Traditional Peacemaking in Sanaag Region, Somaliland

Abstract

This chapter describes the role of traditional peacemaking in the Sanaag region of Somaliland. The civil war in Somaliland spawned devastating inter‐ and intra-clan violence and political power struggles which caused the death and displacement of thousands. Over several years, peace initiatives were led by clan elders and community leaders, using xeer. The initiatives were largely successful because of the political will to make them succeed and the spirit of reconciliation; the way they worked upwards from grassroots level, and the fact that they were locally funded, with minimal government interference. However, there has been inadequate implementation of agreements, insufficient memorialization of victims, and lack of fair and effective governance. It is argued that local reconciliation processes are fragile and therefore vulnerable to external intervention. They must be locally owned, free from fixed agendas or deadlines, and work from the bottom up.