A/HRC/24/40
the defendant and one in the imposition of the death penalty; nine cases were pending.
Prosecution through the ordinary criminal justice system is also limited. While official
police and court data are not available, data informally acquired by the Human Rights Unit
from the Somali police indicate that about 100 rape cases were opened in Mogadishu
between January and November 2012.
55.
Reports of sexual exploitation and abuse of Somali women by AMISOM troops
were also received during this period. The Independent Expert learned that the United
Nations in Somalia was in the process of publishing a report on violence against women in
Somalia that includes testimonies of women who are familiar with the pattern of sexual
exploitation by AMISOM troops, in which sex is exchanged for food or money.
C.
Grave violations committed against children in armed conflict
56.
As previously reported by the Independent Expert, all parties to the conflict in
Somalia systematically recruit and use children for military and other purposes, through
different strategies. In 2012, the Transitional Federal Government signed a plan of action
with the United Nations, committing to end the recruitment and use of children, in response
to the conclusions made by the Working Group of the Security Council on Children and
Armed Conflict. The ongoing recruitment signals the urgent need to prioritize the
implementation of the plan of action by the Government. The Government-allied militia,
Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama’a (ASWJ), was reportedly responsible for 51 cases of recruitment
and use of children
57.
Documented reports on abductions by parties to the conflict in Somalia indicate a
12-fold increase. The majority of these cases were allegedly perpetrated by Al-Shabaab
(780) and the SNAF and allied militia (720). The reports received indicated that AlShabaab abducted children mainly from schools, playing fields and public halls where
football matches are screened, for the purposes of recruitment and sexual violence, while
SNAF abductions came after security operations meant to “flush out” anti-Government
elements.
58.
The Independent Expert has learned that in 2012 the United Nations verified 748
cases of killings and maiming of children. The majority of the killings were allegedly
perpetrated by unknown armed groups (111), followed by Al-Shabaab (94) and the
Government security forces (70).
59.
During the same period, a total of 213 cases of sexual violence were documented,
mainly in central and southern Somalia (3 boys and 210 girls). The majority of these
violations were allegedly committed by the SNAF (119), followed by Al-Shabaab and
unknown armed groups (43 each).
60.
Although security challenges and lack of access to large areas of Somalia make it
impossible to determine the exact number of schools and hospitals attacked by parties to the
conflict, reports received by the United Nations indicate that there have been a total of 84
incidents (72 attacks on schools and 12 attacks on hospitals). Most of the cases were
allegedly perpetrated by Al-Shabaab (51), followed by the SNAF (14) and the Ethiopian
Armed Forces (6). According to the report, Al-Shabaab was responsible for 11 of the 12
attacks on hospitals that were reported and verified in 2012.
D.
Conflict-related detention
61.
In 2012 and 2013 a significant increase in the number of Al-Shabaab fighters
captured in combat, as well as fighters who voluntarily surrendered to Transitional Federal
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