Balqiis organises its work around four strategic pillars, each addressing a critical dimension of the peace, security, and human rights challenges facing Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa. Across all four, the approach is the same: we start with honest evidence, we take counsel from the communities most affected, and we follow the analysis wherever it leads — into policy dialogue, practical programs, capacity building, or all three. We are not attached to predetermined conclusions. We are attached to getting it right.
Meaningful participation in political and public life is fundamental to lasting peace and accountable governance. Yet across the Horn of Africa, structural barriers continue to exclude large parts of society — particularly women, youth, and marginalised communities — from the decisions that shape their lives. The consequences are real: exclusion fuels grievance, grievance fuels instability, and instability compounds the very conditions that make participation harder.
Through this pillar, Balqiis works to widen participation and strengthen leadership at every level. We conduct research on political inclusion and representation, facilitate dialogue platforms that bring diverse voices into policy conversations, and deliver coaching, mentoring, and leadership development programs that build the capacity of individuals and communities to engage meaningfully in public life. We are particularly focused on creating the conditions for women and youth to lead — not as beneficiaries of participation, but as its architects.
Respect for human rights and the protection of vulnerable populations are non-negotiable foundations of any just and stable society. Across the Horn of Africa, conflict, displacement, weak institutions, and impunity continue to expose communities to serious rights violations, with women, children, and displaced persons among the most affected. The gap between formal rights frameworks and lived reality remains wide, and the institutions tasked with closing it are often under-resourced, under-accountable, or both.
Balqiis works to strengthen protection systems and advance human rights through evidence-based research, policy advocacy, and constructive engagement with the institutions responsible for justice and accountability. We document rights challenges, analyse legal and institutional frameworks, and work with partners to develop practical, context-sensitive recommendations for reform. We approach this work not from the outside looking in, but as an institution rooted in the region with a stake in the outcomes.
The Horn of Africa is one of the world's most climate-vulnerable regions. Recurring droughts, floods, displacement, and intensifying competition over resources are not only humanitarian challenges — they are increasingly drivers of conflict, instability, and human rights violations. The communities least responsible for climate change bear the heaviest cost of it. And the institutions meant to protect them are rarely equipped to respond to threats that move faster than policy.
Balqiis brings a security and governance lens to the climate challenge. We research the links between climate stress and conflict, analyse policy responses, and work with communities and institutions to develop adaptation strategies that are locally grounded, inclusive, and built to endure. We pay particular attention to the experiences of women and youth — who are disproportionately affected by climate-related insecurity and whose leadership is not optional but essential to any meaningful adaptation.
Weak governance and institutional dysfunction are among the most persistent drivers of insecurity and injustice across the Horn of Africa. When institutions are unaccountable, opaque, or captured by narrow interests, the consequences ripple outward into security failures, rights violations, and the erosion of the public trust that durable peace depends on. Reform is possible, but it requires honest analysis of what is not working and why; analysis that is rarely produced by those with a stake in the status quo.
Balqiis works to support governance reform through rigorous research, honest policy analysis, and constructive engagement with institutions, policymakers, and civil society. We examine governance structures, track reform processes, assess institutional performance, and produce evidence-based recommendations designed to strengthen accountability, transparency, and public trust. We do this work with the independence to say difficult things and the regional depth to say them usefully.
We conduct rigorous, context-driven research to understand the structural drivers of insecurity, injustice, and exclusion — starting with the communities most affected.
We translate findings into policy briefs and facilitate inclusive dialogue that connects evidence to decision-makers at local, national, and regional levels
We design and deliver targeted programs — training, coaching, and mentoring — that strengthen the leadership and institutional capacity needed to drive change.
We follow through with partners across the Horn to ensure our analysis translates into practical, lasting outcomes — not just reports.
Balqiis works with a wide range of partners i.e research institutions, civil society organisations, government bodies, international agencies, and donors, who share our commitment to peace, security, and human rights across the Horn of Africa. If you are interested in collaborating, commissioning research, or supporting our work, we would love to hear from you.
Balqiis advances peace, security, and human rights across the Horn of Africa through research, dialogue, and action.
