An official at the Embassy of the Republic of Djibouti in Washington, DC stated during a telephone interview on 4 May 1995 that military service is not compulsory in Djibouti. Further information from this source could not be obtained.

Country Reports 1993, which is available at your Regional Documentation Centre, indicates that in 1993,
the government continued with its discriminatory ethnic policy. Because of the President's policy of assigning key positions of authority to members of his tribal group, in particular to powerful advisers in his Cabinet, the Issa (the dominant Somali clan in Djibouti) control the ruling RPP [Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès], the civil service, and the military (79).

According to Country Reports 1994, also available at your Regional Documentation Centre,
the government continued to discriminate against citizens on the basis of ethnicity in terms of employment and advancement. The Issa (the dominant Somali clan in Djibouti) control the ruling party, the civil and security services, and the military (69).

The Indian Ocean Newsletter reports that on 26 December 1994, the government and the Front pour la Restauration de l'Unité et de la Démocratie (FRUD) signed a peace and reconciliation agreement (7 Jan. 1995, 4). Since 1991, government forces have been fighting the FRUD, an Afar-based insurgency movement that alleges discrimination against the Afars by the Issa-led government (Country Reports 1994 1995, 65). The 26 December 1994 peace agreement provides for, among other things, the integration of former FRUD combatants into the Djibouti regular army, thus, responding to one of FRUD's demands for "ethnic parity for Afars and Issas within national security organizations" (ibid.; ibid. 21 Jan. 1995, 2; 29 Oct. 1994, 2).

According to the Encyclopedia of the World 1992 edition, "the armed forces are almost entirely in Issa in membership" (1992, 495). The same source also indicates that "Afar demands for parity have been resisted by the Issa-dominated government and continue to plague efforts toward tribal harmony" (ibid.). For further information on the recruitment practices within the army and allegations of discriminatory practices against members of the Afar tribe before 1993, please refer to the attached extract from Ali Coubba's book entitled Djibouti: une nation en otage. Also attached is an 8 October 1993 article from Le Point reporting on the recruitment in the army of Somali combatants which may be of interest.

Information on penalties for desertion could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. However, for your information, attached please find a 5 March 1995 article from the Indian Ocean Newsletter and a 14 January 1994 Le Point article reporting on cases of desertions among regular army soldiers in the Northern part of Djibouti.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find attached the list of additional sources consulted in researching this information request.

References

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. 1995. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. 1994. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Embassy of the Republic of Djibouti, Washington DC. 4 May 1995. Telephone interview with official.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris]. 21 January 1995. No. 655. "Djibouti: Army Integration for FRUD."

_____. 7 January 1995. No. 653. "Djibouti: The Dove of Peace."

_____. 29 October 1994. No. 644. "Djibouti: Ismail Omar Gelleh's Peace."

Attachments

Coubba, Ali. 1993. Djibouti: Une nation en otage. Paris: L'Harmattan, pp. 196-197.

Encyclopedia of the Third World. 1992. 4th edition. Edited by George Thomas Kurian. New York: Facts on File, p. 495.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris]. 5 March 1994. "Djibouti: Murderous Firefights in the North," p. 4.

_____. 21 January 1995. No. 655. "Djibouti: Army Integration for FRUD," p. 2.

_____. 7 January 1995. No. 653. "Djibouti: The Dove of Peace," p. 4.

_____. 24 December 1994. No. 652. "Djibouti: Agreement with FRUD at Last," p. 2.

_____. 29 October 1994. No. 644. "Djibouti: Ismail Omar Gelleh's Peace," pp. 1-2.

Le Point [Paris]. 14 January 1994. "Désertion." (DIRB country file)

_____. 8 October 1993. "Recrutement." (DIRB country file)

Other Sources Consulted

Amnesty International country file. September 1993-present.

DIRB country file. September 1993-present.

On-line searches and oral sources.