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WHO WE ARE
Somali Minority Rights & Aid
Forum – SOMRAF, is a not for
profit human rights, aid &
development oriented
organization founded in 2008. It
was established by persons
dedicated to improve the
degraded conditions and rights
of the underprivileged Minority
groups in Somalia and
Somaliland. SOMRAF seeks to help
the minority communities in
creating sustainable solutions
to the problems they faces, and
progress away from absolute
poverty, marginalization and
unemployment.
VISION
- To enable minorities groups to
challenge inequality and social
exclusion, discrimination and
ensure their civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights.
- To counter racial
discrimination and social
exclusion and build the
capacities of vulnerable
minority groups in terms of
improving their situation educationally, socially, economic, and
political by alleviating poverty
through sustainable
development & skill development.
- To build the capacity of
SOMRAF in advocating for
minority rights in the Horn of
Africa, and promote the human
rights
and fundamental freedoms of oppressed minority communities living
across East and Horn of Africa
(Somalia/Somaliland,
Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti).
- To strengthen the monitoring
and advocacy work on human
rights for minorities and
suppressed groups and promote
their public participation at local, national and international level.
- Support Community - based
activities and initiatives on
promotion and protection of the
rights groups, including support
to projects linked to access to education, health-care, poverty
reduction initiatives and other
livelihood programs.
MISSION OF SOMRAF
- Advocacy for the promotion and
protection of the rights and
freedoms of Somali minorities
living inside Somali
communities and across the Horn of Africa (Somalia/Somaliland, Kenya,
Ethiopia and Djibouti).
- It addresses primarily the
needs of the disadvantaged and
vulnerable people: the youth,
children and women by providing
them, social services, education & skills training, income generation and
advocacy initiatives.
- Contextualize the
situation of Somali minorities
living in Somalia/Somaliland,
Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia,
and strategize
for short and long term intervention measures for the promotion and
protection of their rights and
freedoms in the
national and international human rights frameworks
LOCATION(s) OF SOMRAF
- Somalia/Somaliland,
Djibouti
- Kenya and Ethiopia.
ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
- To explore issues relating
to protection of minorities,
programs & mechanisms available
within international standards
as
well as identifying new and creative solutions.
- To combat racial
discrimination, improve the
access of Somali Minorities to
justice and to increase their
capacity to
defend their rights, and enhance accountability and good practice among
target communities, the
Somali/Somaliland
Government and other development actors to achieve justice in
development.
- To develop country advocacy
strategy plans in all of the
regions linked with training on
advocacy and media tools.
- To develop and disseminate an
appropriate legal framework and
other tools related for minority
best practices in poverty
reduction, including action research training, support to projects
linked to access to education,
healthcare, livestock
improvement etc.
PHILOSOPHY AND ORGANIZATIONAL
VALUE
- We need to see
marginalized minority community
groups participate in the
country's social, economic, and
political
development.
- We are committed to serve
needy communities in
inaccessible areas.
- We value accountability and
transparency in networking.
- We believe in teamwork,
commitment, knowledge sharing,
trust and mutual respect.
- We strive for innovation and
creativity in the community
development arena.
- Equality of opportunities for
all citizens and combat
prejudice.
MAIN ACTIVITIES
- To focus and address the
primarily needs of the
disadvantaged and vulnerable
marginalized minority
communities in
Somalia which are among the world’s poorest people, and the most
disadvantaged people among
Somali population who
live below the poverty line. 
- Strengthening the
capacities of Somalia minority’s
handicrafts which are cultural &
traditional activities engaged
in by
rural & urban youth of both genders, from generation to generation
in almost all districts and
Regions of Somalia using
locally available raw materials & techniques with limited products
differentiation as their numbers
have diminished
considerably due to the conflict, social exclusion as most of the
minority communities are
illiterate, many are landless,
and are exploited by outside moneylenders. They live in what an ILO
calls an ‘evil circle of
economic and social
marginalization’.
- Training on rights based
approaches to economic, social,
cultural development and
introduce modern techniques &
machinery to main activities
related to traditional
occupations performed by these
communities.
- Develop a recovery programs
and sustainable development
projects to re-produce,
basketry, mats, hand-crafts &
agricultural tools, small hand
industries, fishing, boat
building, blacksmith, carpentry,
tannery, shoe-making, leather
producing, farming, tailoring,
hair dressing & all other jobs
which are considered by Somalis
as a menial casts work or
tasks.
- Develop appropriate policies,
strategies and actions for the
elimination of caste based
discrimination and similar forms
of
discrimination based on work and descent to all occupational minority
groups.
