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1 1 (September 4, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbaxv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Cogesoa Reeac Seric September 4, 2019 Djibouti The small, arid East African country of Djibouti is strategically located along one of the world's busiest shipping routes on the Bab el Mandeb Strait, which serves as the gateway from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The country has increasingly become a hub for foreign militaries. It is home to U.S. Africa Command's Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), based at Camp Lemonnier, the only enduring U.S. military installation in Africa. A former French colony, Djibouti also hosts a sizable French military presence and provides facilities for multinational anti- piracy operations off Somalia's coast. In 2015, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) opened a liaison office in Djibouti to enhance regional anti-piracy efforts. Japan established its first post-World War II overseas military base there in 2011. China opened its first military base abroad there in 2017. Italy also maintains military facilities in the country. With almost no arable land, few natural resources, and little industry, Djibouti's economy depends heavily on its services sector and trade through its busy international port complex. Rents and related revenue from foreign militaries are an important source of revenue. The country is pursuing an ambitious agenda to transform itself into a commercial trade hub for the broader region. Neighboring Ethiopia, a landlocked country of over 100 million people, relies on Djibouti for the transit of 90% of its formal trade, recently facilitated by a new Chinese-built rail line between the two countries. China's growing engagement with Djibouti is multi-faceted, ranging from major investments in infrastructure to China's establishment, in Djibouti, of a geostrategic naval base. China, which holds a majority of Djibouti's external sovereign debt, considers the country as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to connect countries to Chinese global trade routes. (For more detail, see CRS In Focus IF1 1304, China's Engagement in Djibouti.) Humanitarian and Development Situation Situated along Somalia's north-west border and across the Mandeb strait from Yemen (Figure 1), Djibouti is host to more than 29,000 refugees and asylum seekers fleeing conflict in neighboring states. Many refugees transit via Djibouti to other countries, given limited access to livelihood opportunities there. Djibouti's own population of just under a million people grapples with chronic drought, which contributes to a high prevalence of acute malnutrition. More than 80% of its food is imported. Djibouti is categorized as a lower-middle-income country, but it ranks near the bottom of the U.N. Development Program's Human Development Index (172 out of 188 countries). The official unemployment rate is nearly 40%, and more than 20% of the population lives in extreme poverty. Female genital mutilation/cutting is prevalent. Figure I. Djibouti Source: CRS, using ESRI and U.S. State Department data. Political Situation President Ismal Omar Guelleh has led Djibouti since 1999, when he was elected after the retirement of the country's first president, Hassan Gouled Aptidon (Guelleh's uncle). Critics argue that Guelleh's government is authoritarian and corrupt. His political opponents contend that opening the country to foreign bases has shielded the president from greater Western criticism of abuses, allowing Guelleh to tighten his hold on power, despite public discontent. In 2010, near the end of Guelleh's second term in office, the parliament amended the constitution to abolish term limits. He has since won reelection two more times, in 2011 and 2016 (despite having vowed that his 2011 reelection would be his third and final time). The 2016 election, which he won with nearly 88% of the vote, was marred by reports of government harassment of opposition supporters and restrictions on freedom of assembly and the press. Opposition parties, some of which boycotted the elections, asserted that the results were rigged. The next presidential polls are scheduled for 2021. Guelleh's governing Union for the Presidential Majority coalition (UMP after its French acronym) maintains an overwhelming majority in parliament, and power within the coalition is heavily concentrated in the president's own party. The main opposition parties boycotted the most recent parliamentary elections, in early 2018. The State Department's latest human rights report cites government abridgement of the ability of citizens to choose or influence significantly their government as a key issue. The report highlights arbitrary arrests of opposition members, journalists, academics, and demonstrators; suppression of the opposition; and restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly. The report also suggests that officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. ongressgc 0

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