Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1990
SOMALIA
Somalia has been ruled since 1969 by President Mohamed Siad
Barre, who controls the Government through the presidentially
appointed Council of Ministers, the National People's Assembly
which is subordinate to the executive, and a single political
party, the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP).
Members of the President's clan, the Marehan, held many key
positions. However, in late December, an outbreak of fighting
between rival clans in the capital, Mogadishu, created a state
of anarchy and brought into question the Government's ability
to continue in control.
During 1990 the Government was under increasing internal and
international pressures to seek political reform and help stop
human rights abuses committed by all parties to the 3-year-old
civil conflict. Responding to these pressures, the Government
introduced a new, provisional Constitution, effective for
1 year from October 12, 1990. The Constitution and its
related statutes, if fully respected by the Government, would
repeal a series of repressive security laws; permit free,
multiparty elections; guarantee a number of individual rights;
and transfer considerable power from the President to the
Prime Minister, Cabinet, and Parliament. At the end of 1990,
the heavy fighting that engulfed Mogadishu cast grave doubt on
whether the new Constitution would have any practical impact.
At year's end, only portions of the capital city, Mogadishu,
and a few other places where troops were garrisoned, remained
in government hands. During the last 3 months of the year,
massacres by government forces and other politically related
as well as criminal violence escalated dramatically even in
the capital, resulting in many deaths, injuries, and the
widespread evacuation of most foreigners. The main
opposition, the Isaak-based Somali National Movement (SNM),
controlled much of the north, and the Hawiye-based United
Somali Congress (USC) was active in central Somalia, including
Mogadishu. The Government's arming of a number of clan
militias exacerbated the conflict and encouraged general
lawlessness.
The Somali armed forces number not more than 35,000 troops.
Internal security responsibilities, including coping with the
civil conflict, are shared by the National Army, the military
police, the Defense Intelligence Security Agency ( "Hangaash" )
,
the National Police, and the National Security Service (NSS).
In all, nine different entities have arrest powers, an
organizational situation which has exacerbated human rights
abuses.
Most of Somalia's estimated 8 million people manage a bare
subsistence as herders or farmers. The modern sector of the
economy consists mainly of banana plantations in the south;
the chief exports are livestock, bananas, and hides and
skins. Mogadishu has a population approaching 2 million, many
of whom are unemployed migrants and displaced persons from the
countryside. In 1990 further economic decline, made worse by
sharply reduced support from foreign donors, contributed to
increasing crime.
Widespread severe violations of human rights occurred in
Somalia in 1990, most of them attributable to the Government
and its security forces. There were repeated, credible
reports of army units attacking villages and murdering
suspected opponents, and presidential guards (Red Berets)
were implicated in robberies and killings. In July
presidential guards shot and killed 60 to 100 people fleeing a
Mogadishu stadium after fans at a soccer match booed the
President. There is no evidence of serious attempts by the
Government to investigate these abuses or to punish those
responsible. Other areas of human rights abuses included
torture and other mistreatment of prisoners and detainees,
arbitrary detention, denial of fair trial, massive abuses of
civilians by both government and rebel forces, restrictions on
freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, and the
denial of the right to change the government as well as the
denial of worker rights and pervasive discrimination against
women.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
In addition to the July killing of 60 to 100 persons in the
Mogadishu stadium. Red Berets in December, without apparent
motive, massacred from 10 to 20 persons (primarily from the
Hawiye clan) at the animal market in Mogadishu. There are
frequent but unverified claims that certain "criminal"
killings in Mogadishu are actually carried out by agents of
the Government for political purposes. For instances of
excessive use cf force and killings of civilians, see Section
l.g.
There were no known instances of the Government punishing
those who committed political killings or other abuses. One
Marehan general, the chief of airport security, who shot
several bystanders at the Mogadishu airport in December, was
subsequently transferred to another high-ranking position in
the police. An investigation ordered by President Siad into
the reprisal killings of Isaak men in Mogadishu by government
troops in July 1989 has yet to produce indictments or any
other known result.
b. Disappearance
Disappearances were hard to distinguish from arbitrary arrests
and detentions (see Section l.d.) and extrajudicial killings,
because these were not acknowledged by the authorities. The
number of disappearances during the year was unknown.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The new Constitution prohibits mental and physical torture.
