A/HRC/24/40
9.
The Independent Expert met the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Mohamed
Osman Jawari, who considered that the proposed road map would be of great relevance to
the work of the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee. The Independent Expert also
made a courtesy call on Fawziya Yusuf Haji Adan, the Foreign Minister of Somalia, who
briefed him on the diplomatic efforts of the Federal Government to return Somalia to
normalcy, as a dynamic and respectful actor in the concert of nations.
10.
The meeting with the Minister for the Interior and National Security, Abdirahman
Hussein Guled, gave the Independent Expert insight into the measures taken by the
Government to improve the security sector, the achievements of the Somali security forces
with support from AMISOM, and the challenges posed by recurring Al-Shabaab attacks.
The Minister for Justice, Ahmed Mukhtar Mohamud, briefed the Independent Expert on the
ongoing consultations for the establishment of a national human rights commission.
11.
The meeting with journalists and legal aid providers was, as usual, very informative
and passionate. The Independent Expert learned, regrettably, that 18 journalists had been
killed in 2012 and had been killed in 2013, and that both journalists and media workers
continued to be targeted and killed, with total impunity for the perpetrators.
12.
In addition to information on the proposed road map, the present report also contains
a review of the human rights situation in Somalia based on information obtained by the
Independent Expert during his talks with the interlocutors mentioned above. He also
consulted recent publications and media reports, as well as reports of United Nations
agencies and international and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs). He
benefited from communications received from individuals drawing his attention to human
rights concerns.
II. Proposed human rights road map
A.
Contextual background
13.
The idea of adopting a post-transition human rights road map for Somalia emerged
from discussions the Independent Expert had with government officials and other
stakeholders, including the United Nations and civil society, during his two trips to Somalia
in 2012.
14.
The Independent Expert followed up on these discussions and proposed to the Prime
Minister the thematic issues that could be considered for the road map. He suggested that
the Government hold consultations with citizen groups on the proposed thematic areas,
prioritize issues requiring urgent attention, draw up a plan of action, delineate authorities
responsible for implementing activities and provide a time frame within which it hoped to
see most of those activities implemented.
B.
Thematic areas
15.
The present section contains a short description of the human rights issues identified
by the Independent Expert over the years and which require particular attention.
1.
Protection of civilians
16.
For more than two decades, protection of civilians in the context of continuing
armed conflict has been one of the major concerns in Somalia. The lack of rule of law and
the climate of insecurity and impunity created an environment in which human rights
4
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents