Responses to Information Requests

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Situation of Women in the Context of Internal Displacement
1.1 Internal Displacement: General Situation and Figures

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a legal specialist with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) [1] in Somalia stated that an analysis pertaining to the survival and subsistence of women in Mogadishu should take into account the context-specific dynamics of the displacement situation (NRC 4 Mar. 2019). In its 2019 Humanitarian Needs Assessment for Somalia, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) states that Somalia is in one of the world's largest and most complex displacement crises (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 5). Many internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been historically displaced multiple times over the past decades (ReDSS Mar. 2017, 10; NRC 4 Mar. 2019) and are in situations of protracted displacement, with the largest caseload of such IDPs being in Mogadishu (NRC 4 Mar. 2019).

According to sources, the distinction between Somali urban poor and those who have been living in protracted displacement as Mogadishu residents for extended periods is not clear (IIED and Tana Jan. 2019, 8; NRC 4 Mar. 2019). According to a study on Somali returnees to Somalia from Kenya published by the Danish Demining Group (DDG) [2], in the Somali context, the term IDP frequently refers to Somalis of lower strata groups renting or living in a slum in a city where a more powerful clan is dominant (Menkhaus Aug. 2017, 1). The same source explains that those from major clans tend to find accommodation with extended kin and eventually are considered residents of the place where they have settled, while Somalis from poorer or weaker social groups who are from southern Somalia tend to cluster in urban centres like Mogadishu and Kismayo, and continue to be identified or to self-identify as IDPs, even after residing in the city for more than a decade (Menkhaus Aug. 2017, 16).

UNOCHA states that there were roughly 2.6 million IDPs in Somalia as of November 2018 (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 4). Approximately half of Somalia's IDPs are located in urban areas such as Mogadishu/Banadir and in Baidoa, according to the UN in Somalia (UN Dec. 2017). Sources estimate that the number of IDPs in Mogadishu ranges from 400 000 (NRC, et al. 12 Jan. 2018, 1) to 497,000 IDPs (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 4). According to UNOCHA, out of Somalia's total 4.2 million people in need of humanitarian support and protection, most people in need are concentrated in Mogadishu (721 000, including the displaced population and local host population) (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 4). Sources report that urbanization linked to displacement caused increased pressure on urban resources, basic services, and livelihoods (REF June 2018, 29; UN Dec. 2017), which are described by the UN as "already limited and overstretched" (UN Dec. 2017). According to the Joint IDP Profiling Service (JIPS) [3], most IDPs come from areas surrounding Mogadishu such as Lower Shabelle, and districts in Mogadishu with higher concentrations of IDPs have lower access to basic services like education, health, and sanitation (JIPS 31 Jan. 2017, p. 7, 8, 10). Sources have mentioned Daynile, Kaaxda (55% of Mogadishu IDPs live in these two districts according to JIPS) (JIPS 31 Jan. 2017, p. 7, 8, 10) and Hodan, Dharkenly, and Wadajir as those with high concentrations of IDPs (IIED Dec. 2017, p. 9). According to JIPS, newly arrived IDPs tend to join IDP settlements on the outskirts of Mogadishu, such as Kaxda and Daynile (JIPS 31 Jan. 2017, 7).

Sources indicate that IDPs are frequently from minority groups (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 29) or weaker clans that were "historically marginalized," according to a 2017 study on IDPs in Benadir by the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS) [4] (ReDSS Mar. 2017, 10).

1.2 Female IDPs

Sources indicate that a large proportion of IDPs are minority women who are single heads of household due to the loss of their fathers or husbands (MRG and IIDA Jan. 2015, 20-21) or are female-headed households who have no male protection or support network (Somalia Civil Society Organizations May 2015, 7; NRC 4 Mar. 2019; Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). A 2016 profile of Mogadishu IDPs conducted by JIPS found that 15 percent of IDPs were female-headed and 17 percent of the host population was female-headed (JIPS Apr. 2016, 23). A gender advisor working for the UN on gender equality, gender justice and women's empowerment in Somalia, who was interviewed by the Research Directorate, explained that there are also "abandoned women," who have been left by their husbands but who cannot remarry unless their husbands' death or situation is confirmed, leaving them without support (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). According to a 2018 survey by the Research and Evidence Facility (REF) [5] on IDPs and returnees in Somalia, female IDPs who commented about IDP challenges in Mogadishu listed rape, robbery, forced eviction, unemployment and lack of livelihoods, insecurity, discrimination, clan attacks, exploitation in the workplace and lack of education and health care among the problems they encountered (REF June 2018, 23).

UNOCHA observed that among the displaced population, the "most vulnerable groups who are consistently socially excluded" in Somalia are women, children, the elderly, and child-headed or female-headed households, as well as members of minority groups, who lack community networks (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 7). The study published by the DDG also stated that women from weak clans are most vulnerable to physical and sexual violence, especially if ending up in a situation of displacement or without the protection of a powerful group (Menkhaus Aug. 2017, 18, 28). A report on a Danish fact-finding mission to Somalia published in 2017 explained that the "high level of violence in Mogadishu is especially difficult for minority clans and IDPs as they are regarded [as] extremely vulnerable due to the lack of effective clan protection, particularly for single women without a network" (DRC and Denmark Mar. 2017, 12).

2. Clan Protection and Women Without a Support Network

Sources report that clan support impacts a person's ability to settle in Mogadishu (UN 1 Mar. 2019; NRC 4 Mar. 2019; Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019) and that people identify themselves by their clanship and family regardless of whether they are moving to Mogadishu as IDPs, relocating internally from another area of Somalia, or from the diaspora (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). Clan and ethnic groups are described as the "dominant feature" of Somali society and people with "less social capital" have less clan protection, according to UNOCHA (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 27). Clan dynamics are critical to where and why Somalis move to certain areas, and to the level of support and protection that Somalis who relocate, or are displaced, can expect to receive (REF June 2018, 50). A fact sheet on Somalia by the Global Shelter Cluster (GSC) [6] also reports that according to a survey conducted in IDP households in Mogadishu, "[c]lan dynamics remain fundamental for the understanding of the support system and social capital IDPs can rely on" (GSC Sept. 2017).

According to REF, an IDP, returnee, deportee or diaspora Somali's level of vulnerability to impoverishment, eviction, hunger, violence, and insecurity depends on individual differences which can include gender, age, socio-economic status, level of education, migrant status (IDP, returnee, former refugee, diaspora) and clan linkages (REF June 2018, 23). Sources indicate that, in relation to a woman's individual circumstances, education, clan, and financial status (NRC 4 Mar. 2019; Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019; UN 1 Mar. 2019), her displacement situation and family ties determine her ability to live and settle in Mogadishu (UN 1 Mar. 2019). The NRC legal specialist gave the view that education and clan affiliation are the most important aspects for a woman's ability to survive and subsist in Mogadishu (NRC 4 Mar. 2019). The gender advisor stated that education alone is insufficient, and that clan power and financial status are the most relevant factors (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019).

The gender advisor stated that women's protection in Somalia is linked to their father, husband, family network, extended family network and clan (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). Sources report that the hierarchical clan system in Somalia is male-dominated (UN 6 Sept. 2017, 1; MRG and IIDA Jan. 2015, 5) and that the clan relationships are regulated through customary law (xeer) which frequently does not provide effective justice for women or minorities in the absence of functional state institutions (MRG and IIDA Jan. 2015, 9).

The gender advisor commented that in Somali society, it is seen as being against the culture and the religion for a woman to live alone (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, UNICEF's Chief of Child Protection in Somalia stated that family ties in Somalia are strong and that women who have lost husbands or fathers are taken in by community who serve as a safety net, but for only for those who "have broken no customary laws or norms" (UN 1 Mar. 2019). However, the same source explained that women who have broken social norms or customs or who have been subjected to rape or sexual violence are left "at the whim" of society without effective policing, justice or welfare systems, and they may be ostracized if they are a minority clan in the area, divorced, or if they are victims of rape (UN 1 Mar. 2019). The NRC legal specialist similarly stated that in the Somali context, single mothers and divorced women with children usually return to the father's parents or their own families, while IDP women without a network in Mogadishu may end up in situations of forced marriage due to the lack of male protection and economic opportunities (NRC 4 Mar. 2019).

According to sources, due to the need for male protection in Somali society, women without a support network face "extreme" hardship and difficulties accessing housing and employment (UN 1 Mar. 2019; Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019) or encounter "enormous challenges in virtually every aspect of their lives" if they have no male relatives (NRC 4 Mar. 2019). The NRC legal specialist noted that female members of majority clans without male relatives do not have the same level of clan protection as those with male relatives (NRC 4 Mar. 2019). The gender advisor similarly explained that even for women with clan protection, a woman's rights are not protected especially in cases of rape and sexual violence; perpetrators may even be a member of the same clan, however, clan elders resolve cases in traditional ways that often result in "forcing the victim to marry her rapist" to protect family honour, or in allowing the perpetrator to pay compensation (in the form of money or camels) (Gender advisor 6 Mar. 2019). A report by Minority Rights Group International (MRG) and the Somalia-based NGO for women's rights IIDA Women's Development Organization (IIDA) states that majority clan women have "some level of protection" and access to basic services due to their traditional clan structure, especially for those who are from wealthy or strong families, while minority women lack such protection and experience "more pronounced forms of social, cultural, and economic discrimination," exclusion from basic services, and difficulties accessing support (MRG and IIDA Jan. 2015, 12).

3. Housing

According to sources, housing in Mogadishu is mainly rented (NRC 4 Mar. 2019) and the rental market is mainly informal (IIED and TANA Jan. 2019, 8; GSC Sept. 2017) without formal rental agreements (GSC Sept. 2017).

IDPs frequently live in informal camps in major cities and towns in Somalia (International Crisis Group 9 May 2017, 3) or in temporary sites on the outskirts of urban areas (UN Dec. 2017; NRC 4 Mar. 2019). A report on IDP evictions by the NRC and UNHABITAT in January 2018 indicates that most IDPs in Mogadishu live in informal settlements, rely on "informal oral agreements" and pay rent using cash, including using humanitarian supports; high rental and land costs in Mogadishu cause many to live in informal settlements (NRC, et al. 12 Jan. 2018, 1).

Sources report that IDPs and returnees tend to move to residences:

• in camps where they have family (Menkhaus Aug. 2017, 3);
• into areas near fellow clan members (Menkhaus Aug. 2017, 3; REF June 2018, 19);
• or close to dominant clans with whom they have affiliation and good relations (REF June 2018, 19).

The GSC fact sheet also explains that clan dynamics and a lessee's economic status impact IDPs' ability to rent housing: landlords consider it "more problematic to rent to poor people" and that 98 percent of landlords and 71 percent of IDPs were unwilling to accept rental agreements with someone from a different clan (GSC Sept. 2017).

According to the NRC legal specialist, to access the housing market, property owners "insist on having a guarantee" as part of any tenancy agreement, which is based on acquaintances and references, including clan protection; these are requirements that women from minority clans or without support networks would not normally meet (NRC 4 Mar. 2019). The gender advisor similarly stated that women cannot rent housing alone; even a Somali woman with a good education, who is employed and can support herself, will need a male relative in order to access housing in Mogadishu (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). The same source further noted that individual women who have relocated from other parts of Somalia to work for international organizations have difficulty renting housing because landlords require a male guarantor with family or clan ties (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). Sources report that minority IDP women frequently live in IDP camps and informal settlements with little access to humanitarian support (MRG and IIDA Jan. 2015, 18; Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019).

According to a post-eviction assessment report by the NRC, UNHABITAT and the Somalia Protection Cluster [7], forced evictions of IDPs and of poor households are a "severe and prevalent protection threat" in Mogadishu, where such groups live under "perpetual intimidation" and "constant threat" of forcible eviction (NRC, et al. 12 Jan. 2018, 1, 11). Forced evictions of IDPs involves both landlords and government actors, according to sources (GSC Sept. 2017; NRC, et al. 12 Jan. 2018, 12-13). Forced evictions occur daily in Mogadishu, described as the "epicenter" of forced evictions in Somalia (NRC, et al. 12 Jan. 2018, 2, 8, 11). In 2017, in Mogadishu alone, 153,682 people were forcibly evicted (out of 190,000 evicted IDPs across Somalia in 2017), including one "mass eviction" in December 2017 that accounted for 23 percent of the year's evictions (NRC, et al. 12 Jan. 2018, 5-6, 11). The UN Security Council's Secretary-General reports that between January and October 2018, over 235,000 people were forcibly evicted countrywide, mainly in Mogadishu and Baidoa (UN 21 Dec. 2018, para. 81). UNOCHA reports that female-headed IDP households were "susceptible to frequent evictions" (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 26). The NRC, UNHABITAT and Somalia Protection Cluster report found that 36.5 percent of female-headed households surveyed reported having disrupted livelihoods due to the evictions (NRC, et al. 12 Jan. 2018, 6).

4. Employment

According to REF, livelihoods and employment were constrained by weak labour markets and the high cost of living, in addition to "clan bias" (REF June 2018, 27). The NRC legal specialist stated that there are few women with stable financial status in Somalia, and explained that there is little distinction between the situation of host communities and IDPs due to general urban poverty in Somalia, though he said that IDPs are ''more vulnerable'' (NRC 4 Mar. 2019). A 2015 study on gender-based violence (GBV) in Somalia by the peacebuilding organization International Alert (IA) and the International Committee for the Development of People (Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli, CISP), an organization promoting human rights and development worldwide, similarly states that women and minorities have limited employment options in Somalia, which contributes to their risk of experiencing GBV (IA and CISP Oct. 2015, 2, 37).

According to the ReDSS, IDPs and returnees in Mogadishu from Kenya generally find it difficult to obtain the required references to obtain employment (ReDSS Mar. 2017, 31). Sources indicate that employment in the public sector (NRC 4 Mar. 2019) or opening a private business requires a guarantee from a clan representative (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019; NRC 4 Mar. 2019). Private sector employment is based on preference given to acquaintances and individuals with "strong and credible" references, including from clan members (NRC 4 Mar. 2019), or requires male support from relatives (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019).

UNICEF's Chief of Child Protection in Somalia stated that women without a network of protective clan affiliation will "struggle to identify livelihood opportunities," because community connections are the usual pathway to income (UN 1 Mar. 2019); this was corroborated by the gender advisor who remarked that women need to have established clan network support and endorsement from clan elders to obtain employment, which is difficult without connections (28 Feb. 2019). The NRC legal specialist explained that minority women with an education will encounter difficulties, while unskilled women with strong clan protection will have a greater chance of accessing employment than women without similar protection and support networks; educated women from a strong clan are in a better situation (NRC 4 Mar. 2019).

Employment for women was low and commonly in the informal sector (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019; REF June 2018, 28). According to the World Bank Group, women separated from community and family support increased their reliance on "marginal, inconsistent, and hazardous livelihood strategies" (1 May 2018, para. 180). Most female-headed households in IDP camps are employed in casual day labour for income generation (NRC, et al. 12 Jan. 2018, 6; UN 3 Jan. 2019, 26). UNOCHA wrote in 2019 that in female-headed households, women frequently had to leave their children at home to search for casual labour (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 26). Displaced women who were the "main breadwinner" in the IDP households surveyed by Oxfam in 2018 were notably working as maids, cleaners, street vendors, tailors, garbage collection, or on construction sites (Oxfam June 2018, 10). The MRG and IIDA report also gave examples of minority IDP women, often in female-headed households, who were frequently employed as domestic labourers, day labourers, garbage collectors, or hair dressers, for example, with a few engaged in small businesses (MRG and IIDA Jan. 2015, 20).

Sources report that women require male guarantors to obtain bank loans (World Bank Group 1 May 2018, 60; NRC 4 Mar. 2019), which women without clan support are unable to have (NRC 4 Mar. 2019). Similarly, the gender advisor explained that two male relatives are required as guarantors to obtain a bank account or a loan even for a self-sufficient woman because female guarantors are not taken seriously (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019).

5. Sexual Violence

According to the UN Independent Expert on human rights in Somalia, sexual violence in Somalia is "pervasive and carried out with impunity" (UN 19 July 2018, para. 58-59). According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017, sexual violence, including rape by security forces and militias, is particularly prevalent against female IDPs and minorities (US 20 Apr. 2018, 32). More specifically, sexual violence in IDP camps is described as "rampant" (International Crisis Group 9 May 2017, 2) or rape is described as part of "everyday li[fe]" (Bader 15 Apr. 2017). Displaced women and girls are described as being at particular risk of experiencing sexual and gender-based violence (NRC, et al. 12 Jan. 2018, 6; UN 3 Jan. 2019, 15; Oxfam June 2018, 8), especially in camps while using latrines, collecting water or aid or while bathing (Oxfam June 2018, 8). UNOCHA reports that 83 percent of reported GBV incidents were against IDP women and girls, compared to 15 percent of members of host communities in Mogadishu (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 28).

Working outside the home typically caused female breadwinners to be at higher risk of sexual and gender-based violence (Oxfam June 2018, 10; Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019), including harassment, threats, and verbal, sexual, and physical violence from men in the community or clans (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). The gender advisor added that women who are employed by international organizations working on taboo issues such as women's issues, GBV, or rape, "can attract risk" and "draw threats to life" from al-Shabaab, regardless of whether or not they have a support network (Gender advisor 6 Mar. 2019).

Sources state that due to the lack of livelihoods, displaced women engaged in:

• forced prostitution (Oxfam June 2018, 12);
• trafficking (Oxfam June 2018, 12; US 28 June 2018);
• child marriage (Oxfam June 2018, 12) or forced marriage (NRC 4 Mar. 2019);
• or are forced to take work that "subject[s] them to the risk of sexual violence" (Human Rights Watch 13 Feb. 2014).

6. Support Services

According to sources, there are no structured social welfare systems (UN 1 Mar. 2019) or formal government social protection programs in Somalia (World Bank Group 1 May 2018, 54). Rather, clan-based structures provide safety nets in the absence of state systems (World Bank Group 1 May 2018, 4). The state does not provide specific support services to female-headed households in Mogadishu to assist with housing and shelter (NRC 4 Mar. 2019; UN 1 Mar. 2019; Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). The gender advisor said that support for "vulnerable women" such as minorities and IDPs comes from humanitarian assistance provided by international organizations and NGOs (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). According to UNICEF's Chief of Child Protection in Somalia, support is from charity, the international community and diaspora resources; however, there are more support services provided by NGOs in Mogadishu than in other urban centres and rural areas (UN 1 Mar. 2019).

The UNICEF Chief said that NGOs in Mogadishu provide livelihood training and temporary shelters through safe houses (UN 1 Mar. 2019). The ReDSS report similarly explains that in Mogadishu, the most basic services and support that are provided by humanitarian organizations, NGOs and UN agencies have a "short-term emergency focus" on delivering life-saving interventions; support for employment tends to be "cash for work" programs with a limited duration of three to six months (ReDSS Mar. 2017, 24). The REF report indicates that according to its survey of IDPs, returnees, and Somali refugees, including those in Mogadishu, most respondents received some form of assistance but it was described as "extremely" limited and often "one-off" contributions (REF June 2018, 21).

According to UNOCHA, IDPs have lower access to basic services and humanitarian support than the rest of the population (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 26). The 2018 Oxfam survey report states that IDP women and girls lack access to specific support services, largely because there were very few such services, or because they were out of reach (Oxfam June 2018, 12).

6.1 GBV Support Services

According to sources, survivors of sexual and gender-based violence dealt with fear of reprisals, stigma, and difficulties accessing services (UN 3 Jan. 2019, 25; Human Rights Watch 13 Feb. 2014) or feared reporting incidents to authorities due to stigma, court costs, and use of traditional systems of justice, especially for minority victims (IA and CISP Oct. 2015, 39-40). Sexual violence against women is typically handled under the traditional clan-based justice system (Gender advisor 6 Mar. 2019; UN 6 Sept. 2017, para. 58; MRG and IIDA Jan. 2015, 22), providing "little protection" for minority women in particular, according to MRG and IIDA (MRG and IIDA Jan. 2015, 22). The Oxfam report explains that according to women interviewed for the survey, the customary law-based dispute resolution system "seems to prioritize maintaining relations within and between clans rather than justice for the individual survivors" (Oxfam June 2018, 13).

The UN Independent Expert on human rights in Somalia reports that the "weak legislative framework and the role of religion in the interpretation of women's rights" posed "grave challenges" and that traditional elders' role in adjudicating rape and sexual violence cases "left victims without a remedy," though family honour may be restored through payment of compensation (UN 6 Sept. 2017, para. 58-59). The Gender advisor explained that the payment is to the clan elders of the victim's family, not the victim or her immediate family, resulting in what the source described as "impunity" and a lack of protection for victims (6 Mar. 2019).

