The Right Path (Tubta Toosan) Initiative for Somalia held a two day workshop on 4th and 5th of May 2016 in Djibouti on Building a Strategic National Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Response for Somalia as part of the inclusive process to develop a national strategy on preventing and countering violent extremism in Somalia. Attendees of the workshop included representatives from Ministries of Internal Security, Information, Youth & Sports, Women & Human Rights, Justice, Religious Affairs, the National Defector Programme as well as representatives from the Federal member states of South West, Puntland, Jubbaland, Galmudug and Benadir region.
The Hon Mustafa Duhulow, the government-appointed CVE Coordinator who leads the Tubta Toosan Initiative for Somalia, thanked the participants for supporting the inclusive process to develop a national strategy on preventing and countering violent extremism for Somalia. Hon Duhulow said: “The objective of the two day workshop was to learn from experts on how to develop a national strategy. We heard presentations to the group on how other countries developed their CVE strategies, the importance of an effective communications strategy and the elements of International Good Practice in CVE, all of which will contribute to ensuring that the CVE Strategy for Somalia addresses the root causes and drivers of CVE in the country.”
Following two days of discussion between the representatives of the regions and the various ministries of the Federal Government of Somalia together with international experts formulated a Statement of Consensus and an agreed Action Plan for the Development of a National CVE Strategy for Somalia.
The Hon Mustafa Duhulow reiterated the importance of consulting with as many key stakeholders as possible in order to produce a final strategy that meets the distinct needs of Somalia. The Hon Duhulow noted: “The Federal Government of Somalia is committed to reaching out to all key stakeholders in the society, especially women, traditional leaders, the youth, religious leaders and civil society groups as well as the Diaspora, as the strategic integration of all those groups in the design and implementation of the national CVE strategy is vital to ensuring impact and long-term sustainability.”
The Tubta Toosan Initiative initiated the process to develop a national CVE strategy with the full support and at the direction of the leaders of the Federal Government of Somalia. Next steps will include further engagement with stakeholders and the sharing of a draft strategy for more consultation. As many Somalis as possible will be given the opportunity to make contributions to the strategy, including members of the Diaspora and through an online consultation where any citizen can offer their input.
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Please contact the Right Path (Tubta Toosan) team on cvesomalia@gmail.com or+252617885690
