Project Description:

The focus of the immediate support intervention is to build the capacity of the civilian police in the Puntland State of Somalia in a manner that compliments similar interventions in south and central Somalia with emphasis on improving command, control and management structures, and training. The intervention therefore contributes to stabilization in Somalia as a whole and the continuation of Puntland’s peacebuilding efforts.

Outputs and Key Activities:

This PBF contribution will allow the UN in Somalia to launch immediate support to critical elements of security sector reform in Puntland. It is an essential and timely component of efforts to establish stability throughout the Somali territory and in the fight against piracy. The contribution will be used to initiate a wider Security Sector Reform process, that will allow a rapid response to the urgent request made by the Puntland authorities to come strengthen law enforcement in critical areas of the country, including the coastal areas, in a framework that will also contribute to combating the culture of impunity, and answering the international call to counter the root causes of piracy.

Without the urgently required PBF contribution the security situation will deteriorate further with high probability. The PBF contribution will also be actively used to mobilize other donor contributions to support the wider security sector reform. Regular UNDP civilian policing programming is underway but is unable to respond to short term priorities flagged by the government on account of funding limitations.

Although Puntland- a semi-autonomous entity (state) which sees itself as a part of the wider federal Somalia- has made considerable progress towards improved security, it has been hampered by the continued lack of international support. Puntland has embarked on a self-driven process and is on troubled path towards lasting peace. The new administration has committed itself to supporting the peace efforts in south and central Somalia most recently through a signed agreement on 23 August with the TFG. The strategic importance of that understanding has been largely overlooked by the international community yet requires reinforcement and clear indications of support by donors. This urgently needed project offers a critical opportunity to engage with the Puntland authorities to arrest further short term deterioration of security in Puntland and at once kick start a viable process of security sector reform and work with new and credible, democratically elected authorities. It will lay the basis to further commit the Puntland Government to:

• Reform the police, with a focus on right sizing the police force to be a more manageable and effective force
• Assist in developing standards for the police and improving the capacity of officers to respect those standards
• Increase police effectiveness, accountability and oversight through strengthening linkages with the broader criminal justice chain, and developing the capacity within parliament and civil society to hold the police to account