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Dgexpo/B/Poldep/Note/2008 /176 October 2008 NOTE Background Note on Djibouti for EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INTERNAL USE ONLY

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Dgexpo/B/Poldep/Note/2008 /176 October 2008 NOTE Background Note on Djibouti for EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INTERNAL USE ONLY DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EXTERNAL POLICIES OF THE UNION DIRECTORATE B - POLICY DEPARTMENT - NOTE Background note on Djibouti Abstract: Djibouti, the last of France's colonies on mainland Africa, was finally granted independence in 1977. One of Africa's smallest countries, Djibouti nevertheless occupies a strategic location in the Horn of Africa. Its deepwater harbour at the southern entrance to the Red Sea commands the passageway to the Suez Canal for vessels to and from the Persian Gulf or the Indian Ocean, and acts as the terminus of rail traffic to and from Ethiopia. Djibouti's economy is therefore based on services (mainly port revenues) and annual contributions by the US and France in exchange of using Djibouti's strategic location as military basis. Since its independence Djibouti has had only two presidents: Hassan Gouled Aptidon (1977- 1999) and Ismaël Omar Guelleh, his nephew and former chief of staff (1999 to date). Both belong to the Issa (Somali) ethnic group and there is a certain degree of resentment amongst the second main ethnic group (Afar-Eritreans), despite their partial inclusion in the government and in the National Assembly. Although political pluralism is constitutionally enshrined, Djibouti's particular electoral system has banned until now parliamentary representation of opposition parties, which are fragmented, weak and undermined by governmental practices. Djibouti is one of, if not the only one, stable and peaceful country in the Horn of Africa, and has been trying for years to play a positive mediation role in the Somalia conflict. This oasis of stability has been recently threatened by the escalation of violence over the border dispute with Eritrea in June 2008, still not resolved. Despite continued economic growth over the past years (7% forecast for 2009) poverty in Djibouti is widespread, with 42 % of the population estimated to live in absolute poverty. International investors and donors, mainly Arab countries, have been generous with Djibouti. Any opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. FOR EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INTERNAL USE ONLY DGExPo/B/PolDep/Note/2008 /176 October 2008 This note was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Development. This paper is published in the following languages: English Author: Anna Caprile Directorate-General External Policies Policy Department [email protected] Manuscript completed in October 2008 Copies can be obtained through: E-mail: [email protected] Brussels, European Parliament, October 2008 2 CONTENTS I. BASIC INFORMATION II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND POLITICAL SITUATION III. GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM IV. EXTERNAL RELATIONS V. SOCIO-ECONOMIC OVERVIEW VI. EU-DJIBOUTI RELATIONS SOURCES Agences Djiboutienne d'Information - www.adi.dj All Africa online news network - www.allafrica.com Amnesty International - www.amnesty.org.uk BBC News Country Profile Djibouti, Timeline Djibouti - //newsvote.bbc.co.uk CIA World Factbook 2002 - www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/dj.html Council of the European Union - www.ue.eu.int/newsroom Economist Intelligence Unit, Country Reports and Country Profile, www.eiu.com European Commission Rapid News Network - //europa.eu.int/rapid/cgi/guesten.ksh European Commission, DG Development and Cooperation - //europa.eu.int/comm/development European Commission, Country Strategy Paper for Djibouti, 2008-2013 European Parliament - www.europarl.eu.int EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly - www.europarl.eu.int/intcoop/acp FAO Human Rights Watch - www.hrw.org Inter-Parliamentary Union Djibouti Profile - www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2089.htm World Food Programme, Country Brief Djibouti World Markets Research Centre Country Report Djibouti - www.wmrc.com UN Humanitarian Information Unit: IRIN - www.irinnews.org 3 4 I. BASIC INFORMATION Official name: République de Djibouti Area: 23,000 sq km Population1: 833,000 (UN, 2007), of whom 87 % leave in cities Annual population growth rate: 1.7% Capital: Djibouti-ville (596,000). Other towns: Ali Sabieh (22,000); Dikhil (16,000); Arta (11,000); Tadjoura (9,000) Ethnic groups: Issa Somalis 60%, Afar Eritreans 35%, Arab, Ethiopian, French and Italian 5% Languages: French and Arabic (official), Somali and Afar are widely spoken Religion: Sunni Muslim 94%, Christian 6%. Although the constitution establishes that the official state religion is Islam, freedom of religion is respected. Currency: Djibouti franc (Dfr), pegged to the US dollar at Dfr177.72:US$1 since 1973. GDP per capita2 (USD, 2007): 880 GDP per capita3 (USD at PPP, 2007): 2,063 Human development ranking4: 149 (out of 177) Form of state: Unitary republic Independence: 27th June 1977 (formerly French Somaliland, later renamed as The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas) President: Ismaël