Wednesday May 6, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — A three-day Somali Civil Society Conference on good governance and political stability wrapped up in Mogadishu on Wednesday, bringing together a wide spectrum of voices in a rare push for political calm and consensus. Held from May 3 to 5, the conference drew scholars, civil society umbrella organizations, women, youth, people with disabilities, media representatives, academics and traditional elders. Over the course of the sessions, participants examined Somalia’s political…

Monday April 27, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — As tensions persist between Somalia’s federal government and opposition leaders, civil society groups are backing a familiar force in Somali politics: traditional elders. At a press conference in Mogadishu on Sunday, Osman Moalim Shatax, chairman of a coalition of non-state actors, said civil society supports appeals from both sides to bring elders into the mediation process. Shatax said the elders are in a strong position to help restore confidence and steer the country toward a…

Monday April 27, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — As Somalia grapples with a widening political standoff, civil society groups are urging that traditional elders be brought to the forefront of efforts to bridge the divide between the federal government and opposition leaders. At a press conference in Mogadishu on Sunday, Osman Moalim Shatax, chairman of a coalition of non-state actors, said civil society supports recent appeals from both government and opposition figures for elders to take part in mediation. Shatax said the country’s…

Somalia is often framed through conflict and crisis. But the country’s most consequential emergency lies in the quiet, daily erosion of women’s safety, dignity and power. Gender-based violence is not a subplot to Somalia’s turmoil; it is a central driver of its fragility—and the clearest test of whether recovery is real or rhetorical. Strip away the headlines and a pattern emerges. Historically, wealth flowed through livestock held by men; women’s labor—processing and selling milk and ghee—sustained families but rarely…

Somalia’s politics is trapped in a loop. A generation of leaders has cycled through the same tactics, the same alliances and the same evasions, leaving the public unconvinced that there is any meaningful difference between those in office and those seeking it. That exhaustion is no longer just a mood; it is a structural risk to the state. When voters see no program, no transparency and no red lines on sovereignty, trust collapses. And when trust collapses, predatory actors — foreign and domestic — move in. Across the last…

EU–AU human rights talks expose a shared crisis of civic space — and an urgent test of the partnership When civil society leaders stood before officials from the African Union and the European Union in Brussels on 7 October, their message was stark and unvarnished: the basic infrastructure of civic life — independent media, watchdog organisations, protest — is under pressure on both continents. For a gathering meant to stitch together cooperation across two sprawling political orders, the warning was less an appeal than a…

In Senegal, the Collective of Casamance Executives show their support for the military operation launched since Sunday, March 13, by the Senegalese army in northern Casamance. The Senegalese army is…

In Madagascar, a dozen civil society organizations concerned within the well being sector are calling for extra funding within the battle in opposition to AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, a battle "hampered and overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic," they…

One hundred arrests took place on Thursday in Kinshasa, the result of an anti-drug police operation against the "bulge", a drug made with catalyst residues from exhaust pipes. The operation was initiated following the concerns expressed by the authorities about the harmful effects of the consumption of this drug, which is mainly used by young people. Three Tunisian citizens were among those arrested.…

We are very far from the imperative for reconciliation and dialogue, laments Drissa Bamba, chair of the Ivorian Human Rights Movement (MIDH). We deeply regret the muscular tone of political speech at this time. We must remember the violence that Côte d'Ivoire has felt. We're still a bit like hell. It is as if we still had corrupt outbursts from the leaders of the Ivorian political scene. Our political leaders must understand that the best weapon in Houphouetism is dialogue. But the dialogue is…