Project Launch: Diaspora Humanitarianism in Complex Crises
Diaspora groups have emerged as key humanitarian actors in situations of protracted displacement and conflict. They are often the first to assist in acute emergencies and remain engaged during lengthy and complex crises. Their remittances reach remote areas and hard-to-reach populations, surpassing humanitarian aid sent to fragile states six times. On Friday 28 February, the […]
Food and Power in Somalia: Business as Usual?
Food and power in Somalia have been intimately linked for decades. From land grabs to the looting and diversion of aid to the geopolitics of the war on terror, food has played an important role in Somalia’s political economy. Although this has been examined in depth in the context of events in the 1990s, […]
Pre-Screening: Thank you for the rain
On 27 March 2017, the Rift Valley Forum hosted a pre-screening of the film Thank You For the Rain by Kenyan farmer Kisilu Musya and Norwegian filmmaker Julia Dahr. Thank You For the Rain, which premiered at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, documents Kisilu’s life as a farmer and the impact of climate change on his family […]
Empowered yet displaced
Every year since 2008, the world had become less peaceful. In the Horn and Central Africa, conflict threatens and destroys the lives, homes and jobs of millions of women, men and children, trapping them in a vicious cycle of violence, poverty and inequality. Efforts to address and prevent conflicts and disasters face serious obstacles. In […]
Freedom from intimidation, violence and corruption: International and national reflections ahead of Kenyan elections
The 2017 Kenyan general elections are scheduled for 8 August. Currently, politicians and political parties are in the midst of their campaigns. While the last elections were largely peaceful, allegations of voter-bribery, a challenging election timeline and questions over the IEBC’s capacity to manage the elections have increased concerns for violence. On 20 April 2017, […]
Strengthening Humanitarian Response in Insecure Settings
Conflicts produce large-scale humanitarian crises and are often characterized by high levels of instability and volatility. Nonetheless, humanitarian workers are expected to operate in these high-risk areas, where their security and performance are sometimes compromised. On 6 April 2017, the Rift Valley Forum launched the findings from the Secure Access in Volatile Environments (SAVE) study in Somalia […]
The political market place in South Sudan: Pathways to economic recovery
Since hostilities began in South Sudan in 2013, over 3.5 million people have fled their homes, of which 1.8 million have sought refuge from violence and food insecurity in neighbouring countries. A National Dialogue, launched in May 2017, has seemingly not yet managed to reduce the intensity of the violence, while the country’s economic situation […]
Superstate Africa: Kenya, Somaliland and the Ghost of Biafra’s Past
With more than 2000 ethnic groups in Africa and 50-odd states between them, there are certainly enough minority problems to go round. On 28 September 2017, the Rift Valley Forum, in collaboration with Storymoja, hosted lawyer and writer Chuma Nwokolo, to explore this year’s Storymoja’s theme, Black Peace. In this wide-ranging conversation, Nwokolo, a survivor of a massacre during the […]
Somali Women’s Political Participation and Leadership: Evidence and Opportunities
On 7 November 2017, the Rift Valley Institute, Social Development Direct (SDD), Forcier Consulting, University College London (UCL) and Nagaad Network hosted a panel to discuss the challenges and opportunities for women’s political participation and leadership in Somaliland in collaboration with the Presidential Election Observation Mission (EOM). The panel explored key findings from the SDD and UCL studies, which […]
Role of the International Electoral Observers: Somaliland Presidential Elections
Since the people of Somaliland declared independence on 18 May 1991, the country has enjoyed effective autonomy and established significant international cooperation and diplomatic ties with other countries. After adopting a multi-party political system in 2001, the people of Somaliland have organised two local council elections (2002 and 2012), one Parliamentary election (2005), and two […]