Embassy of Ireland in Kenya Forum
On 30 November 2016, the Rift Valley Forum hosted a forum with the Embassy of Ireland in Kenya on regional conflict dynamics in the Horn of Africa and East Africa. Guests included Ireland’s Minister for Diaspora and Overseas Development, Joe McHugh, Ireland Member of Parliament, Maureen O’Sullivan, and the Director General of Irish Aid, Michael Gaffey. […]
Sacred Causes
Key points • Efforts to negotiate peace in South Sudan have been hindered by the lack of a coherent international approach such as the Inter-Congolese Dialogue eventually enjoyed. • IGAD’s assumption of a mediating rather than a facilitating role and the conflicting interests of IGAD member states have rendered it ineffective. • IGAD should support […]
Research and Knowledge Systems in the Somali regions
On 15 and 16 March, the Rift Valley Forum and Oxford-based INASP convened a roundtable discussion on Research and Knowledge Systems within the Somali regions. The purpose of the meeting was to better understand he research and knowledge system in the Somali regions and explore ways of supporting Somali researchers and users of research-generated knowledge. The […]
Closing Dadaab
Key points • A sudden, forced repatriation of Dadaab’s 350,000 Somalis would violate Kenyan and international law, could destabilize Somalia and ultimately undermine Kenyan security. • Although Kenya will not forcibly repatriate Dadaab’s Somali residents, the government’s policy is to work for the camps’ closure and for the return of the residents to Somalia. • […]
Burundi at the Crossroads
Key points • The political crisis in Burundi risks escalating into civil war, with an ethnic dimension. • The response from governments in the region has been muted and equivocal. • Donor countries have cut back aid, which may exacerbate instability. • A new coup that normalized political processes might not be unwelcome, either to […]
Going on Tahriib report launch
More than one million people arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean in 2015. In Somaliland and Puntland, accounts of young people embarking on the hazardous journey via Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya, are widespread. In current parlance, these young people are said to be ‘going on tahriib’. Unlike previous migrations, tahriib is unique in that it […]
Coal: Energy, development and employment
The mining of Kenya’s coal deposits has started in earnest in line with Kenya’s aspiration to be a middle-income industrialized country by the year 2030. A key element in reaching this goal is the generation of energy to power industries and make electricity more widely accessible to the population in Kenya. Whilst the government is […]
South Sudan: Beyond the ceasefire
On Friday, 27 February 2015, the Nairobi Forum invited author Eddie Thomas to launch his new book South Sudan: A Slow Liberation in a panel discussion at RVI’s office in Nairobi. Peter Biar Ajak of the Centre for Strategic Analyses and Casie Copeland of International Crisis Group joined Eddie on the panel, which was chaired […]
The Economics of Elections in Somaliland
‘The information in the report is accurate and ‘spot on’ … there is a lot to learn from this important issue.’ SUAD IBRAHIM ABDI, PROGRESSIO, SOMALILAND ‘The study is unique in the research questions it raises and in the relevance and significance of its findings. It is one of the best studies of elections in […]
Following Mobile Money in Somaliland
‘This study provides an interesting and unusual insight into the state-building process in Somaliland. Taking Zaad—our everyday companion here in Somaliland—Iazzolino explores the intricate nature of private and public sector relations. Vividly mapping the landscape of the mobile money transfer system, he identifies the importance of trust as its foundation, and the role that banking, […]