million Somalians face acute worse food security and also accompanied
with starvation, with over 1.1 million displaced and multiple population groups facing
famine and scarcity of food. Recent torrential rains have created flash floods in
November 2023 that have affected over two million people and displaced nearly
750,000.
Republic of Niger’s Stance
I. Nigerien organizations with experience in drought or food insecurity issues has shared
knowledge and best practices with Somali organizations to improve the famine
situation in Somalia and many such operations are being planned By the Nigerien
government in partnership with African Union(AU) to provide food and water to the
Somalian citizens.
II. Niger has collaborated with neighbouring countries bordering Somalia to streamline
aid delivery or act as a transit point for international assistance. This acts as a road for
humanitarian aid to the Somalian citizens.
III. Niger's government has issued statements expressing solidarity with Somalia and
calling for international aid. This has raised global awareness and encouraged other
1
African countries to contribute. Niger has a great experience with flood mitigation or
response, the Nigerien government has potentially shared the best practices to the
Somalian authorities. This involves techniques for building flood defences,
evacuation procedures and post-flood recovery strategies.
IV. There have been phases of political turmoil in both Somalia and Niger. Niger has
assisted and provided experiences in areas such as constitutional reform, democratic
transition, and security sector reform. This has entailed high-level consultations,
seminars, and workshops for spreading expertise.
Conclusion
Despite Somalia's political instability, foreign interference, weak centralised government,
regional divide, and a lot more problems, the country's economy faces many obstacles. We
must come up with ways to stop Al Shabaab and manage the famine and flooding situations.
Here are some suggestions to consider:
I. The first thing is to somehow increase humanitarian assistance and aid including food
aid, healthcare, and shelter, for the population affected by conflict, displacement, and
natural disasters and prioritizing investments in resilience-building programs,
including disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and livelihood support.
II. The Nigerien government proposes a pact with the African Union (AU) and the
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) where they work in collaboration to form a
multifaceted project mainly aiming on the process of rebuilding the destroyed sites
and cities of Somalia.
III. A covert operation conducted by the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC)especially with the forces of the veto nations: USA, UK, Russia, France and
China to eliminate the leader of Al Shabaab and take control of the southern region of
Somalia. By this, Al Shabaab’s power will be overthrown and the complete control of
Somalia will be under the Federal Somalian Government.
Bibliography
I. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/DownloadDraft.aspx?
key=af6flM/DbBqPE2/
waqXlpLDsxP2JkaITi7iS5bC31OaykTXZxHXwOHgXEnkxEs0lxUzzfQ9fFZ+PC5ig
tf2yFQ==
II. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ICS_AF_Somalia_Public.pdf
III. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/somalia
IV. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somalias-stalled-offensive-against-al-shabaab-taking-stock-
of-obstacles/
V. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/al-shabab-somalia
VI. https://acleddata.com/2024/03/28/somalia-situation-update-march-2024-al-shabaab-
regains-lost-territories-amid-run-up-to-state-elections/
VII. https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/somalia/b187-sustaining-gains-
somalias-offensive-against-al-shabaab
