Somalia/Ethiopia/and Eritrea: Clan rivalries, and clan-based discrimination, internal flight alternative (IFA), presence of NGOs; situation of minorities in Somalia and Somaliland; situation of deportees from Ethiopia; military service in Ethiopia and Eritrea

The second was the civil war in Burao in 1995/1996, which had political elements because it was centered around the old SNM led by Abduraham Ali Tur and his clan, the Garhajis, against the forces supporting the central government. The conflict was settled but Burao has still not been rebuilt. It is still an area of political tension. He explained that although President's Egal's administration is now accepted throughout Somaliland, the political situation remains unstable.

Regional Zone Categorization

The UN zoning categorization classifies Somalia into areas of recovery, transition and crisis. "Recovery" means that there is an emergent,  reasonably well-established administration, a considerable degree of peace as a result of reconciliation between rival clan groups, and a certain amount of economic recovery and reconstruction going on, but it does not mean "safe". Somaliland and Puntland, he explained,  are "recovery" areas. "Transition" means that the area could go either way: recovery or crisis.

He stated that asylum-seekers should not be returned to any crisis or transition zones where their lives could be at risk. Return to a "recovery" zone should not take place until recovery (i.e. peace and reconstruction) is confirmed over a substantial period of time, and there is also a positive humanitarian environment (i.e. no drought, famine, epidemics, etc) and an environment in which returnee families have good opportunities of a sustainable livelihood, i.e. with basic infrastructure, access to employment or self-employment, education, health and water facilities.

All of the south comprises crisis areas except for three areas: Hiraan, Galguduud, and south Mudug where there is no particular armed conflict between clans or outside groups. Currently there is actual fighting in all other areas including Gedo, Kismayo, Bayand Bakool (where Ethiopian troops are securing the peace after driving out Hussein Aideed's occupying force), and there is a lot of confusion in the inter riverine areas.

Internal Flight Alternative/Relocation

In terms of internal flight alternative, clans that are not represented in Somaliland would not be welcomed, allowed in, or even protected in Somaliland. They would have no traditional clan protection in Somaliland, and the same applies to Puntland.

He explained that Amnesty International follows the UNHCR 1999 guidelines on "Internal Flight Options and Relocation Options," which stipulate that people should not be returned to any place except their normal place of residence and only if they can travel there safely. This means the place or area where they used to live before the war and before they fled. For example, if an Isaak family was living in Mogadishu before they fled, they might have no solid connections in Somaliland where the Isaaks are most represented; therefore it would not be viable for them to be returned to a place which is not their own. Members of clans that are not represented in the Somaliland, such as the Ogaden and Darod, would also not be accepted in Somaliland.

Minorities

Members of the various Somali minorities have suffered particularly heavily in the civil war and are still at considerable risk of human rights abuses by all parties. They face institutionalized social and economic discrimination and do not generally have freedom of movement in any parts.

The minorities include several categories of Somalis, such as the Bantu agricultural clans; the Digil/Mirifle (or Rahanweyn) clans from Bay/Bakool; the coastal peoples (mostly townspeople but also the Bajuni islanders) who are descendents of people of foreign origins, who migrated to Somalia centuries ago; the artisan caste groups such as the Tumal, Midgan, Yibir, Gaboye, Galgalo; and some other smaller communities outside the pastoralist clan system, such as the Biyamal, and the Shikhal and Ashraf religious communities.

The situation of minorities in Somali society has not improved. Pre-civil war, they had clan protection as a minority but with the civil war, they have lost that clan protection. Although it does not always happen, they can be arbitrarily killed with no legal or clan protection. It would not be safe for minority people in general to be returned to any part of Somalia and Somaliland.

Other vulnerable groups include women travelling alone or single women; women with children; widows; war widows, the disabled, children and other people who are unable to look after themselves; and mentally ill people, of whom there are a lot traumatized by the war, who would not be able to look after themselves in a normal situation.

Amnesty International/other international NGOs present in Somalia and Somaliland

Amnesty International does not have an office in Somalia and Somaliland. All research is done at the International Secretariat in London. Amnesty International has contact with human rights groups such as the Dr. Ismael Jumaale Centre for Human Rights in Mogadishu. In Somaliland, Amnesty International held a human rights workshop in partnership with a locally-based NGO,  International Cooperation for Development (ICD).

