The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

such as the liberation of Kuwait from the invasion of Iraq, and the former
Yugoslavia. Somalia was neither strategic nor did it have oil, and thus it
drew no attention or immediate intervention, as did some other countries
struck by militarized violence. The absence of international intervention
led to the deterioration of the conflict. It also enabled the
warlords to commit gross human rights violations against civilians. The
conflict in Somalia was seen as a tribal clash which would eventually die
out, and the international community could then easily intervene later
and solve everything. I argue that the conflict in Somalia is more than
clan warfare. It is a conflict resulting from many factors, including the
legacy of colonialism, post-colonialism and independence. It is also a resource-based
conflict due to Somalia’s under-development and poverty,
which has led to land grabbing by major clans. At present, Somalia’s
conflict has become one where numbers of religious groups are flexing
their muscles to gain political and territorial control. As the security situation
in lawless Somalia deteriorated, many international aid agencies
pulled out their staff and downsized their humanitarian activities, so that
many Somalis who desperately needed international aid and protection
perished. It was not until the mid-1990s that the world finally recognized
the magnitude of Somalia’s militarized violence and lawlessness, and
western media began to cover dying Somalis, mostly women and children
dying of starvation, and brought these images to the living rooms
of citizens of the international community. UN Secretary General Boutrous
Boutrous-Ghali encouraged the international community and the
members of the Security Council to immediately respond to the humanitarian
crisis in Somalia. This led to the appointment of a Special Envoy
to Somalia, a former diplomat from Algeria, Mohamed Sahnoun. In 1992,
a number of resolutions 1 were passed, with the intention of imposing
an arms embargo on Somalia, carrying out and protecting the humanita-
1 They include: Resolution 733 which supported the arms embargo, humanitarian
assistance and a ceasefire; Resolution 751 which supported the establishment of
the United Nations Somalia Mission (UNISOM) to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian
aid to the vulnerable population; and Resolution 775 which called for the deployment
of large troops in order to protect and facilitate the distribution of such
humanitarian intervention.
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