Wednesday November 18, 2015
By By Jacqueline Jones
UN Assistant Secretary-General for human rights Ivan Simonovic called on Somalia's international partners Tuesday to increase their aid in order for the country to maintain its gains in protecting its citizens' human rights. Simonovic described the major progress the country has made and said without continued aid from the international community, Somalia may not be able to maintain its gains against the Al Shabaab militia. He further condemned the human rights abuses committed by Al Shabaab, saying, "[v]iolations of international human rights and humanitarian law affect the reputation and credibility of security forces. Such violations also alienate the population they are expected to protect, and therefore negatively affect the ultimate success in the fight against terrorism." He said that the Somali government cannot overcome terrorism by military means alone, but must address the root causes, including "poverty, corruption and lack of good governance, unemployment, social exclusion and marginalization."
Somalia has been in turmoil for years due to issues of poverty, hunger and war. In April Human Rights Watch reported that Somali government officials had evicted thousands of displaced people from Mogadishu in early March. In February Somalia's prime minister appealed to the US government and US banks to resume allowing money transfers to Somalia, a crucial service for many in the war-torn country. In April 2014 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Somali authorities to place a moratorium on the death penalty.