Somali Magazine – The Somali admission has mandated the East Africa Community bloc to fix security across the Horn of Africa under the region’s strategy, which seeks to guide regional-level interventions in the peace and security sector to respond to the nature and form of the ever-evolving security threats.
As an eighth member admitted to the EAC, Somalia is submitting a baggage of security concerns to the bloc, which includes Al Shabaab terrorism, proliferation of small arms, and smuggling-related insecurity via the open 3,000km shoreline—Africa’s longest—which could present a new security headache for the region.
Experts say that Somalia would enjoy security privileges under the EAC Peace and Security Strategy similar to those of the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo after regional forces were deployed last year to provide reinforcement.
“We have already seen this happen in the DRC, challenges notwithstanding,” says a Ugandan regional security expert. “There is nothing that would stop EAC pursuing the same mandate in Somalia, which doesn’t require the UN’s endorsement.”
Since 2007, Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi troops have been massively contributing to the United Nations Security Council-mandated 19000-strong African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) force, fighting al-Shabaab.
Even with the expiry of Atmis in December 2024, the TCC leaders agreed to continue offering support to Somalia for stability. The leaders reached an agreement after meeting at State House Entebbe, Uganda, in April this year.
Deployment of forces to Somalia will, however, be under bilateral or regional arrangements if the Horn of Africa nation is admitted to a regional security pact by the time of the UN-mandated force’s exit.
“It means it is up to individual countries to support Somalia. It’s now going to be bilateral or another form of arrangement,” says Dismas Nkunda, regional security analyst.
The EAC has for the last decades rejected Somalia’s application to join the bloc, saying it did not meet eligibility criteria due to governance, security, rule of law, and social justice challenges—which experts say still exist—but have now been waived as the region seeks a mandate to fix the troubled country.
This is on the basis of security threats that have resulted from the heightening of terrorism and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, fueling insecurity in the EAC region in places like Wajir, northern Kenya, Uganda’s Karamoja sub-region, and South Sudan.
Since its inception in 1999, the EAC has taken bold steps to create a framework and structures to address issues of peace and security. However, the effectiveness of the structures has been hampered by the absence of clear strategic direction in the critical areas of cooperation.
Article 124 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community recognises the need for peace and security within the East African Partner States. The same article spells out wide-ranging approaches for implementation in order to have a stable and secure environment within the region. This kind of environment is geared towards promoting the development and harmonious living of the people of East Africa.