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.
We will continue to work for greater stability in Somalia, which will allow for
better rule of law and improved human rig hts 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 infreque nt and so
we do not anticipate a significant improvement in our ability to monitor directly
the human rights situation on the ground.
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Successful presidential elections were held in Somaliland in June after a
delay of almost two years. These elections were deemed by local and
international observersto 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.
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 wit h 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 u se 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 t he 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 practis e 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 constitut ional frameworks limits substantial progress in
this area.
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. D eveloping 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 devel oping the rule
of law in their regions, with the latter committing itself to abolish the extra
judicial ³security committees´. These committees often sent citizens to prison
without due process of law.
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 .
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.
The press climate in Puntland worsened in 2010, particularly in the latter part
of the year. Journalists faced restrictions in reporti ng 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 intern ational community, the
Transitional Federal Government facilitated the opening of a media safe
house. This was a positive first step.
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 G overnment 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 .
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 th e 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 Is aq 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.
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 .
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 frequentl y reported. Conditions
in the camps, where access for humanitarian agencies is difficult, are often
appalling, with severe overcrowding in unsanitary surroundings .