Abstract

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) proposed to lead a peace support mission to Somalia code-named IGASOM. The proposed mission was approved by IGAD and the African Union (AU) but rejected by the United Nations Security Council in July 2004. This project aims to address this security problem in Somalia and its possible consequences for the country and the Horn of Africa if the proposed IGASOM peace support mission is carried out with or without UN approval. Researchers at the University of Nairobi's Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies will examine UN involvement in Somalia before the war, during the initial stages and during the national reconciliation conferences, and the major obstacles to the UN peace initiative. The research will be based on secondary data and primary data collected through interviews with former UN personnel and local Somalis, group discussions and observations in the field. The results will be discussed at a one-day workshop in Nairobi that will bring together representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the AU, IGAD, the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), transitional federal institutions (TFIs), IDRC and other interested groups, such as diplomats from countries with an interest in Somalia.

Recipient Institution(s)