Without providing further details, the UN Independent Expert on human rights in Somalia states that the Attorney General's office established a sexual and gender-based violence unit, which has "made some progress, despite its limited capacity" (UN 6 Sept. 2017, para. 58). According to sources, female victims of sexual violence were not effectively supported by police (UN 1 Mar. 2019; Human Rights Watch 13 Feb. 2014). US Country Reports 2017 indicates that authorities "rarely" engaged formal mechanisms to address rape (US 20 Apr. 2018, 32).

Sources state that there are no government-supported shelters (UN 1 Mar. 2019; Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). According to the Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF Somalia, some safe houses exist in urban centres that are run with the support of the international community or through charity, and a woman has a "reasonable likelihood" to be referred to such services; however, service and outreach capacity is limited (UN 1 Mar. 2019). The gender advisor also stated that the two shelters run by NGOs in Mogadishu are over capacity, having four beds, but twenty women staying there (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019). The same source said that these organizations provide legal aid and vocational training, but noted that there is no system to transition women out of the shelter after their time has finished and that they will likely return to their husband or family; those without male relatives end up "destitute" or in another relationship (Gender advisor 28 Feb. 2019).

Examples of civil society organizations dealing with women's issues in Somalia include:

• The Somali Women Development Centre (SWDC) runs a human rights centre to monitor rights violations and provides legal aid (SWDC n.d.a) and support to "indigent groups," including women without family or clan connections (SWDC n.d.b);
• Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC), headquartered in Mogadishu, runs a GBV crisis centre that provides medical, psychosocial, and legal support to survivors (SSWC n.d.);
• Elman Peace, a non-profit group in Somalia, runs Sister Somalia, a rape crisis centre providing support to GBV survivors that provides psychosocial counselling and emergency medical care at centres in "various regions" (Elman Peace n.d.a). It also runs skills training for women and youth (Elman Peace n.d.b). The organization has supported IDP women by providing shelter in the centre in Mogadishu for women who have been raped and cannot afford medical assistance (Nobel Women's Initiative 8 Dec. 2016);
• The Association of Somali Women Lawyers (ASWL) is a Mogadishu-based organization that provides legal assistance, counselling, and training to "marginalized groups" (Namati 26 Feb. 2018).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organization working in 32 countries to deliver aid, advocate for displaced people, and provide services such as camp management, and support through food, water, shelter, legal aid, and education (NRC n.d.).

[2] The Danish Demining Group (DDG) is a unit of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) that operates in conflict-affected countries to create environments "'free from violence and remnants of conflict'" by working on issues including conflict management, mine action, small arms and light weapons management, and security system reform (DDG n.d.).

[3] The Joint IDP Profiling Service (JIPS) is an "inter-agency body to provide support to governments and humanitarian and development organisations seeking to improve locally owned information and analysis about displacement situations" (JIPS n.d.).

[4] The Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS) is a coordination and information hub coordinating 12 NGOs involved in research, advocacy and policy dialogue on durable solutions for IDPs in Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa (ReDSS Mar. 2017, ii).

[5] The Research and Evidence Facility (REF) is an EU-funded research consortium including the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, University of London) and Manchester University's Global Development Institute (REF June 2018, 2).

[6] The Global Shelter Cluster (GSC) is a coordination mechanism and platform co-chaired by the UNHCR and the International Federation of the Red Cross that supports people displaced by natural disasters and conflict to obtain safe and dignified shelter (GSC n.d.).

[7] The Somalia Protection Cluster "aims to provide a coherent, coordinated, accountable, and comprehensive response to the protection needs of civilians" in Somalia (UN n.d.). It includes some 130 organizations dedicated to the protection of human rights (UN n.d.).

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Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Danish Refugee Council; Human Rights Watch; International Alert; International Crisis Group; Intersos; Minority Rights Group International; Save Somali Women and Children; Somalia NGO Consortium; Somali Women and Development Centre; UN Women.

Internet sites, including: AllAfrica; Danish Refugee Council; EU – European Asylum Support Office; Factiva; The Guardian; Hiraan; International Organization for Migration; Intersos; The New York Times; Norway – Landinfo; Sweden – Lifos; UN – Refworld, ReliefWeb, UN Development Programme, UN Women.