Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the state of (a) civil and (b) political rights in Somalia.

The UK Government assesses that civil and political rights in Somalia are under serious threat. We welcome the Somali government's commitment to political and constitutional reform and urge them to establish an independent human rights commission and progress key legislation. This includes reforming the 2020 Media Law to enable the press to report freely and independently. The UK coordinates with international partners and lobbies the Government on press freedom and the arrests of journalists. We provide training to journalists and security forces on media freedom issues. Somali elections do not always ensure universal suffrage and we are supporting the government to develop a more representative electoral system. The Somali justice system faces significant challenges and traditional dispute resolution methods often fall below international standards. There are reports of arbitrary detention across Somalia.