A/HRC/24/40 or discouraged group is the most disadvantaged and most vulnerable to risky and criminal behaviour. 14. Access to clean water and sanitation: 37. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation has been a perennial problem for Somalia. Poor hygiene due to inadequate access to water and sanitation exposes people to increased risks of diseases. The Human Rights Council has recommended the development of national and/or local plans of action to address the lack of access to sanitation in a comprehensive way with the full, free and meaningful participation of local communities in the design, implementation and monitoring of such plans (see, for example, Human Rights Council resolution 18/1). 38. Water collection duties and lack of adequate or appropriate sanitation facilities keep girls out of school, and water-related diseases, such as diarrhoea, result in huge losses of school days each year. For many women and girls, inadequate sanitation implies a loss of dignity and represents a source of insecurity. Water collection responsibilities and the time spent caring for relatives afflicted by waterborne diseases diminish women’s opportunities to engage in productive activities. 15. Other issues requiring attention in the road map 39. In addition to the above, there are of course other important human rights issues that require attention. Foremost among these is the subject of impunity for serious crimes related to human rights and humanitarian law, on which the Independent Expert has expressed his concern in most of his previous reports. The Government’s vision on how it wishes to deal with this burning issue could also figure in the road map. Among ideas that have been floated in past years is the establishment of an appropriate mechanism to document and map serious international crimes committed in Somalia and recommend measures to improve accountability. III. Developments in the field of human rights 40. During the reporting period, the cessation of armed conflict in Mogadishu was accompanied by the opening of new military fronts in south-central Somalia, which transferred control over the main towns and regional capitals from Al-Shabaab to the Federal Government of Somalia. The changed scenario has resulted in the emergence of new protection concerns for civilians. Before the withdrawal of Al-Shabaab from Mogadishu in August 2011, the major concern was civilians caught in crossfire; the new environment has resulted in displacement due to military operations, increased incidents of sexual violence against women as well as sexual exploitation and abuse, conflict-related detention, targeted assassinations, unlawful killings and the use of improvised explosive devices. A. Protection of civilians and the right to life and physical integrity 41. The protection of civilians in Somalia involves protecting them against harmful acts committed by all parties to the conflict, including pro-Government forces, Somali security forces and Al-Shabaab. These include targeted killings of journalists, sexual violence, use of children in armed conflict, and conflict-related detention. 8

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