A celebration in Djibouti of the 25th anniversary of the Arta Conference…a symbol of Somali reconciliation | policy

Yesterday, Thursday, Djibouti commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Arta Somali Reconciliation Conference, which ended a decade of civil war in Somalia.

In 2000, the city of Arta, located 42 kilometers north of the capital, Djibouti, hosted the deliberations of the conference, while the government of Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh at the time played the role of mediator and facilitator of the negotiations, which resulted in the formation of the first internationally recognized Somali government after the fall of President Siad Barre’s regime in 1991.

The celebration was attended by leaders from the Horn of Africa region, including Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his predecessor, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and 4 former prime ministers of Somalia, along with the President of the African Commission, Mahmoud Ali Yusuf, the Executive Secretary of IGAD, Warqinah Gebayo, and the Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Mahmoud Al-Agozi, as well as hundreds of Somali citizens from various segments, including representatives who participated in the Arta Conference in 2000.

On the sidelines of the celebration, the President of Djibouti inaugurated the Peace Monument, which was erected on the heights of Arta as a symbol of hope and reconciliation.

The monument consists of a wide square overlooking the valley, in the middle of which is a bronze torch, in addition to an internal hall containing documents, pictures and certificates chronicling the conference and the Somali reconciliation process.

In his speech, President Guelleh stressed that celebrating the Arta Conference is not to brag about Djibouti’s achievements, but rather to confirm the role of the conference as a living model that can be inspired by in resolving conflicts in the region, announcing an initiative to transform the monument into a regional peace institute concerned with consolidating the culture of dialogue and researching mechanisms for peaceful settlement.

He explained that the institute will be a permanent platform for political dialogue and training a new generation of leaders and mediators capable of confronting the continent’s challenges.

The President recalled the moment of the birth of the Arta Conference in 2000, when Djibouti embraced hundreds of Somali figures from various movements and factions, and succeeded in forming the first internationally recognized Somali government after years of chaos and division, stressing that what was achieved at that time was the result of a pure African effort led by the people of Djibouti with a deep belief in the unity of the regional destiny.

Gehle stressed that the memory of the Arta Conference must remain a beacon for future generations, and evidence of the ability of Africans to address their disputes through their own efforts, pointing out that Arta is not just a memory, but a renewed message that peace is created by faith in dialogue, and that the unity of the peoples of the region is the guarantee of their common future.

Failure of previous initiatives

Throughout the 1990s, Somalia witnessed three major attempts at reconciliation, but all of them failed to achieve tangible results or establish a recognized legitimate authority.

In 1991, Djibouti launched the first initiatives following the fall of Siad Barre’s regime, which resulted in the formation of an interim government headed by Ali Mahdi Mohamed, but it quickly collapsed due to Mohamed Farah Aidid’s refusal to recognize it, which led to the escalation of the conflict.

Then came the Ethiopian initiative in 1996, when Addis Ababa sponsored negotiating rounds that brought together 26 Somali factions, but they failed as a result of sharp disagreements and a boycott by some parties, amid accusations of direct Ethiopian interference in Somali affairs.

In 1997, Egypt put forward an initiative that ended with the “Cairo Declaration,” which established a framework for future dialogue, but it was not translated into actual results due to the lack of funding, the division of militias, and the opposition of Ethiopia, which saw Cairo as a political opponent in the Somali file.

Despite numerous attempts, Somalia remained until the end of the nineties without a central government, immersed in chaos, amid the control of armed militias and the disintegration of state institutions, until the new Djiboutian initiative, led by President Ismail Omar Guelleh, came to break this stalemate and open a real door to national reconciliation.

Arta Conference…a purely African experience

After assuming the presidency in 1999, his generation succeeded in hosting the Somali National Reconciliation Conference, in the city of Arta in March 2000, with the participation of about 2,500 representatives of various tribes, clans, and civil, political, and religious bodies.

The conference was distinguished by being the first to bring together all components of Somali society away from the control of warlords. Regional and international organizations such as the African Union, the League of Arab States, and IGAD also participated in it.

The conference’s work lasted for about 5 months, during which the deliberations were divided into 3 interconnected stages: It began first with the stage of tribal reconciliation in which the foundations of understanding between the clans were laid, then it moved to the stage of drafting the interim constitution, which was undertaken by a committee of 67 Somali figures, before concluding with the stage of forming the parliament and government, where 245 deputies were elected, and Abdelkassim Salad Hassan was chosen as interim president of the country in August 2000, to become the country’s interim president. The first Somali president in more than a decade.

The conference received broad political support, as Ethiopia, Sudan, Yemen, and Eritrea participated in the inauguration ceremony of the new president, and Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE also welcomed its results, considering it an African achievement in resolving a long-standing conflict without external guardianship.

As for the United Nations, it officially announced the return of Somalia to its full membership, while the Organization of African Unity and IGAD confirmed that the step represents the return of the Somali state to the regional framework.

Djibouti…small diplomacy on big files

The success of the Arta Conference strengthened Djibouti’s position as a country with diplomatic influence beyond its geographical and demographic size.

It was able to achieve what the late French President Jacques Chirac described as “a historic achievement for a small country that was able to do what major countries could not do,” indicating that the value of countries is measured by their contributions, not by their area.

Despite the challenges, the Arta Conference remained a pivotal event in modern Somali history, as it restored international recognition of the Somali state and paved the way for a new phase of regional initiatives that were later completed in Kenya through the Mbagati Conference in 2004, which led to the formation of the second transitional government.

A quarter of a century after the Arta Conference, it is still viewed as the first successful African experience in making peace within the continent without direct external tutelage, as it paved the way for the institutions of the modern Somali state, and consolidated Djibouti’s position as a platform for regional dialogue and a reliable mediator in the crises of the Horn of Africa.