U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants World Refugee Survey 2005 - Somalia

Refoulement/Asylum  The selfdeclared Republic of Somaliland in the northwest, regularly deported Ethiopian immigrants. Immigration authorities referred most asylum seekers to the Refugee Eligibility Committee (REC) but reportedly deported Ethiopians. There were no reports of refoulementfrom other areas of Somalia or the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland. Although Somalia had been party to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1969 African Refugee Convention, it lacked a functioning government or a system of refugee protection.

Somaliland did not have a national asylum law, but in June, its declared Government said it would adhere to international refugee standards. In late 2003, it suspended the REC's operations after the president issued the Foreigners Expulsion Policy, decreeing that all "illegal foreigners," including refugees and internally displaced persons, must leave within 45 days. After consultation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), however, it postponed implementation of the decree. In early 2004, the REC resumed ad hoc referrals of asylum seekers to UNHCR for status determinations. Somaliland hosted about 2,000, primarily Ethiopian, refugees in its capital, Hargeisa.

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)  400,000 people were internally displaced in Somalia, with the largest concentration, 250,000, in Mogadishu, which remained extremely volatile and unsafe. In the north, where conditions were more stable, 40,000 IDPs lived in Somaliland and 70,000 in Puntland. In late October, however, forces from the two independent regions fought along their shared border in the Sool region. Throughout Somalia, many IDPs led nomadic lifestyles, making it difficult to estimate their number.

Violence and instability were most severe in the south. From May to June, conflict in Gedo displaced 10,000 who fled to the Beletamin camp and across the border to Kenya and Ethiopia. In Mogadishu, violence displaced 7,500 and killed 100. Conflict over land uprooted 5,250 in the Galgadud region. In the Lower Juba region, militias clashed in the key port city of Kismayo. About 240 Somali families and 200 Ethiopian families in the Hiiraan region, and many in the Middle Juba region, fled violence. In Mudug, fighting killed a few hundred civilians and displaced nearly 2,000. A severe drought also continued for a fourth straight year, killing massive numbers of livestock and further afflicting the displaced.

Security improved in the southern Bay and Bakol regions after reconciliation among clan elders, allowing for thousands of IDPs to return to their homes.

In the south, local militias and gunmen, unchecked by any functioning government, exploited, harassed, and sometimes attacked and robbed IDPs or humanitarian groups bringing food, materials, and services. At checkpoints, IDPs had to pay bribes often amounting to half of a day's wages. Many displaced children from minority groups joined urban gangs. Militias robbed IDPs in camps and settlements, raped women on their way to find water or kindling, and forced IDPs to perform labor.

IDPs in Somaliland lived in fear of deportation based on the 2003 Foreigners Expulsion Policy. Many moved to Puntland as a result. While Somaliland authorities did not implement the policy, about 40,000 IDPs from southern Somalia would have fallen under its "illegal foreigner" classification.

The continuing insecurity in Somalia prevented many international and local agencies from helping IDPs. IDPs lived in deplorable conditions in abandoned buildings or makeshift huts, with no sanitation or clean water. Diarrhea and other water-born illnesses were the main causes of death in the IDP settlements. One-fifth of all IDPs were undernourished. There was little or no employment or education in the camps, and most IDPs could not travel freely outside the settlements for fear of violence or extortion by militias and others controlling roads and checkpoints.

In and around Mogadishu, IDPs could only obtain subsistence-level pay even for skilled work, such as carpentry. Children and adults survived by selling charcoal, delivering water, shining shoes, and other menial work. In Somaliland, locals harassed IDPs and sometimes reported them to the police for selling items or working. In southern regions, militia segregated Somali Bantus from non-Bantus in markets and public areas. Schools and employers also discriminated against Bantus. IDPs had no access to courts, no money for legal assistance, and no political representation in government.

Other Developments  Notwithstanding the continuing conflict and lack of a functioning national government, 18,000 Somali refugees returned voluntarily: 9,500 from Ethiopia, 8,400 from Djibouti, and the rest from other countries. Most settled in Somaliland and Puntland.

Copyright 2005, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants