Peace Initiative in South West State in Somalia

The European Union has provided Finn Church Aid with EUR 600,000 (total project budget EUR 800,000) to strengthen local and regional mediation and conflict resolution mechanisms, reducing the number of active conflicts in South West State in Somalia.

The South West State Somalia has seen no sustainable peace and stability for a long time. Instead, the South Central regions have witnessed a series of inter and intra clan conflicts since 1991–1992, as well as recent disputes over resources, land ownership and pasture that have left a marked impact on the lives of communities in the regions.

The initiative will address governance and peace in South West State by working on conflict resolution mechanisms to address current and latent conflicts in South West State. The project will promote dialogue and consultation among conflicting parties through a consolidated methodology developed by FCA that is based on Somali traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution and mediation, Islamic principles and modern conflict resolution tools. The project will facilitate organisation of reconciliation meetings among stakeholders in the regions, support the revitalisation of the Common Peace Committee (CPC) for South West State and build the capacity of the relevant stakeholders.

In the Project, Finn Church Aid cooperates with the Centre for Research and Dialogue (CRD).

Main outcomes:

• Facilitated dialogue among regional authorities to resolve intra and inter clan conflicts, including regional disputes.
• Strengthened capacity of relevant stakeholders and project partner in conflict resolution, reconciliation and project management.