We would like to start off by thanking the Independent Expert for his in-depth insight into Somalia’s ongoing rights crisis. The report highlights the need for the Somali government to convert positive rhetoric and plans - notably in the areas of justice and security sector reform - into concrete action.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict particularly in south-central Somalia. This year has seen massive civilian displacement as well as civilian casualties from targeted and indiscriminate attacks. Al-Shabab militants continue to target civilians. Tensions over the creation of a new state in central Somalia led to open conflict between clan militias and government forces, resulting in abuses against civilians. Reports of indiscriminate attacks killing and wounding civilians by AMISOM forces and other foreign forces also increased, as documented in the Independent Expert’s report.
Ongoing political infighting and the third government reshuffle in three years, along with political maneuvering around the implementation of federalism, detracted from justice and security sector reform progress.The government failed to protect the capital’s hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people and violated its own displacement policies by forcibly, and on occasion, violently evicting the displaced from informal settlements in Mogadishu. In one eviction in March 2015, Somali state security forces forcibly evicted about 21,000 displaced people.
Women and girls, particularly those internally displaced, continue to face significant risks of sexual violence, including by government forces. Members of the African Union Forces in Somalia (AMISOM) have also sexually exploited and raped vulnerable women and girls on their bases in Mogadishu. Investigations and accountability for these abuses remains limited despite commitments expressed.
Somalia’s military court continues to administer justice for a broad range of cases and defendants in proceedings that fall short of international fair trial standards. Despite serious due process concerns, the military court has continued to sentence numerous defendants to death.
The Somali government should immediately impose a moratorium on the death penalty, move forward with its reform agendas, ensure that any new laws on the media across Somalia protect and promote free expression and create an enabling environment – both in terms of the legal framework and in terms of ensuring safety of victims and witnesses- for the prosecution of sexual violence.
Human Rights Watch urges the UN, donor countries and other key stakeholders to ensure that the UNSOM Human Rights Unit publicly reports on the human rights situation in Somalia and is given the logistical, financial and political support to implement the Secretary-General’s Human Rights Due Diligence Policy.
Given the gravity of the crimes in violation of international law committed in Somalia, Human Rights Watch reiterates its call for the establishment of a UN commission of inquiry—or a comparable, appropriate mechanism—to document serious international crimes committed by all sides in Somalia throughout the conflict and recommend measures to improve accountability.
