Somalia

In the midst of civil war and a collapsing government, The Carter Center closely monitored developments and looked for opportunities to resolve conflicts. 

Our Work and Methods

In 1993, after U.N. troops moved in to restore law and order in Somalia, President Carter quietly urged a return to the U.N.’s role as peacekeeper. 

President Carter declined to mediate a conflict between a local faction leader and the U.N. peacekeeping forces, but he passed along to U.N. officials the leader’s request for an independent commission to investigate violence in Mogadishu. 

Also in 1993, President Carter publicly urged the release of Michael Durant, a U.S. Army helicopter pilot being held hostage by a Somali military faction. 

Impacts

• When military action by U.N. peacekeepers resulted in the deaths of dozens of Somali citizens, the Center’s public denouncement helped highlight the need for the U.N. to refocus on its core duty to restore and maintain peace. 
• U.S. pilot Michael Durant was freed a week after President Carter issued a public statement. 

This project ended in 1993.

As the government was collapsing, The Carter Center looked for ways to strengthen human rights at the grassroots level.

In 1988, President Carter requested that President Mohamed Siad Barre commute the death sentences of eight members of a community group wrongfully targeted as a “subversive organization.”

Impacts

In January 1989, the Somali president arranged for a blanket amnesty for all political prisoners, which expedited the prisoners’ release.

This project ended in 1989.