There were no confirmed instances of torture in Somalia in
1990. However, there is strong evidence that prisoners held
by the security forces were tortured. Screams of pain were
frequently clearly audible in the night to those living near
an NSS prison in Mogadishu. Since the Government almost never
investigates charges of torture and as detainees are often
held incommunicado, it is difficult to judge the frequency of
torture.
Harsh treatment of prisoners remained commonplace. In one
extreme example, in June a visiting Italian professor strayed
on foot into a sensitive area of Mogadishu. He was detained
by soldiers, beaten, and died in his cell.
Prominent political prisoners were, by comparison, well
treated. Forty-five prominent politicians and clan elders who
were detained for about 1 month at Lanta Bur maximum security
prison for signing a manifesto critical of the Government (see
Section 2. a.) were allowed one visit each from family
members. Their wives brought food to them daily at the
prison, although they were not allowed to give the food
directly to the prisoners. For ordinary prisoners, however,
conditions are harsh: sanitation is poor, cells are
overcrowded, diet is inadeqxiate and must be supplemented by
family members or friends, and there is a lack of clean water
and medical care.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Although the former constitution accorded citizens the right
to be formally charged and to receive a speedy trial, national
security laws enacted in 1970 exempted crimes involving
security from time limits and rules of procedure. As the
Government struggled to suppress increasingly bold and
numerous opponents, reliable sources reported that the jails
were filling with detainees arrested under the security laws.
In practice, the concept of "national security" has sometimes
been stretched to mean almost anything. Persons detained for
various periods of time included both the composer and the
singer of a popular song critical of the Government, 9
prominent Isaak businessmen or their sons, a Somali employee
of the U.S. Embassy who came to the aid of a Marine security
guard who had been wounded by robbers, 45 persons who had
signed a political manifesto, and a contractor providing heavy
equipment for petroleum exploration companies. The contractor
was detained apparently because powerful people wanted to take
over his business. Other wealthy people were apparently
detained for purposes of extortion. In some cases,
authorities held people for 1 to 2 weeks with little or no
attempt to interrogate them, then released them suddenly, with
as little explanation as when they were arrested.
The number of political detainees still in prison at year's
end was unknown; the Government does not disclose such
information. Among those still in detention were Major
General Aden Abdul lahi Nur , a former Minister of Defense, and
General Mohamed Abdullah! Ba'adleh, a former Minister of
Interior. Both were arrested in July 1989.
The Government does not practice exile as a means of political
punishment. However, the Government's arbitrary use of legal
powers to silence its critics has the effect of forcing many
persons into exile, e.g., the editor of the party newspaper in
1990 (see Section 2. a. and 2.d.).
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Somali judicial system includes civil and criminal
courts. Members of the public are usually barred from
trials. There are no religious courts, but in civil
proceedings judges are reportedly under instructions to
disregard statute law regarding women's inheritance rights and
to follow the more conservative Shari'a law instead. In the
civil and criminal courts, legal assistance is provided, and
there are established rules of evidence. The right to appeal
exists in criminal and civil cases but until October 12 not in
cases heard by the National Security Court.
The National Security Court was abolished then, and its
pending cases transferred to the ordinary courts. Lawyers
were permitted to represent suspects before the National
Security Court but usually were granted very little time to
prepare their cases. For example, lawyers for the 45
manifesto defendants had about 48 hours from the time of their
appointments until the trial began. For persons formerly
convicted by the National Security Court, the only avenue for
clemency was through the Politburo of the ruling party.
Although the judiciary is nominally independent, the executive
reviews and controls judicial decisions. For example, the
order to acquit the 45 manifesto defendants "for lack of
evidence" came directly from President Siad. All judges are
appointed by the President with the advice of the Higher
Judicial Council, of which the President is chairman. Judges
of the National Security Court were usually military officers
posted to the Court.
The only National Security Court trial that received publicity
in 1990 was that of the 45 manifesto signers in July, which
lasted only 4 hours and resulted in the acquittal and release
of all defendants.
Until the new Constitution went into effect on October 12,
there were a number of severe security laws. The status of
these laws was unclear at the end of 1990. Law No. 54 of 1970
provided the death penalty for political offenses "against
national security," defined as behavior "which may be
considered prejudicial to the maintenance of peace, order and
good government." Among the 20 offenses punishable by death
were "organizing a subversive association," "exploiting
religion for creating national disunity," and "publishing
antistate propaganda." The manifesto signers and other
advocates of reform recommended to the Government in 1990 that
the National Security Court and the 1970 security laws,
including Law No. 54, be abolished.
