A/HRC/18/48 103. The Government should consider reappointing a focal point for human rights and children and armed conflict issues, as was done by the previous Government, and take concrete measures for the development and the adoption of the action plan required by the Security Council in its resolution 1612 (2005). B. Somaliland 104. The Government of Somaliland should ensure necessary resources for the Somaliland National Human Rights Commission to carry out its mandate effectively, in particular monitoring and educational and complaint-hearing of functions. 105. The Government should consider strengthening measures that contribute to promoting women’s access to justice. More female police officers should be stationed in important police station in Hargeisa and elsewhere, as necessary. 106. As all acts amounting to slander and defamation are currently dealt through criminal legislation and carry a detention sentence, Somaliland authorities should consider bringing existing legislation into line with human rights so that such forms of conduct are dealt with as civil matters. 107. The Somaliland and Puntland authorities must resolve their territorial disputes over the Sool, Sanag and Cayn regions by peaceful means. Somaliland should allow access of the international community, including the United Nations, to these regions to provide much needed humanitarian assistance to the drought-affected population. The Somaliland authorities should facilitate the visits of human rights agencies to monitor and investigate allegations of human rights violations committed by State and non-State actors on the ground. C. Puntland 108. Puntland authorities must take care in adopting measures to address insecurity so that they are not arbitrary, and respect due process rights. Situations like the one created in June, following the assassination of a former army colonel in Bossasso, in which security forces conducted a search operation resulting in the arrest of more than one hundred people, should be avoided. 109. The Government must recognize the critical nature of sexual and gender-based violence, as reported by the Galkayo Education Centre for Peace and Development in South Galkayo, and ensure proper response and prevention. The fact that, of the 104 cases reported to the police in 2009, none had reached sentence at the time of the independent expert’s visit in February 2011, must be considered seriously. 110. The request by the Puntland authorities to the UNPOS human rights unit for assistance in the development of legislation compliant with human rights standards is a good initiative and should be followed up with similar cooperation in other areas. D. The United Nations and the international community 111. It is sad that the drought that has been slowly but steadily spreading death and devastation over different parts of Somalia for the past six months has not received due attention from the international community. The fact that the consolidated appeal for funds by United Nations agencies for their Somalia programme has been only half funded can be said to have contributed to this sad state of affairs. It is imperative that 19

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