- Undertake research and
documentation on discrimination
in access to political, economic
and social rights for Somali
minorities in Somalia/Somaliland, Ethiopia, Djibouti & Kenya.
- Support Community - based
activities and initiatives on
promotion and protection of the
rights of Somali Minorities
including support to projects linked to access to education, healthcare,
poverty reduction initiatives.
- Strategic linkages between the
Somali minority groups and the
wider international community
for sharing of best
practices in the promotion and protection of the rights and freedoms of
minorities.
- Expose the discrimination and
marginalization of the Somali
minorities for urgent and long
term intervention by the
regional and international community, through advocacy and lobbying for
the legal and political
recognition of Somali
minorities and their status.
- Development and dissemination
of framework and tools for
minority best practices in
poverty reduction and human
rights
protection.
- Develop country, regional and
international advocacy strategy
meetings linked with trainings
on advocacy and media
tools, including network meetings, advocacy briefs, joint local donor/IGO/NGO
consultations, local and
national
government initiatives, as well as interventions with international
policy makers (EU, UNDP, World
Bank).
- Initiate and inter bilateral
partnership relation that
linkages SOMRAF with government,
international NGOs, UN
Organizations and other development partners to establish
micro-finance scheme for the new
and Implement an
Enterprise-based Vocational Training for the youth, community-based
organization (CBO) and to
establish their group
owned income-generating project (IGP).
MINORITY GROUPS TARGETED
- Generally addressing and
targeting all Somali minority
groups which are totaling
2,000,000 according to a study
on
Minority Groups in Somalia published by the United Nations Coordination
Unit (UNCU) and the Office for
the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Somalia in September 2002.
- Targeted groups & clans are
classified in to A & B :-
- Group A (Yibir, Madhiban, Muse
Dhariyo, Tumaal, Yahar, Jareer/Bantu),
Jaaji & Baajuun), which are the
Most socially
excluded groups in Somalia.
- Group B (Banadir, Ajuuraan,
Reer Awhasan, Meheri, Arab
Somali, Garjante, Ashraf etc)
which are not facing any social
exclusion and discrimination.
SOMRAF GOVERNANCE DEVELOPMENT
SOMRAF are moving towards
reforming its structure and role
in order to ensure that the NGO
have a clear direction and
strategy of where it currently
is, and where it would want to
be in the next few years.
Accordingly, SOMRAF is governed
by an Advisory Board
(Consultative Board) a
Management Team as per the
attached chart.
- The advisory board of SOMRAF
is the supreme organ of the
organization polices commands,
empowers, investigates and
evaluates every other organ and Post of Responsibility of the
Organization. This supreme organ
of the organization is
consisting of 14 unpaid members who are representing the targeted
minority clans of Somalia.
Besides another 14
members are honorable members which are selected from non Somali
Minority clans who have made
public advocacy
campaigns and made contribution toward Somalia minorities. The
board defines the relationship
and interaction of the
organization with other organizations and with the general public.
- The management team is headed
by the Chairman who works
together with the Program
Director, the Coordinator, the
Financial Secretary, the Administrative Secretary, and the various
assistants. This Team is
responsible for carrying out
the Developmental Operations of the organization. The
Administrative Tasks,
Developmental, Projects &
Activities of
SOMRAF are entrusted to this organ for efficient management.
APPROACH & ACTIONS
- Strengthening capacities
of Somali minorities to advocate
for their rights, hold
governments accountable, and
participate more effectively in safeguarding the social, political,
economic and cultural rights of
Somali Minorities.
- Explore appropriate Legal
definition and recognition of
Somali minority groups in
Somalia/Somaliland, Kenya,
Ethiopia and
Djibouti.
- Engage positively &
constructively with local,
regional & international
governments and actors on
developments issues, peace &
reconciliation initiatives,
awareness and situational
analysis of the Somali
Minorities across the region.
- Explore and adopt appropriate
affirmative action applicable to
Somalia and adopt other policies
favorable for the
development and protection of the rights of Somali minorities.
- Enhanced participation of
Somali minorities in all aspects
of public life equal to all
other citizens critical being
representation in executive bodies and as deputies in assemblies
- Governments and development
actors take action to review
strategies and actions to
achieve more equitable poverty
reduction.
- Collaborate effectively will
bodies involved in Minority
Rights issues such as MRG, UNIE,
UNHCHR, HRC and others, and
building strong relation regarding minority issues. |
Somalia/Somaliland,