At the end of 1990, the number of political prisoners, as
distinguished from political detainees who had never been
brought to trial, was unknown and difficult to estimate
because of government secrecy. However, one credible estimate
placed the number of such political prisoners at several
hundred, with at least 200 being held in Mogadishu's central
prison. Most of the latter had been arrested on the pretense
of having committed common crimes.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The telephone conversations and mail of suspected persons are
sometimes monitored, and informants keep watch on the
movements of people at embassies, mosques, and other sensitive
locations.
In June and July, security services conducted repeated raids
in Mogadishu neighborhoods in search of weapons and material
critical of the Government, including cassette tapes of Somali
songs and poetry. These searches were carried out without
warrants or the consent of the searched. No probable cause
was required.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian Law in Internal Conflicts
Sporadic, low-intensity warfare continued and gradually
escalated in many regions of Somalia during 1990, with
government authority eroding throughout the country.
Government forces and, to a lesser extent, their opponents,
e.g., the Isaak-based SNM and the Hawiye-based USC, continued
a pattern of killing unarmed and unresisting civilians. To
counter the growing threat, the Government further armed
clan-based civilian militias, particularly Marehan in
southwestern and central Somalia and Gadaboursi in the north.
They also continued to arm Ethiopian refugees in northern
camps, and there were some reports that refugees in the Belet
Weyne and Jalalaqsi camps in the south were also armed by the
Government. Such groups, once armed, were under no effective
control. Extrajudicial killings fell most heavily on Hawiye
(especially Habr Gedr Sa'ad) in the central regions, Isaaks in
the north, and Issas in the far northwest. ,
The U.S. -based human rights group, Africa Watch, issued a
report in early 1990, "Somalia: A Government at War With Its
Own People," charging the Said Barre regime with
responsibility for the deaths of 50,000 to 60,000 civilians
since the conflict with the SNM began in May 1988.
Among the most serious extrajudicial incidents in 1990 in
which civilians were killed were: in March government troops
in a major offensive near the Djibouti border rounded up and
killed more than 100 civilians of the Issa clan, which had
formed an alliance with the SNM; in May in Belet Weyne
(central Somalia), following a USC attack on government
installations, government troops massacred about 100
civilians, including women and children, and confiscated most
of their livestock; in August, following an SNM guerrilla
attack near Berbera which killed 5 workers, government troops
rounded up 21 young Isaak men in Berbera, killing 18; in
November, after USC forces left Johar (having sacked
government installations), government troops arrived and
summarily executed 10 to 20 civilians for suspected rebel
sympathies.
In addition to killing civilians, government soldiers and
opposition forces looted and destroyed property. Government
troops in particular dynamited artificial reservoirs to deny
water to local inhabitants. There were reports of soldiers
raping women and girls. Among many examples, in August USC
forces attacked the district police station in the town of
Jalalaqsi, then looted the compounds of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and of three private
charitable organizations. A few days later, Somali army
forces retook Jalalaqsi, destroying much of what remained in
the town and killing any local inhabitants in their path. In
September government forces looted a German-supported hospital
and the compound of a private voluntary organization in Belet
Weyne.
By the end of the year, clan-related violence between security
forces and armed opponents escalated considerably in
Mogadishu, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths.
Both government and opposition forces have hindered delivery
of food to refugees, resulting in periodic suspension of
feeding programs and subsequent malnutrition. With the
completion of the U.N.'s Extraordinary Interim Emergency
Program for refugees in late August, the International
Conmittee of the Red Cross (ICRC) became increasingly involved
in relief operations for victims of the northern conflict,
both refugee and nonrefugee. However, in October an ICRC
worker was killed in an SNM ambush, casting doubt on the
practicability of future relief operations in the area. Of
the three others abducted in the ambush, one expatriate and
one Somali national were later released, while another Somali
national escaped confinement and returned to safety on his own.
There is little information on the fate of prisoners taken in
Somalia's civil conflict. In general, it seems that few
prisoners are taken. All sides welcomed deserters from
opposing forces and civilian returnees from enemy-controlled
territory.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Freedom of speech is provided for in the constitution of 1979
and theoretically by the revised Constitution enacted on
October 12, 1990. However, under the new Constitution,
freedom of speech "must not contravene the discipline and
stability of the nation."
