Human Rights and Democracy Report 2014: Somalia - in-year update December 2015

Published 21 April 2016

The human rights picture in Somalia remains bleak, marked by serious abuses and violations by various parties involved in the ongoing conflict, and an enduring culture of impunity. The Independent Expert for Somalia, Bahame Tom Nyanduga, stated in his report of 28 October that “years of conflict in Somalia have affected every aspect of human rights and destroyed governance structures”.

In its 2015-16 report, Amnesty International documented that “over 500 people were killed or injured by armed conflict and generalised violence, and at least 50,000 people were displaced”. Al-Shabaab’s (AS) ability to mount indiscriminate attacks across Somalia continued, often characterised by deliberate targeting of civilians, as well as parliamentarians and politicians. On 10 July, 11 civilians were killed and more than 20 injured in an attack on two Mogadishu hotels. On 26 July, a truck explosion outside the Jazeera Palace Hotel in Mogadishu resulted in the deaths of 15 people. AS also continued to conduct extra-judicial executions of civilians they suspected of acting for or on behalf of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) or the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Civilian casualties as a result of military operations conducted against AS also continued to be reported in the second half of 2015. In July alone, 22 civilians were reportedly killed by AMISOM in two separate incidents in Marka, Lower Shabelle region. In one incident, AMISOM soldiers killed six family members attending a wedding. In August, AMISOM’s Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Ambassador Francisco Caetano Jose Madeira, held a press conference in which he announced the arrest of the soldiers involved in this incident. He also announced the establishment of an AMISOM civilian casualty tracking cell.

El Niño further intensified the humanitarian challenge across Somalia in the latter part of 2015, leading to drought in Puntland and Somaliland. The 1.1m internally displaced persons (IDPs), a number which remains consistently high, remain one of the most vulnerable groups in Somalia. IDPs often fall prey to the managers of IDP camps (known as gatekeepers), creating protection and human rights concerns. The Somalia Protection Cluster notes in its 2015 report that armed conflict in Galkayo in November and December resulted in the displacement of 90,000 people, amongst whom 40,000 were already IDPs. A further problem facing IDPs is forced eviction by Somali state security forces. In Resolution 2232, adopted by the UN Security Council on 28 July, concern was expressed about the recent increase in forced evictions of IDPs in major Somali towns. The search for durable solutions to address violations against IDPs, and displacement itself, is a key focus for the international community.

There was steady progress at the political level in the period under review, including regular meetings of federal and regional leaders within the framework of a National Leadership Forum, and a national consultative process aimed at agreeing a model for the electoral process due in August 2016.

The Human Rights Commission Bill awaits its final (third) reading in Parliament, following appropriate debate in Parliamentary committees. The Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development took an increasingly active leadership role, promoting the Somali Human Rights Road Map Action Plan and, in October, submitted Somalia’s National Report to the Universal Periodic Review process of the UN Human Rights Council (held in January 2016).

The Steering Committee on Somalia’s National Action Plan (NAP) to End Sexual Violence in Conflict met for the first time in September, and was attended by UK representatives. The focus of the meeting was to discuss implementing the NAP and facilitating coordination amongst Somalia’s different government bodies. However, since this initial meeting, there has been little progress or further activities relating to the NAP.

Freedom of expression remained an issue of growing concern. In October, Somalia was ranked by the Committee to Protect Journalists as “the worst place in the world to be a journalist” for the first time in their Global Impunity Index, citing the high numbers of journalists killed with impunity.

Five journalists were killed in Somalia between July and December: most notable was Hindiyo Haji Mohamed, a journalist for Radio Mogadishu and Somali National TV, who was killed on 3 December after an explosive device was placed underneath her vehicle. Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) later captured AS fighters, who are said to have admitted responsibility for Hindiyo’s death. Furthermore, between July and December 2015, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) documented the arrest of 12 journalists, both by government forces and militias, in their annual report. On 2 October, two journalists, Awil Dahir Salad and Abdullahi Hersi, were arrested and the Universal TV station closed. Reports indicated that the two journalists were detained without a court appearance. The British Embassy in Mogadishu and the local Human Rights Working Group issued statements of concern and called on the Somali government to ensure that due process was followed. The journalists were later released.

In late December, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed off a new Media Law which had been adopted by the Federal Parliament. The law is designed to regulate Somali media and prevent the dissemination of false information. It includes provisions on licensing procedures and freedom of the media, and the establishment of a media commission. Though the law explicitly guarantees freedom of expression and recognises the right to information for journalists, concerns have been expressed by some Somali media representatives, including over the requirement to license all media.

Extra-judicial killings continued to be reported. The media reported three incidents in Interim Juba Administration (IJA) in the latter half of 2015. On 31 August, four AS suspects were reportedly executed by IJA forces in Gedo region. On 17 September, two civilians were reportedly executed at Bula Gaduud (on the outskirts of Kismayo). The next day, following a Military Court Order, seven of the ten soldiers responsible received the death penalty. The UK raised concerns about these incidents with IJA President Madobe on 26 October.

In August, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, undertook a four-day visit to Somalia, meeting with various Somali government ministers and the President. Special Representative Zerrougui called for the full implementation of the two Action Plans signed by the government of Somalia in 2012 to end and prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers. In October, Somalia became the 196th state to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

0.1 Somaliland

Following the end of Somaliland’s de facto moratorium on the death penalty earlier in the year (see July 2015 in-year update), UK officials, including the Ambassador, raised the death penalty with Somaliland Ministers. They made clear that the UK government opposed the death penalty and urged the Somaliland administration to reconsider its position and explore alternatives. There were no further executions in 2015.

Freedom of expression was also a cause for concern in Somaliland. Between July and December 2015, Human Rights Centre Somaliland (HRC) documented the arrest of 14 journalists, with some being arrested on more than one occasion. In one instance, the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Hubsad newspaper were arrested on 30 November after authorities claimed they were running an unlicensed newspaper. The arrests took place at the Office of the Attorney General while they were filing to register names of the new leadership and ownership of the newspaper. They were released on bail on 3 December; however, the publication of Hubsad newspapers remains suspended by the authorities.

Extra-judicial killings were also reported in Somaliland during the latter half of 2015. HRC documented five cases where civilians had been killed by Somaliland police officers – four of these occurred between July and December 2015. On 9 August, an unarmed 12-year-old boy was reportedly shot dead by police in Hargeisa. In the same incident three other individuals, one aged 15, reportedly sustained gunshot wounds. Another was reportedly beaten.