Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

local clan conflicts, which are usually over land. We provided support to the
Somaliland security services, to help reduce the conflict on the Puntland/Somaliland
border.
Protection of civilians
There was no improvement in the protection of civilians in 2010. The Transitional
Federal Government was extremely limited in its capacity to provide adequate
protection for Somali citizens and civilian casualties, and forced displacement
continued to rise. Although many people were able to return home only a few weeks
after fleeing, others are displaced for much longer. More than 1.46 million people
were displaced at the end of 2010, including 410,000 people in the Afgooye corridor
near Mogadishu – the highest concentration of internally displaced persons in the
world. There were also more than 600,000 Somali refugees in the region. With
4,000 arrivals a month, Kenya was hosting more than 338,000 refugees by the end
of 2010, including 268,000 in Dadaab – the largest refugee camp in the world.
Displaced people often lose their clan protection when they are forced to move to
other parts of the country, leaving them more vulnerable. There were numerous
reports in 2010 of the abuse and rape of women, particularly those from minority
groups, in internally displaced persons camps. Repeated displacement, violence
and killings were also frequently reported. Conditions in the camps, where access
for humanitarian agencies is difficult, are often appalling, with severe overcrowding in
unsanitary surroundings.
The UN estimates that 2 million people in Somalia, or 27% of the population, require
emergency humanitarian or livelihood support. This includes the 1.46 million
internally displaced people, most of whom are in southern and central Somalia
where access for humanitarian agencies is most difficult. In the financial year
2010/11, we provided almost £20 million in support to humanitarian agencies,
including UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and a number of
NGOs such as Oxfam, Action Against Hunger and MedAir to reach more than
700,000 vulnerable Somalis, including internally displaced persons, with emergency
assistance such as clean water, health care, food and shelter.
281