In practice, freedom of speech was not tolerated in 1990.
Events, however, suggested that Somalis were increasingly
determined to exercise freedom of speech, even at considerable
personal risk.
In January, for example, the editor of the ruling party's
newspaper published a series of articles critical of the
Government, and a leading entertainment troupe performed a
satirical program in the presence of President Siad. One of
their songs, "The Landcruiser Song" (named for the vehicle
favored by wealthy Somalis and the security services),
ridiculed the corruption and extravagance of the ruling elite,
including by implication the President's family. The song
gained instant popularity and was widely circulated in the
black market for audio tapes. President Siad reacted
angrily: the composer and the singer of the "Landcruiser
Song" were detained for about 2 months, and the acting
Minister of Information was fired. Police prohibited the
printing of the party newspaper, and the editor fled to Kenya.
In May a group of former politicians, businessmen,
intellectuals, and clan elders published an open letter to
President Siad, which came to be called the "Somali
Manifesto." It combined bitter criticism of Siad Barre with a
call for a transitional government to lead Somalia into a
post-Siad era. The manifesto became a test of whether the
Government, which had announced its intention to permit new
political parties and open political discussion, was willing
to permit free speech in practice. At first, the Government
appeared to tolerate the manifesto signers but eventually
charged 45 of them with antigovernment propaganda (an offense
requiring the death penalty). On July 15, when the defendants
were brought to trial, demonstrations broke out in Mogadishu.
Within 4 hours, the National Security Court announced that the
45 defendants had been released "for lack of evidence."
Government ownership of radio and television, and its monopoly
of the country's newspapers, had little practical effect on
Somalis' access to information. City dwellers and nomads
listened to the British Broadcasting Corporation's Somali
Service, by far the most influential news service in the
country. The security services were unable to stem a lively
traffic in audio tapes and photocopies of antigovernment
writings. It remains to be seen whether the Government will
tolerate independent media, which are to be allowed under the
new Constitution.
The question of academic freedom hardly arose, because there
was only one university, staffed primarily by Italian
professors who were careful not to stray into controversy.
Some law school professors, however, made serious, uncoerced
contributions to the technical committee appointed to revise
the Constitution.
In early 1990, the Government allowed several foreign
journalists to visit Somalia. Two of them interviewed
President Siad, after which visas for journalists once again
became difficult to obtain. Eight Western journalists were
invited to Mogadishu in September but were given access to
only one top government official. In November and December,
visas were issued more freely, and journalists' access
improved somewhat.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Despite constitutional safeguards, throughout most of 1990 the
authorities attempted to prevent peaceful assembly and to keep
independent associations from forming. Nevertheless, several
times in 1990 politically active Somalis asserted these
rights, and in some cases the Government acgxiiesced, e.g., a
public procession and funeral was held in July for the lawyer
and human rights activist Ismail Jumale Ossoble, whose body
was flown in from Rome.
Also, the signers of the Somali Manifesto continued political
activities after their trial and release. This group is
considered by many to be a political party in all but name.
c. Freedom of Religion
Islam is the state religion and nearly 100 percent of the
population is Muslim, predominantly of the Sunni sect. The
old and new Constitutions state that every person shall be
entitled to profess any religion or creed. Members of
religions other than Islam, however, may not proselytize.
Mogadishu has a Roman Catholic community numbering 2,000,
which was established during the period of Italian colonial
rule. Both Protestant and Catholic houses of worship operate
openly. No other religious group has significant
representation in Somalia. Christian charitable organizations
operate in Somalia but confine their activities to
humanitarian and technical assistance.
The Government is sensitive to the threat of disparate
opposition groups uniting under the banner of Islam. Since
1985, the Government has licensed all mosques and Koranic
schools, and since 1986 it has approved all imams and paid
them a salary.
Ethiopian Christian refugees sometimes claim to face
persecution in Somalia, but that persecution seems to be based
more on nationality than on religion.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The new Constitution provides the right to move freely within
Somalia and to leave and return to the country at will. Most
Somalis are nomads, and the nomadic tradition remains strong.
Travel within Somalia is a freely practiced right.