Omar Guelleh (elected in 1999, reelected for a second and, in principle, final term in 2005). National legislature: National Assembly; 65 deputies, elected by universal suffrage, serve a five- year term; the UMP coalition holds all the seats Next (and previous) presidential elections: 2011. Previous presidential elections took place in April 2005 Next (and previous) parliamentary elections: 2013. Previous legislative elections took place in February 2008 and 2003 Regional administration: 5 districts: Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura Strategic location: One of Africa's smallest countries, Djibouti nevertheless occupies a strategic location in the Horn of Africa. Bordered by Eritrea to the north, Somalia to the south and Ethopia to the west, Dibouti has 314 km of coastline and a deepwater harbour along the Gulf of Aden and the mouth of the Red Sea, near some of the world's busiest shipping lanes and close to the Arabian oilfields. It lies at the southern entrance to the Red Sea at Bab-el-Mendab, which commands the passageway to the Suez Canal for vessels to and from the Persian Gulf or the Indian Ocean. Djibouti also acts as the terminus of rail traffic to and from Ethiopia. Climate and terrain: Djibouti consists mostly of volcanic desert and has a climate that is torrid and dry. The hottest months are June to August, with temperatures between 31C and 41C, and the coldest month is January, with temperatures between 23C and 29C; there is virtually no arable and only 10 sq km of irrigated land. The small rural population (17%) is predominantly nomadic. Natural hazards include earthquakes and droughts. 1 Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division, data for 2007. Data on total population are rather divergent, from 0.5 million (CIA) to 0.85 (EIU) 2 EIU 3 Idem 4 UNDP 5 II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND POLITICAL SITUATION Populated by various tribes including the Afars from eastern Ethiopia and the Issas from Somalia, Djibouti had been under the control of Afar sultans prior to colonisation by the French, who acquired the port of Obock in 1862 and established French Somaliland in 1888. Djibouti City was begun in 1888 and soon designated the official outlet of Ethiopian commerce. By 1917, the railway connecting the port of Djibouti with the Ethiopian hinterland had reached Addis Ababa and Djibouti thus assumed its strategic and commercial importance in the region. In 1946, Djibouti was made an overseas territory within the French Union, with its own legislature and representation in the French Parliament. Anti-colonial demonstrations by the Issas in 1949 came to nothing, because control of local government was given to the pro-French Afars, and in 1958 Djibouti voted to join the French Community. Similarly, a 60% vote for continued French rule in 1967 was achieved largely by the massive expulsion of ethnic Somalis (Issas) and the arrest of opposition leaders, which caused serious riots in the capital. French authorities renamed the country the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, but this gesture was not sufficient to prevent further disturbances, and by the early 1970s many of those expelled had joined the Somali Coast Liberation Front, whose tactics included the use of bombs. Following further huge demonstrations in support of the opposition, the pro-French Afar government resigned in 1976 and Djibouti, the last of France's colonies on mainland Africa, was finally granted independence in 1977. After independence: The first elections were won by the People's Progress Assembly/Popular Rally for Progress (RPP) party, whose leader, Hassan Gouled Aptidon (an Issa Somali), became the first president of Djibouti. Initially it seemed as if the RPP, which enjoyed a balance between the two main ethnic groups, could unite the Afar and Issa peoples. Despite the resignation from the government of five Afars, including Prime Minister Ahmed Dini, political stability was maintained by a complex web of personal and clan patronage under the aegis of the party. However, by 1981 President Hassan Gouled had installed an authoritarian one-party state dominated by his own Issa community. Civil war and recurrent tension in the 1990s: Afar resentment at the Issa-dominated goverment prompted an armed insurgency by the Front pour la Restauration de l'Unité et de la Démocratie (FRUD) in the north of the country in late 1990, leading to four months of bloodshed and hundreds of casualties. The Afar rebellion, led by Mr Dini, spread rapidly. With Arab funding, the government managed to regain control of the north by mid-1993, although an estimated 80,000 civilians had already been displaced by the fighting. Although Gouled, under French and international pressure, conceded the introduction of a limited multiparty system in 1992 (with a maximum of four contesting parties), the FRUD rebels were not allowed to participate. Under the voting system in Djibouti, the party with a majority in each of the country's five districts is awarded all of that district's seats. Despite receiving significant support in the 1992 elections, therefore, neither of the permitted opposition parties (the PRD and the PND) actually gained any seats, and by the time of the 2003 election the PND had joined the presidential coalition.
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