Somalia: Human Rights

(asked on 15th May 2023) - View Source

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 adequacy of the protection of human rights in Somalia.


Answered by
Andrew Mitchell Portrait
Andrew Mitchell
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
This question was answered on 18th May 2023

Human rights remain under threat across Somalia, with serious issues such as gender-based violence, recruitment of children into armed conflict, and threats to media freedom. The UK views the promotion of respect for human rights across Somalia, including Somaliland, as essential to the country's long-term stability. We regularly engage with the authorities to urge them to improve human rights protection. In particular, we encourage the Federal Government to pass key legislation, including the Sexual Offences Bill and the Child Rights Bill, to help safeguard the rights of women and children, as well as to amend the 2020 Media Law to enable the media to report independently without risk of retribution.

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