While most citizens who can afford it are able to travel
internationally, the Government has sometimes restricted the
travel of former detainees and political prisoners by denying
them passports or stopping them at the airport. For example,
the singer of the "Landcruiser Song," Sado Ali, was twice
turned back at the airport. After the new Constitution came
into effect, guaranteeing the right to travel, the Foreign
Minister personally refused Ms. Ali the return of her
passport. After the manifesto incident, most of the manifesto
signers' names were added to the list of those not allowed to
leave the country. A few, however, received special
permission from the head of the NSS to travel out of Somalia.
Somalis who have emigrated are generally permitted to return.
Nevertheless, some Somalis remained abroad in 1990 because
they feared possible imprisonment for opposition activity if
they returned.
There have been massive displacements of persons as a result
of the civil conflict. At the end of 1990, the best estimates
indicated that there were 370,000 displaced persons and
refugees from Somalia (mainly Isaaks) in Ethiopia and 30,000
in Dj ibouti.
The Government reports there are 837,000 Ethiopian refugees in
Somalia, but outside observers, including those from the
United Nations, indicated that fewer than half that number
remained in refugee camps at the end of 1990. Conscription of
refugees into the Somali army continued in 1990, in violation
of international covenants.
In late August, the United Nations suspended assistance to
refugees in northern Somalia due to continued lack of security
and the inability to monitor food distributions. Both
organized and spontaneous repatriation of refugees to Ethiopia
continued from the north and the south. The UNHCR completed
registration of ration card holders in southern Somalia for
voluntary integration or repatriation and also registered
approximately 54,000 refugees for repatriation in the Borama
area in the north. More than 4,000 refugees were repatriated
from Borama to eastern Ethiopia under the auspices of the ICRC
and UNHCR. The repatriation was temporarily halted in October
when the governor of Borama closed the road to the border.
However, the ICRC repatriation convoys resumed in late
Decembei;.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
In 1990 citizens had neither the legal right nor the ability
peacefully to change their government or the form of their
government . For most of the year there was only one legal
party, the SRSP . Opposition groups and criticism of the
Government were illegal. However, in December a new law was
passed permitting the formation of multiple political
parties. Under the new Constitution, the SRSP is to be
removed from its leading role in the State and society, and
the President did resign as chairman of the SRSP when the new
Constitution was provisionally implemented on October 12. The
first multiparty elections were tentatively scheduled for late
1991. As 1990 drew to a close, however, fighting in Mogadishu
escalated, and serious doubts emerged as to whether the new
Constitution would have any effect.
For many Somalis, the traditional clan system is the accepted
vehicle of political expression. President Siad Barre and
other officials consult frequently with clan elders. Since
1982, however, President Siad has been widely perceived as
relying on and furthering the interests of his family and his
Marehan subclan by playing off other clans against one
another. Although members of the Marehan clan did not
dominate the Cabinet—the Prime Minister, for example, was an
Isaak—many key decisionmaking roles were filled by Marehan.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
There are no human rights organizations as such in Somalia,
but the Association of Somali Lawyers concerns itself with
human rights issues. A governmental human rights commission
chaired by the Foreign Minister (and including senior
officials responsible for security) advised the President on
tactics for dealing with the issue of international concern
over human rights practices. Although proclaiming the
Government's desire for better relations with human rights
groups and improved international understanding of human
rights conditions in Somalia, the commission produced few
practical results. During 1990 there were no visits by human
rights organizations. The Government postponed the visit by
Amnesty International indefinitely following the arrests of
the manifesto signers.
In September, the European Community condemned human rights
violations in Somalia, specifically mentioning the killing of
Isaaks in Berbera by Somali military forces. Several
governments successfully pressed the Somali Government to
release those arrested for having signed the May manifesto.
The Government cooperated with the ICRC's operations in
government-controlled territory in the north. The Government
and the SNM were not as cooperative in allowing the ICRC to
assist conflict victims in nongovernment-controlled areas.
The ICRC was able to gain access to these areas for the first
time in early December. In addition to food relief
operations, the ICRC's emergency hospital in Berbera and
medical evacuation flights provided practically the only
medical care in the northern portion of the country.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Language, or Social Status
Because Somalia is racially homogeneous, there is little
racial discrimination as such. Animosities and rivalries
based on bloodline and clan affiliation, however, are a
fundamental cause of the country's continuing civil conflict.
