A/HRC/33/64
reportedly considering withdrawal of their forces from AMISOM owing to lack of support
from the international community. These reports have serious implications for security and
protection in Somalia, and for the fight against Al-Shabaab in particular.
11.
Similarly, Kenya announced in early May 2016 that, owing to security concerns, it
would close the Dadaab refugee camp and return more than 320,000 Somali refugees to
their country, when conditions for voluntary repatriation are not favourable. The cumulative
effect of these decisions is likely to have a negative impact on the situation of human rights
in Somalia.
12.
The Independent Expert commends the measures taken by the international
community, through multilateral and bilateral efforts, to support the Somalia peacebuilding
process. Between the periods under review, Somalia received visits and missions from the
Security Council, the Deputy Secretary-General, the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees and other senior United Nations officials, and the President of Turkey.
13.
On 24 February 2016, Turkey hosted a donors’ conference in Istanbul, the Highlevel Partnership Forum, within the framework of the Somali Compact. A strong
commitment to the protection of women’s rights and their political participation, of critical
importance for political negotiations on the 30 per cent participation of women in
Parliament, was one of the outcomes of the conference.
III. Constitution, federalism and State-building
14.
During the period under review, State authorities, leaders at the federal State level
and the international community concluded that Somalia would not be able adopt a
Constitution and hold elections in 2016 on the basis of universal franchise. It is expected
that the law on political parties adopted on 6 June 2016 and the prospective federal
Constitution will be applied during the elections to be held in 2020 based on universal adult
suffrage. The 2016 electoral process will be held under an improved model of the
traditional 4.5 formula (an apportionment to each of the four main clans, plus a quota of 0.5
to a coalition of minority clans), which involves about 13, 750 representatives, appointed
by different clans across the country, to elect 275 Members of Parliament to the Lower
House. The representatives of the Upper House will be elected by the States rather than by
the 135 elders who elected the President and members of Parliament in 2012. A 30 per cent
quota for women was agreed.
15.
Consultations to finalize the Federal Constitution were ongoing at the time of the
mission. A technical committee held meetings to review and harmonize the draft
Constitution inside and outside the country. Ten chapters of the draft Constitution had been
agreed upon and were to be sent to the Federal States for consultation with the regional
parliaments, relevant executive branches and civil society organizations, before being
submitted for national consultations. Five contentious chapters that the technical committee
was not able to finalize were referred to the National Leadership Forum. The chapters
concerned matters relating to, inter alia, the adoption of a parliamentary or presidential
system, the composition of the executive, the judiciary, and the relations of power between
the federal State and regional States, in particular the sharing of economic resources and the
status of Mogadishu. The new Constitution should define clearly the limitations of
executive power between the President and the Prime Minister in order to avoid future
political crises or a repeat of those witnessed in 2014 and 2015. At the time of drafting of
the present report, the Independent Expert was informed that all 15 chapters of the proposed
federal Constitution had been finalized.
5
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