UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 16) Other legislation that must be enacted in 2016 include:
- Sexual Offences Bill;

Para 25) The courts in Somalia have delivered a number of significant judgments that have directly invoked both constitutional provisions and other national laws, to uphold different rights including economic and social rights. Among these are ... judgments relating to sexual violence against women and children have been passed on. The government has been vocal about the passing of these judgements to make citizens aware that impunity will not be tolerated.

Para 36) The MWHR has engaged in dialogue with AMISOM aimed at taking special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse of Somali women and girls. The ministry has proposed to AMISOM to set up a task force consisting of AMISOM and government officials that will work together in cases of alleged human rights violations to come up with appropriate and timely responses to such incidents. AMISOM and the MWHR have agreed to cooperate and share knowledge regarding civilian casualty tracking to better enable accountability and prevent impunity.

Para 63) The MWHR has worked with several CSO on sexual violations cases and promoting human rights. The Ministry is also preparing a memoranda of understanding with CSO concerning human rights education and conducting research on relevant topics, such as human rights awareness raising in a federal context. The MWHR has supported a local CSO to establish a sexual violence crisis line, that victims of sexual abuse can anonymously call and get immediate advise and assistance.

Para 77) Regarding FGM prevention, the evaluation of the TOSTAN Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) intervention has been completed and lessons learned have been shared with all stakeholders. Also technical assistance was provided on reproductive health issues, while establishing reproductive health units with working groups and FGM task forces have been activated at regional level.

Para 86) The MWHR has been active and vocal to ensure affirmative action measures for women and girls (among other vulnerable groups). Many of these measures are adopted or are in the process of adoption by the government. The taken affirmative action measures include the following:
- National FGM task force operationalised, lead by the MoWHRD ...
- Legislation drafting of an Action Plan on ending Sexual / Gender-based Violence;
- Three GBV centres and two safe houses operationalised in Benadir, providing GBV victims emergency treatment, psychosocial counselling and refer to legal aid;
- Rehabilitation of an Institute for Children and Vulnerable Women funded by the MWHR;
- Attorney General office established special unit on Sexual violence;

UN Compilation:
Para 34) The Secretary-General stated that sexual violence continued to be reported in 2015 at about the same rate as in 2014. He noted that a sexual offences bill, aimed at criminalizing rape and other sexual offences, was pending parliamentary consideration.

Para 35) The Secretary-General and UN-Somalia stated that the Federal Government of Somalia had developed a national action plan to end sexual violence in conflict in May 2014. UN-Somalia noted, however, that the implementation of the action plan had been challenged by a political crisis and a government reshuffle, the limited capacity of the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development to deliver and to engage the regions, and the very limited resources allocated to support the implementation.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 30) Concerning recommendation 98.80 and 98.111, HRW noted that, in 2014, the Government had pledged to tackle the alarming levels of sexual violence by endorsing an action plan, the implementation of which had been slow and the protection of the most vulnerable communities non-existent.

National Report:
Para 38) A major milestone is that Somalia has ratified the CRC and that MWHR is working on implementing this treaty.

Para 39. The FGS is preparing to sign and ratify a number of international treaties such as: CEDAW

Para 40) ... The government is preparing to sign the two optional protocols to the CRC in the near future, one relating to the involvement of children in armed conflict and the other on the sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

Para 86) The MWHR has been active and vocal to ensure affirmative action measures for women and girls (among other vulnerable groups). Many of these measures are adopted or are in the process of adoption by the government. The taken affirmative action measures include the following:
- Technical committee to prepare CEDAW ratification set up.

National Report:
Para 11) Somalia has intensified its engagement and cooperation with international human rights treaty bodies and mechanisms since the last UPR cycle. The MoWHRD has led consultations with diverse groups of stakeholders on the path to ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This consultation focused on familiarizing the stakeholders with this core human rights convention and Somalia’s respective rights and obligations therein. Moreover, in 2017 the Minister of Women and Human Rights Development held consultations with the CEDAW Chairperson in New York, in the margins of the UN General Assembly, to discuss Somalia’s potential ratification as well as broad-based advocacy efforts to ensure the public understands the need for Somalia to ratify this core human rights convention. Correspondingly, the MoWHRD has led a CEDAW benchmarking study tour in 2019 to Egypt for the purposes of understanding, from a comparative perspective, other countries’ experiences with the ratification processes to inform Somalia’s own ratification process.

UN Compilation:
Para 2) … Somalia has not ratified the CEDAW …

National Report:
Para 22) … the current Somalia Penal Code stipulates that cases governed by more than one criminal legislation, that the special legislation supersedes the general one, and that the Penal Code shall nevertheless apply to cases governed by other special legislation, unless the latter specifies otherwise. Therefore, the draft laws developed by the MoWHRD, such as .. the Anti-FGM Bill …, will provide significant (additional) legal protection as special legislation taking precedence over the articles of the Somali Penal Code.
Para 45) The outcome of the convention was the first-ever Somali Women’s Charter, which codifies the demands of the Somali women in areas such as the constitution, addressing sexual violence, access to justice, female genital mutilation and women’s political and governance participation at all levels of government. The Charter is ground-breaking is in its reach, scope, inclusivity and ambition. It called for sustained advocacy and engagement on the obstacles facing women noting that the issues raised by women in the forum needed to be anchored in laws including the constitution that is currently under review. Somalia first unveiled the Charter during the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women held in New York in March 2019, highlighting the commitment of the Government to the implementation of the Charter. The Charter’s outcome continues to influence the campaign for the participation of women in public affairs including the current electoral process.

UN Compilation:
Para 51) The Independent Expert noted that women continued to be subjected to sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict-related violence, female genital mutilation and early and forced marriage. Sexual and physical violence against women and girls was widespread, committed with near-total impunity.
Para 56) The Independent Expert noted that harmful practices had continued unabated. Female genital mutilation, which 99 per cent of Somali girls and women aged 15–49 had undergone, continued to pose a risk to the health and well-being of those girls and women and constituted a violation of the rights of the child.
Para 57) UNHCR stated that reported incidents indicated that intimate partner violence and domestic violence, sexual abuse, child marriage, female genital mutilation and rape featured among the most common forms of sexual and gender-based violence. Women, girls, older persons, child- and female-headed households, people with disabilities, marginalized clans and internally displaced persons were the most affected. Given the lack of access to justice, the fear of retaliation, stigmatization and discrimination and the culture of impunity, most cases of sexual and gender-based violence went unreported.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 16) JS6 observed that Somalia did not have a comprehensive legal framework that addressed the rights of women and children. The National Development Plan (2017-2019) proposed the development of a National Children's Policy and Act drawing on Somalia's international obligations. In accordance with this plan, in 2017-2019, the government launched a number of policies such as the ratification of the African Charter, the FGM Bill, …, the Somali Sexual Offences Bill, … However, JS6 noted that, to date, many of these policies are drafts and not enacted or implemented by the State.
Para 60) … Furthermore, JS8 stated that 98% of women in Somalia are subjected to FGM. The occurrence of FGM in Somalia was one of the highest in the world.