Many persons continued to capitalize on their clan and family
affiliations to gain economic advantage or privilege. The
President's Marehan clan, for example, enjoys disproportionate
access to bank loans, often unsecured, as well as preferential
admission to the Somali National University.
The new Constitution specifically guarantees equal rights for
all citizens, including the right of women to participate in
the political system. However, in practice, Somali women
suffer discrimination in education, work, and family matters.
Female enrollment in schools remains far below that for males
at all levels of education for traditional and cultural
reasons. Almost 96 percent of female Somalis cannot read.
The payment of dowry and bride wealth are common marriage
customs. Divorce laws and practices still strongly favor the
male partner. Despite conservative opposition, the Siad Barre
Government long supported women's rights, ensuring
constitutional equality, rewriting some laws to permit women
to inherit and own property, and taking a strong stand against
such practices as female circumcision. During 1990, however,
judges were instructed to apply Shari'a law in cases involving
inheritance (see Section I.e.).
Violence in the form of female circumcision is still
commonplace. It is performed in state-run hospitals.
Pharaonic circumcision (the most extreme and dangerous form of
female genital mutilation) is widely practiced, particularly
in the north. The less extreme "Sunna" form of circumcision
is, however, growing more popular among members of the
educated elite.
Excepting female circumcision, domestic violence against women
is not a significant social problem in Somalia. Wife beating
is uncommon because the wife's family is prepared to enforce
the marriage contract that she should not be abused and
because wife beating carries a stigma which makes it difficult
for the husband to remarry. Furthermore, the present
generation of young men treat their wives with greater respect
since economic realities render them unable to practice
polygamy.
Women's rights groups, including those associated with
opposition groups, were forming in 1990. In part, these
groups aimed at countering fundamentalist pressures to set
back previous gains in women's rights and ensuring that
opposition groups included women's rights in their political
programs. In July Somalia hosted a conference that examined
women's issues such as family health and planning.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The new Constitution promises workers the right to form
independent unions, a right not available in practice before
October 12. So far, no unions have been organized under the
new Constitution. There is a single labor confederation, the
government-controlled General Federation of Somali Trade
Unions (GFSTU), which is run by government-appointed
officials. The GFSTU' s main function is to monitor the work
force and provide a conduit for worker grievances. The GFSTU
is a member of the Organization of African Trade Union Unity
and the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions.
Somalia has been a member of the International Labor
Organization since 1960.
Until October 1990, strikes were outlawed, and organizing a
strike was legally punishable by death. Nevertheless, there
were wildcat strikes by transportation workers in 1987 and by
quarry workers in 1989. The Government took no action against
the striking workers.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The right to organize does not appear to be infringed by
employers. Because the GFSTU speaks for the Government, its
dealings with employers on wages, hours, and working
conditions tend to resemble binding arbitration rather than
collective bargaining. Some negotiation between employers and
employees goes on outside the union framework. Given the
official status of the GFSTU, antiunion discrimination appears
to be a moot question. Labor courts adjudicate employeremployee
disputes with relative impartiality. There are no
export processing zones in Somalia.
c. Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited by law, as well as by
the new Constitution, but the Government and party
occasionally organize campaigns of "voluntary labor" to clean
streets or boost production of state-owned factories.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The minimum age for the employment of children is 15, and
persons under 18 are not permitted to work at night or in
certain hazardous occupations. However, the law imposing
these requirements is not effectively implemented, and there
is considerable child labor on the margins of the wage economy,
e.g., selling cigarettes on the street and carrying bags in the
market to support themselves and to supplement family incomes.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is no legal minimum wage, and salaries are extremely
low, especially in the public sector. The average salary of a
civil servant is equivalent to about $5 per month and is not
adequate to maintain a decent standard of living. Productivity
in the public sector is correspondingly low, and many civil
servants make only minimal appearances in their offices.
Workers resort to second jobs, corruption, assistance from
other family members, and remittances from abroad to support
themselves and their families.
In theory, the workday is 8 hours per day, 6 days per week,
with limits on overtime hours. Workers are entitled to paid
holidays, annual leave, holiday bonuses, and a variety of
fringe benefits.
Somalia has comprehensive labor legislation setting minimum
safety and health standards for the workplace. In theory
inspectors from the Ministry of Labor carry out enforcement.
However, these are only applicable to the small, modern wage
sector of an economy that is predominantly pastoral and
agricultural and are not normally enforced.
