Somalia
The
Transitional Federal Government is committed to upholding the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and to preventing human rights abuses in areas of
its control. However, it lacks the power
and capacity to deal effectively with many of the systematic human rights
abuses that occur. Successful
presidential elections were held in Somaliland and were judged by international
observers to have reflected the will of the voters. The new government in Somaliland made a
commitment to improving the human rights situation there.
Continued
opposition from insurgent groups in southern and central Somalia prevented the
Transitional Federal Government from extending its authority beyond
approximately half of the capital city, Mogadishu. Insurgent groups, such as al-Shabaab,
remained in control of much of southern and central Somalia and continued to
perpetrate serious acts of violence against civilians throughout the
region. Somaliland and Puntland in the
north offered greater stability, though reports of human rights abuses were
still common.
The unstable
security situation in 2010 prevented us from directly monitoring and verifying
human rights abuses or from being able to apply pressure or push for changes
and improvements. Nevertheless, we
raised human rights violations with the Transitional Federal Government and the
Somaliland government at every appropriate opportunity and met with a number of
human rights groups and NGOs throughout the course of the year. The international community remained focused
on the human rights situation in Somalia, notably holding a discussion on this
issue during the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva in September. As a result of this session, the Geneva
Friends of Somalia group was formed, mandated to improve coordination among
those working in the human rights and humanitarian assistance fields in
Somalia. We were a founding member of
this group.
The human
rights situation in Somalia is unlikely to improve significantly in 2011. The Transitional Federal Government is due to
end its transitional period in August 2011, but this is unlikely to have an
impact on the human rights situation in the short term. In the time leading up to the end of the
transitional period, we hope the Transitional Federal Government will continue
to strive for peace, through the development of the security sector and the
provision of public services for citizens.
We will
continue to work for greater stability in Somalia, which will allow for better
rule of law and improved human rights conditions. We will invest in projects aimed at
developing the security sector and communities.
This in turn should undermine the influence of extremist groups, such as
al-Shabaab. Access to Somalia for UK
officials is likely to remain very infrequent and so we do not anticipate a
significant improvement in our ability to monitor directly the human rights
situation on the ground.
Elections
Successful
presidential elections were held in Somaliland in June after a delay of almost
two years. These elections were deemed
by local and international observers to reflect the will of the voters. We provided significant assistance to the
Somaliland elections in political, technical and financial terms and were the
largest bilateral donor.
Access to justice
The majority
of Somalis do not have access to justice.
The Transitional Federal Government's judicial system lacks the capacity
to deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity. For most people, justice is largely conducted
at local and clan levels with little oversight from the state. The law is a mixture of jurisprudence
inherited from colonial times, Sharia and clan/customary law. These are inconsistent in implementation and
can limit access to justice, particularly for women. Somalia retains the use of the death
penalty. The extent of its use is not
known.
The
Somaliland and Puntland judicial systems have more central control with a
hierarchy of courts established up to a Supreme Court. The Somaliland judicial system in particular
provides for the right to legal representation; to appeal; to the presumption
of innocence; and to appear before a court within 48 hours of arrest. However, only a small number of judges in Somaliland
have the necessary legal qualifications to practise law. In 2010 we supported the UN Development
Programme in training more judges, supporting the establishment of a new legal
framework and providing free legal aid to defendants in both Somaliland and
Puntland. However, the security
situation and underdeveloped constitutional frameworks limits substantial
progress in this area.
In areas
under al-Shabaab’s control, citizens are often denied access to justice and
receive disproportionate punishments for alleged crimes committed. Individuals are often forced to admit to their
crime, whether they are guilty or not.
Punishments include public floggings, amputations and executions. For example, in October, two teenagers were
sentenced to death by firing squad after being accused of spying. Residents were ordered to observe the
killing.
Rule of law
As the
Transitional Federal Government controlled approximately half of the capital
city, Mogadishu, throughout 2010, the rule of law in Somalia was inconsistent. Rule of law remained a priority for us and we
focused on the development of local and regional administrations. Developing and enabling rule of law was a key
task for the Transitional Federal Government, although progress was hampered by
political infighting.
Puntland and
Somaliland also made a real commitment to developing the rule of law in their
regions, with the latter committing itself to abolish the extra judicial
“security committees”. These committees
often sent citizens to prison without due process of law.
