Human rights in Somalia

In early February 2013, former Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon launched an Independent Task Force on Human Rights in order to firm up on the protection of individual rights. The 13-member committee of volunteers was formed after extensive consultations with civil society groups and the Speaker of Parliament, Mohamed Osman Jawari. Chaired by prominent human rights attorney Maryam Yusuf Sheikh Ali, one of four women on the panel, the Task Force includes an educator, a peace activist, leaders of Somali women's organizations, senior police officers, a humanitarian campaigner, a religious leader, and a media representative. It is tasked with investigating allegations of human rights abuses and journalist intimidation. At the end of its three-month mandate, the committee is scheduled to publish a report on its findings and recommended courses of action. The Task Force will eventually give way to a permanent parliamentary Human Rights Commission, which will have the capacity to investigate allegations over a longer period. ==Ministry of Human Rights==

In late August 2013 Prime Minister Shirdon established the first dedicated national Ministry for Human Rights. ==Women's rights==

On August 1, 2012, a new Federal Constitution was adopted, which includes several statutes related to equality as proposed by a Committee of Experts (CoE). Article 11 of the Federal Constitution guarantees equal treatment for all citizens regardless of gender. addressing the ISSAT (2013). Women have since obtained greater representation in the public sphere. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 30% of seats in Somalia's Federal Parliament are legally reserved for women. This quota was secured by Somali parliamentary consultant Hodan Ahmed and other female political leaders. Ahmed had also helped form the Somali Women Parliamentary Association in 2009 in the preceding Transitional Federal Parliament. In November 2012, Prime Minister Shirdon likewise appointed two women to the Cabinet, Fowsiyo Yussuf Haji Aadan as the nation's first female Minister of Foreign Affairs and Maryam Qassim as Minister of Social Development. In June 2013, the federal government began drafting the country's first National Gender Policy. Led by Minister Maryam Qassim, the initiative was completed by August and aims to empower women, strengthen gender equality and safeguard women's rights. Most incidents of sexual assault occurred within the context of the insurgency in southern Somalia. Over the first quarter of 2013, Amnesty International reported that 56.7% of victims in Mogadishu were internally displaced persons. According to Human Rights Watch, the government in 2013 developed comprehensive judicial and security reform plans, but had not yet followed through on those commitments. At least two women who reported rape were also prosecuted for prevarication, but were later released following appeals. . To address the issue, the central authorities as of December 2013 were in the process of forming a special crime unit to investigate and counter gender-based violence, as well as constructing a clinic set aside for victims of sexual assault. The national judiciary, security and police forces were all concurrently receiving specialized gender training as part of the broader reform effort. In June 2014, the Somali government also launched a National Action Plan against sexual violence in conjunction with local civil society groups. As part of the initiative, the Ministry of Women and Human Rights in December 2014 organized a public awareness campaign in the capital on the importance of human rights and how citizens can ensure their protection. a pre-marital custom mainly endemic to Northeast Africa and parts of the Near East. Encouraged by women in the community, it is primarily intended to deter promiscuity and to offer protection from assault. By 2013, UNICEF in conjunction with the Somali authorities reported that the prevalence rate among 1- to 14-year-old girls in the autonomous northern Puntland and Somaliland regions had dropped to 25% following a social and religious awareness campaign. Article 15 of the Federal Constitution also officially prohibits the practice. Prominent human rights activists include the constitutional Committee of Experts member Hanan Ibrahim, who serves as the Chairperson of the Barnet Muslim Women's Network; Hawa Aden Mohamed, Chairperson of the Galkayo Education Centre for Peace and Development; and Fartuun Adan and her daughter Ilwad Elman, founders of the Mogadishu-based Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre. ==Children's rights==

Article 29 of Somalia's national constitution defines a child as any individual under the age of 18, and stipulates that "every child has the right to be protected from mistreatment, neglect, abuse, or degradation." Regarding the extent of trust they had in different societal groups, the children indicated that they most trusted their mother (85% totally; 7% quite) and their father (71% totally; 15% quite). They also asserted that they least trusted the police (3% not very much; 7% not at all) and the mass media (3% not very much; 5% not at all). Additionally, the majority of children reported being aware of their rights (78%), with their right to education (72%), right not to be hurt or mistreated (63%), and right to health (62%) most widely recognized. In December 2014, the Federal Parliament also passed a new 54-point national Child Protection Act, which had been formulated by the Ministry for Women Affairs and Human Rights. Additionally, the legislature concurrently ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud later signed the treaty in January 2015, making Somalia the 195th state party to ratify the global Convention. ==Ethnic minority rights==

Article 11 of the national constitution stipulates that the state must not discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, colour, tribe or ethnicity. However, due to their foreign, non-Somali origins, people from the Bantu and Wardei ethnic minority groups still often face societal marginalization. In 2013, the federal government announced that it would establish its Directorate General for Human and Minority Rights and Rule of Law within the Office of the Prime Minister. Through the Ministry of Interior and Federal Affairs, it also launched a new national Agency for Refugees and IDPs, which is tasked with handling legislation, response initiatives, advocacy and implementation vis-a-vis returning and internally displaced citizens. ==Freedom of religion==

The following chart shows Somalia's ratings since 1972 on Freedom House's annual Freedom in the World index. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free". ==International treaties==

International human rights treaties that Somalia has signed or ratified include: ==See also==