Reports

“It’s Like We’re Always in a Prison”

Abuses Against Boys Accused of National Security Offenses in Somalia

This report details due process violations and other abuses since 2015 against boys in government custody for suspected Al-Shabab-related offenses. Somalia’s federal government has promised to promptly hand over captured children to the United Nations child protection agency (UNICEF) for rehabilitation. But the response of Somalia’s national and regional authorities has been inconsistent and at times violated international human rights law. The government’s capture of 36 children from Al-Shabab on January 18, 2018 required a week of negotiations involving the UN and child protection advocates to work out procedures for dealing with them.

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  • “Like Fish in Poisonous Waters”

    Attacks on Media Freedom in Somalia

    This report documents killings, threats, and arbitrary detention of journalists since 2014. The Somali federal government and regional authorities have used various abusive tactics to affect media coverage, including arrests and forced closures of media outlets, threats, and occasionally, criminal charges.

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  • “Chained Like Prisoners”

    Abuses Against People with Psychosocial Disabilities in Somaliland

    This 81-page report finds that men with perceived or actual psychosocial disabilities face abusive restraints, beatings, involuntary treatment, and overcrowding in private and public health centers. Most are held against their will and have no possibility of challenging their detention.

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  • The Mediterranean Migration Crisis

    Why People Flee, What the EU Should Do

    The 33-page report documents the human rights abuses driving people to make the dangerous sea crossing and the shortcomings of EU migration and asylum policies.

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  • Detained, Beaten, Deported

    Saudi Abuses against Migrants during Mass Expulsions

    This 36-page report draws on interviews with 60 workers deported to Yemen and Somalia who experienced serious abuses during the expulsion campaign. They described beatings and detention in poor conditions before they were deported.

    Yemeni workers being deported through Saudi Arabia’s al-Tuwal border gate with Yemen, November 17, 2013.

  • “The Power These Men Have Over Us”

    Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by African Union Forces in Somalia

    This 71-page report documents the sexual exploitation and abuse of Somali women and girls on two AMISOM bases in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, since 2013.

  • The Courts of "Absolute Power"

    Fair Trial Violations by Somalia’s Military Court

    The 33-page report documents violations of basic fair trial rights of defendants tried before military courts, including military personnel, suspected insurgents and supporters, police officers, and ordinary civilians.

  • “Here, Rape is Normal”

    A Five-Point Plan to Curtail Sexual Violence in Somalia

    This 72-page report provides a roadmap for the government and its international donors to establish a comprehensive strategy to reduce rape, provide survivors with immediate and urgent assistance, and develop a long-term approach to end these abuses.

  • Barely Surviving

    Detention, Abuse, and Neglect of Migrant Children in Indonesia

    This 86-page report details Indonesia’s poor treatment of migrant and asylum-seeking children. They arrive in Indonesia after fleeing persecution, violence, and poverty in Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma, and elsewhere.

  • "You Are All Terrorists"

    Kenyan Police Abuse of Refugees in Nairobi

    This 68-page report was based on interviews with 101 refugees, asylum seekers, and Kenyans of Somali ethnicity.

  • Hostages of the Gatekeepers

    Abuses against Internally Displaced in Mogadishu, Somalia

    The 80-page report details serious violations, including physical attacks, restrictions on movement and access to food and shelter, and clan-based discrimination against the displaced in Mogadishu from the height of the famine in mid-2011 through 2012.

  • Criminal Reprisals

    Kenyan Police and Military Abuses against Ethnic Somalis

    This report provides detailed documentation of human rights abuses by the Kenya Defence Forces and the Kenyan police in apparent response to a series of grenade and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks that targeted both the security forces and civilians in North Eastern province.

  • No Place for Children

    Child Recruitment, Forced Marriage, and Attacks on Schools in Somalia

    This 104-page report details unlawful recruitment and other laws-of-war violations against children by all parties to the conflict in Somalia since 2010.

  • “You Don’t Know Who to Blame”

    War Crimes in Somalia

    This report documents numerous abuses during renewed fighting in the past year by parties to the 20-year-long conflict in Somalia.

  • “Welcome to Kenya”

    Police Abuse of Somali Refugees

    Based on interviews with over 100 refugees, this 99-page report documents widespread police extortion of asylum seekers trying to reach three camps near the Kenyan town of Dadaab, the world's largest refugee settlement.

  • Harsh War, Harsh Peace

    Abuses by al-Shabaab, the Transitional Federal Government, and AMISOM in Somalia

    This 62-page report finds that al-Shabaab forces have brought greater stability to many areas in southern Somalia, but at a high cost for the local population - especially women.