Prisons and detention issues
We were not
aware of any reports during 2010 of the use of widespread or systematic
arbitrary detentions, or of detentions of political prisoners. Prison conditions are harsh and do not meet
international standards. Police stations
in Mogadishu were monitored by civil society groups through the UN Development
Programme and as a result, a number of prisoners were released when it was
found that the police had not followed due process. However, the difficult security situation in
Mogadishu meant that the monitoring of police stations was ad hoc.
We encouraged
the UN Development Programme, working with the UN Office for Drugs and Crime
and the Counter Piracy Programme to build a new prison in Hargeisa, Somaliland,
which opened in late 2010. The UN Office
for Drugs and Crime and the Counter Piracy Programme also focused on improving
living conditions in prisons in Puntland in 2010 and began work on building a
new prison which should open in 2011.
Torture
and other ill treatment
There is no
clear evidence of the use or extent of torture, but media reports indicate that
al-Shabaab use serious acts of violence, such as public amputations and
lashings to enforce its law. The
Somaliland government was subject to accusations of mistreatment in 2010,
despite the Somaliland constitution forbidding the use of any kind of “cruel
and physical treatment”.
Human rights defenders
Human rights
defenders continued to have a low profile in Somalia as they operate in very
dangerous conditions. Simply by being
present they are risking their lives.
Our officials seek to support the work of these individuals wherever
possible. To this end the UK contributed
to the revised EU guidelines for human rights defenders in Somalia in November.
Freedom of expression
International
and local journalists operate in extremely difficult environments. The National Union of Somali Journalists
found that most attacks against journalists in 2010 were attributed to armed
insurgent groups, such as al-Shabaab and Hizb-ul Islam. However, there were reports that both the
Puntland government and its security forces and the Transitional Federal
Government have been responsible for a number of abuses against media freedom.
Journalists
experienced severe restrictions throughout 2010. Three journalists were killed in 2010,
compared to nine in 2009 but insurgent groups stepped up their attacks on media
houses to prevent independent reporting.
In April, Hizb-ul Islam banned media houses in Mogadishu from playing
any music or commercials. Throughout
2010 al-Shabaab imposed reporting restrictions on media houses and seized
broadcasting equipment on a number of occasions.
The press
climate in Puntland worsened in 2010, particularly in the latter part of the
year. Journalists faced restrictions in
reporting the continued conflict in the disputed areas of Sool and Sanaag. A Puntland journalist was imprisoned for six
months without trial for interviewing rebel forces. The EU lobbied the Puntland government on
this issue and the UK called both publicly and privately for greater press
freedoms in the region.
The
Transitional Federal Government lacks the power and capacity to tackle freedom
of expression and media freedoms effectively.
However, it has made some advances.
In May, with support from the international community, the Transitional
Federal Government facilitated the opening of a media safe house. This was a positive first step.
Somaliland
enjoys greater media freedom than other regions in Somalia, though in the
run-up to the 2010 elections reports indicated that a number of journalists had
been arrested for short periods for political purposes. A media monitoring group was formed to cover
the election period and we raised the issue of press freedom with the
Somaliland government.
Women’s rights
Somalia is
not party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women. Women continued to be
forced into marriage or sold to settle disputes. Female genital mutilation is widespread in
Somalia. It is estimated that as many as
97% of women have been subjected to some form of it, typically during
childhood. In areas under al-Shabaab’s
control, women face extremely severe restrictions on their freedom. For example, women are not permitted to work
or to leave the house without an abaya. Violence against women, including rape,
continues to be widespread. Women also
continue to be under-represented politically.
Children’s rights
Children,
particularly those living in southern and central Somalia, continued to live in
extremely challenging environments. The
percentage of children receiving education across Somalia, including
Somaliland, remained extremely low. In
southern and central Somalia, al-Shabaab continued to interfere in school
curriculums and introduced mandatory lessons in jihad.
The ongoing
conflict in and around the capital, Mogadishu, had severe repercussions for
children. The UN cited al-Shabaab,
Hizb-ul Islam, the Transitional Federal Government, Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama’a and
other militia groups as recruiting and using child soldiers. In particular, al-Shabaab systematically
recruited child soldiers from schools in areas under its control and was
reported to be training an estimated 2,000 children in camps in southern
Somalia. The Transitional Federal
Government was also accused of using child soldiers in its armies, though when
the international community made representations to the government in the early
part of 2010, it was denied. The
Transitional Federal Government has since pledged to work towards an action
plan to end the recruitment of child soldiers in Somalia.
Minorities and other discriminated
groups
Many minority
groups continue to face persecution in Somalia and minority religions are heavily
restricted. The clan structure is of
great significance and importance in Somalia and four main clans continue to
dominate politics, the economy and urban life.
Minority clans are not proportionately represented in local and regional
governments.
Minority
groups do not have the protection that the traditional clan structure
affords. They are therefore more exposed
to marginalisation and victimisation.
During 2010, they suffered abuse at the hands of local governments as
well as members of more dominant clans.
In southern Somalia, Bantus and Christians faced violent attacks from
al-Shabaab. Reports indicated that
al-Shabaab beheaded a number of Christians in 2010.
The situation
in Somaliland and Puntland was better than in other regions as they consist
largely of one clan in each region: the Isaq in Somaliland and Darod in
Puntland. However, in Somaliland,
violations against the Gaboye people occurred throughout 2010. The Gaboye reportedly suffered verbal abuse
and restrictions in their day-to-day life.
Our lack of
access, because of the poor security situation, prevented us from closely
monitoring minority rights in most of Somalia.
However, we raised minority rights with the Somaliland government in
2010 and will continue to push for equal rights in all areas of Somalia.
Conflict
Over the
course of 2010, hundreds of civilians were killed and injured as a result of
being caught up in the conflict in southern and central Somalia and especially
in Mogadishu. The UN Inter Agency
Standing Committee Protection Cluster, that provides a coordinated humanitarian
response to protection and humanitarian needs, recorded more than 1,000
killings throughout 2010 and more than 1,600 weapon-related casualties between
September and November alone – including 127 children under the age of
five. Insurgent groups frequently
stationed themselves in densely populated civilian areas such as markets where
they then launched attacks on government forces and African Union soldiers. Civilian casualties have been reported as a
result of African Union and Transitional Federal Government forces defending
themselves against insurgent attack. We
worked closely with the Transitional Federal Government and the African Union
throughout 2010 to explore ways in which to minimise the risk to civilians.
We
contributed to the EU mission to train Somali forces in Uganda. Upon completion of training, the troops are
stationed in Mogadishu to work with the African Union and existing Transitional
Federal Government soldiers. This training
includes a mandatory human rights module for all new recruits.
Throughout
2010 there continued to be sporadic clashes in the disputed territories of Sool
and Sanaag on the Puntland/Somaliland border, and elsewhere throughout Somalia,
with clan militias and insurgent groups.
Regional administrations and clan elders continued to mediate between
conflicts. The new Somaliland government
made significant efforts in the latter part of 2010 to mediate between and
reconcile local clan conflicts, which are usually over land. We provided support to the Somaliland
security services, to help reduce the conflict on the Puntland/Somaliland
border.
Protection of civilians
There was no
improvement in the protection of civilians in 2010. The Transitional Federal Government was
extremely limited in its capacity to provide adequate protection for Somali
citizens and civilian casualties, and forced displacement continued to
rise. Although many people were able to
return home only a few weeks after fleeing, others are displaced for much
longer. More than 1.46 million people
were displaced at the end of 2010, including 410,000 people in the Afgooye
corridor near Mogadishu – the highest concentration of internally displaced
persons in the world. There were also
more than 600,000 Somali refugees in the region. With 4,000 arrivals a month, Kenya was
hosting more than 338,000 refugees by the end of 2010, including 268,000 in
Dadaab – the largest refugee camp in the world.
Displaced
people often lose their clan protection when they are forced to move to other
parts of the country, leaving them more vulnerable. There were numerous reports in 2010 of the
abuse and rape of women, particularly those from minority groups, in internally
displaced persons camps. Repeated displacement,
violence and killings were also frequently reported. Conditions in the camps, where access for
humanitarian agencies is difficult, are often appalling, with severe
overcrowding in unsanitary surroundings.
The UN
estimates that 2 million people in Somalia, or 27% of the population, require
emergency humanitarian or livelihood support.
This includes the 1.46 million internally displaced people, most of whom
are in southern and central Somalia where access for humanitarian agencies is
most difficult. In the financial year
2010/11, we provided almost £20 million in support to humanitarian agencies,
including UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and a number of
NGOs such as Oxfam, Action Against Hunger and MedAir to reach more than 700,000
vulnerable Somalis, including internally displaced persons, with emergency
assistance such as clean water, health care, food and shelter.