NGO aid to Somalia is channelled through the  Somali Aid Coordination Bureau (SACB) in Nairobi. Following last year's kidnapping of aid workers including the ICRC, NGOs essentially withdrew but there are one or two NGOs still operating.

In Somaliland, there are international NGOs such as OXFAM, ACORD, ICD, and local NGOs including the Somali Red Crescent. A few  UN agencies such as UNHCR and UNICEF operate in Somaliland. He explained that the government of Somaliland has not received international recognition and so there is no-bilateral government aid but the UN now sees aid as not subject to inter-governmental constraints.

Situation of Eritreans deported from Ethiopia

The Amnesty International May 1999 report entitled Ethiopia and Eritrea: Human Rights in A Year of Conflict, covers the deportation of Eritreans from Ethiopia in great detail. A News Release was issued at the end of January focusing on the deportations of Eritreans from Ethiopia. Deportations resumed in July but were again suspended as peace talks progressed, but could resume again.

According to Amnesty International, Eritreans in Ethiopia were mostly Ethiopian citizens who were illegally expelled and should be allowed to return. Ethiopia completely disagrees and maintains that they were not Ethiopian citizens even if they held Ethiopian passports. Ethiopia has been cancelling passports of Eritreans abroad and not renewing Eritreans' passports.

Some of the 53,000 deportees (as of February 1999) returning to Eritrea are destitute and have no family ties in Eritrea but  Eritrea looks after them to the extent that it can. There are several thousands in camps who are in pretty bad condition. Although the Eritrean Relief and Rehabilitation Commission is very effective, Eritrea has refused external NGO assistance until very recently.

Even Eritreans married to Ethiopiansand children of mixed marriages have been deported. Eritreans are not allowed to take their properties, which in total may amount to hundreds of millions of US dollars worth.

In the case of Ethiopians in Eritrea, Amnesty International is convinced that Eritrea has not retaliated with deportations. Since June 1999 Eritrea has new registration requirements for all foreigners. Eritrea has not deported Ethiopians but about 23,000 Ethiopians returned to Ethiopia having lost their jobs, having felt unwelcome in Eritrea, and having lost their homes but not by government order. He said that most deportees ended up in camps in northern Ethiopia: they were not Eritrean citizens but Ethiopian nationals compelled to leave Eritrea due to harsh economic conditions. He explained that a lot of them were dismissed from their jobs whenEthiopia cut off its exports through the port of Assab.  Assab, he stated,was known as an Ethiopian town going back to pre-Eritrean independence.

Military Service in Eritea/Ethiopia

Eritrea has national service laws of conscription for men and women with no opportunity for conscientious objection on any grounds. Anybody who refused conscription would be forcibly conscripted and probably detained.  A particular groupwhich is a victim of its own doctrines, is the Jehovah's Witnesses who are picked on because they did not supportthe Eritrean Liberation struggle, because they do not accept any secular government, and they do not stand up the flag and for the national anthem. Eritrea has taken an extremely hard line against them and deprived them of their constitutional rights openly and publicly.

It possible there may be other Eritreans now who say that they do not want to be a party to the conflict and who do not want to fight, and who, given the opportunity (which does not exist) would want to enter into conscientious objection procedures or alternative national service.  He said that the government would look at these people as traitors and added that there is total mobilization in Eritrea for the war with Ethiopia.

Ethiopiadoes not have a national service law. However, there is vigorous recruitment for thewar front in all parts of Ethiopia; in the rural areas particularly, those areas which have in the past provided army recruitment under Mengistu. According to him, this recruitment is semi-forced. Amnesty International received information to the effect that some peasant associations in the south were ordered to produce a certain number of recruits for the war with Eritrea, and that the government was possibly selecting the unemployed and economically unproductive people and ordinary farmers or landless people and more or less ordering them to fight. From the point of view ofthe recruits, he said, this may be viewed as an economic opportunity out of poverty. The semi-forced recruitment is probably quite extensive because Ethiopia is amassing as many troops as it can as there were very large casualties and these new recruits probably go to the war very quickly with just a brief amount of training. Nonetheless, he said, there is a widespread support in Ethiopia for the war against Eritrea.