A/HRC/24/40 24. As children and young people have had little opportunity for formal education, or have had their education interrupted during the course of the armed conflicts, they have been frequently exposed to violence, risk of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse. These challenges, coupled with unemployment, have heightened the overall vulnerability of young people to different forms of violence and exploitation and increased their involvement in criminal activities, including piracy and armed conflict, in their search for alternative livelihoods. 5. Freedom of expression 25. Democratic freedoms, including freedom of opinion and expression, became restricted throughout Somalia. In such a repressive environment, all parties, State or nonState, sought to control and restrict the scope of freedom of opinion and expression on grounds that ranged from protection of national interests and State security to public morality, among others. This affected the work of journalists, who were subjected to harassment, intimidation, unlawful or arbitrary arrest and detention at the hands of both Government authorities and/or militia groups. Journalists regularly received threats to life or were assassinated because of their work and the information they disseminated. Censorship was prevalent: radio stations were sometimes forcefully closed, compelled to broadcast programmes in support of militia groups or taken off the air, and sometimes their frequencies were interrupted. 6. Minority rights 26. Somalia has been ranked as one of the top countries in which minorities are most at risk. During outbreaks of fighting, it is the minorities who suffer most. They fall outside the clan structure, and therefore outside its umbrella of protection. They are also vulnerable to increased risk of rape, attack, abduction and having their property seized by criminals in an increased atmosphere of lawlessness. 27. The situation of minority women in IDP camps has been especially grave due to the heightened threat of rape and sexual violence. Victims of rape in IDP camps are generally of minority clan origin, bereft of clan protection and often forced to engage in risky coping mechanisms. Because of their distinct ethnic identity, some minorities have suffered religious persecution and systematic confiscation of their lands and properties. 7. Rights of returning refugees and internally displaced persons 28. As a result of violence related to armed conflict, as well as drought, inflation and rising food prices, many Somalis have been forced to leave their homes in search of refuge elsewhere. Some have taken shelter inside the country as IDPs and others have gone abroad as refugees. Special provisions will be needed for their return and rehabilitation. 8. Rights of prisoners and detainees 29. Like many other institutions, prisons and detention facilities have been severely affected by the conflict. Most detention facilities are dilapidated, which affects the basic human rights of the inmates. The lack of an adequate number of properly trained corrections personnel has added to the problem. The living conditions of prisoners and detainees fall well below the standards identified in international human rights law and in the laws of Somalia. 30. There is no clear separation of individuals sentenced by military courts and those sentenced by civilian courts. The same applies to those sentenced or tried on charges of national security offences and those sentenced or tried for common crimes. This poses serious concerns in terms of both internal security and rehabilitation of prisoners. In practice, there is no separation of adults and juveniles in detention, despite this being 6