GENEVA (Sunatimes) The Human Rights Council (Council) and the UN in general should ensure that increased attention paid to Somalia, notably at the Council, converts into concrete action in the sphere of human rights reporting and accountability on the ground said Mr. Hassan Shire Sheikh of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) today.

In its intervention at the Stand Alone Interactive Panel on Somalia held today, 29th September, EHAHRDP stressed the need for the UN to enhance human rights monitoring and reporting on Somalia. Mr. Hassan Shire underlined how the current absence of systematic documentation and public reporting undermines civilian protection and further isolates Somali human rights defenders. He called on the OHCHR and the Human Rights Unit of UNPOS to ensure that it has the capacity to carry out systematic reporting of violations committed by all warring parties, including the TFG and AMISON.

Mr. Abdullahi Shirwa of Somali Peaceline, who represented civil society on the Stand Alone Panel, called on the international community to engage in a more innovative manner in South and Central Somalia notably with a wider range of actors including civil society organizations, representatives from the business community, traditional elders as well as with certain parliamentary groups. Mr. Shirwa explained to the Council how all these actors have an interest in bringing about significant improvements in the human rights situation on the ground and are key to achieving this.

In another statement responding to the report by the UN Independent Expert on Somalia presented to the Council on the 28th September, Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, EHAHRD-Net focal point on Somalia, called on key actors to enhance their support – logistical, political and financial- to human rights defenders on the ground who continue to pay a heavy price for their key work. Mr. Ali explained how in 2010, individual journalists have been subjected to arbitrary detention and kidnappings, whilst media outlets have faced severe restrictions on their reporting, primarily by insurgent group, and had their facilities attacked. Human rights activists have also faced significant challenges and threats which have affected both the scope and nature of their work.

‘The voices of these key actors are increasingly scarce as defenders are forced to exert significant self-censorship, relocate to the limited TFG controlled area of the town or have been forced into exile. Increased support by the international community is key to enhancing defenders security as well as their reporting capacity and ability to engage with key regional and international fora’ said Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali.

The three interventions stressed how enhanced monitoring and reporting should go hand in hand with more concrete efforts to tackle impunity notably calling on the UN to immediately step up measures to investigate and map out key past and present violations of human rights and international humanitarian law with the aim of identifying appropriate accountability mechanisms.

Finally EHAHRDP called on the OHCHR and Human Rights Unit of UNPOS to increase collaboration in the East and Horn of Africa region with the UNHCR to ensure that the refugee agency takes the increasingly difficult reality facing Somali refugees and asylums seekers into account in its protection and resettlement work.   

Background

 EHAHARD along with key partners working in Geneva have been lobbying since 2009 for the Council to hold a special panel on Somalia in order to identify concrete human rights  measures. The decision by the African group at the 14th Session of the Council in June 2010 to pass a resolution calling for the holding of a Stand Alone Panel on Somalia was a very important step. EHAHRDP’s efforts since the passing of the resolution have been geared at ensuring that the discussion will convert into concrete action from the key actors involved in the panel and at ensuring that a representative of civil society would be included in the line- up of the formal panel.