From Remembrance to National Resolve: A Strong Start for Somalia’s First National P/CVE Conference, and the Road Ahead

Incidental Brief | October 2026

Bottom line

Somalia has taken a significant step. In convening its first National Conference on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, TUBSAN brought the country together around a single message and a shared commitment to act. The task now is to turn that momentum into delivery, and the foundations for doing so are in place.

What was achieved

On 14 and 15 October 2026, the Federal Government, through TUBSAN, convened the conference in Mogadishu on the ninth anniversary of the Zoobe attack. Federal and state officials, religious and traditional leaders, survivors and bereaved families, women, youth, persons with disabilities, civil society, the private sector, media and international partners took part. Putting survivors and bereaved families at the centre of a national conference was a mark of dignity and seriousness. The joint communiqué issued on 15 October reflects that breadth.

What the conference settled

• Prevention is a task for the whole of society, grounded in the rule of law, human rights, inclusion and accountability.
• Remembrance is part of prevention, and survivors are partners in it.
• Federal, state and local institutions will coordinate, and partners are invited to align support with Somali-set priorities through government-led mechanisms. This reinforces Somali ownership.
• 14 October is proposed for formal consideration as a National Day of Remembrance and National Resolve.
• Prevention will be locally led, drawing on credible religious, community, women’s and youth voices, with early warning, education and psychosocial support.

Particular strengths

• Unity of purpose. Federal and state actors signed on to one message.
• Accountability built in. The communiqué commits to indicators, periodic review and a public update before each annual observance. Few national processes promise this at the outset.
• Clear ownership. TUBSAN has taken responsibility for consolidating outcomes and leading the follow-up.

The way forward

1. Use the communiqué as the reference text. Share it with every Federal Member State and partner as the common basis for coordination.
2. Issue the follow-up framework within 90 days. Name a lead institution for each commitment, with milestones and reporting through TUBSAN.
3. Agree a short set of indicators. Examples: survivor support delivered, state coordination meetings held, community prevention projects funded.
4. Settle the route for the National Day. Identify the body and legal step needed so 14 October is recognised before the 2027 observance.
5. Build on the foundation with a defector pathway. The next natural step is a clear route covering screening, prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration, so prevention and justice reinforce each other. The Nairobi DDR Symposium on 23 to 27 November is a good place to learn from regional peers.
6. Convene one partner table. Partners have been invited to align, and a single government-led forum would make that easy to do.
7. Publish the first public update before 14 October 2027, as the communiqué commits.

The measure of success

By the 2027 anniversary, a citizen should be able to see what was promised, who owed it, and what was delivered. With the groundwork laid in Mogadishu, Somalia seems well placed to show that.

Time will tell.

FPS: Fostering Thoughts; Forging Futures.