The men had been in prison for five months but had not yet been charged.Residents of Bariire in the Lower Shabelle Region reported in June that al-Shabaab regularly forced locals to attend public executions, amputations, and other punishments as a means of intimidating the local population, particularly ahead of government operations in local areas.Fighting among clans and subclans, particularly over water and land resources, occurred throughout the year, particularly in the regions of Hiiraan, Galmudug, Lower and Middle Shabelle, and Sool (see section 6). As of August provisionally registered national political parties complained that Federal Member State administrations continued to prevent them from opening regional offices.In January police dispersed approximately 100 youth attending a seminar on governance organized by the national opposition party Wadajir.In March the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development convened 350 delegates to draft the Somali Women’s Charter that includes a demand for the inclusion of women’s rights in the constitution and electoral law and calls for a 50 percent quota for women in all levels of governance. In March, Somalia’s court of armed forces took two soldiers from the Presidential Guard Brigade into custody after they had been charged with abusing and threatening two journalists. Prison conditions in such areas were believed to be harsh and at times life threatening.Only inmates in Central Mogadishu, the Mogadishu Prison and Court Complex, and Garowe and Hargeisa Prisons had daily access to showers, sanitary facilities, adequate food and water, and outdoor exercise.
The law does not address antiunion discrimination or the reinstatement of workers fired for union activity. Nevertheless, torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment occurred. Population (2019 est.) During the year there were numerous reports of government corruption. As of September, UNHCR supported the return of more than 2,800 refugees. Somaliland has a bicameral parliament consisting of an appointed 86-member House of Elders, known as the Guurti, and an elected 82-member House of Representatives with proportional regional representation. The sole woman occupying a seat in the House of Elders gained appointment after her husband, who occupied the seat, resigned in 2012. There was no official response to such discrimination.The law provides for the right of every worker to form and join a trade union, participate in the activities of a trade union, conduct legal strikes, and engage in collective bargaining. The government held some suspects under house arrest, particularly high-ranking defectors from al-Shabaab with strong clan connections. The provisional federal constitution states, “No child may perform work or provide services that are not suitable for the child’s age or create a risk to the child’s health or development in any way.” The provisional federal constitution defines a child as any person younger than 18. Pirates continued to hold persons kidnapped in previous years.Of the four remaining Iranian fishermen kidnapped in 2015 by al-Shabaab in Somali waters near El-Dheer, Galguduud Region, one was released in September on humanitarian grounds.The law prohibits torture and inhuman treatment. Defendants had the right not to be compelled to testify or confess guilt. The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi handles consular coverage for Somalia. Al-Shabaab often used suicide attacks, mortar attacks, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Ahmed Mohamed Islam “Madobe” was selected as president in a 2013 conference of elders and representatives and re-selected in August 2015. The government sometimes kept high-profile prisoners associated with al-Shabaab in safe houses before officially charging them. Economic migrants also use the country as a transit corridor en route to the Gulf, Yemen, and Europe that exposed them to exploitation and abuse, primarily by human traffickers.FGS and Somaliland authorities cooperated with UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration to assist refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern. The army reports to the Ministry of Defense, and the Somali Police Force reports to the Ministry of Internal Security. Two ministers among the 24 cabinet ministers were women.A woman chaired the Somaliland Human Rights Commission, while a minority youth served as deputy chair. While the army arrested some security force members accused of such rapes, impunity was the norm.
He went into self-imposed exile, claiming that his safety and security had been undermined by the publicity of his firing.In April and May, the Somaliland government arrested a journalist, an opposition youth leader, a civil servant, and a member of parliament for criticizing the government, either in online media or in public settings. Civilian authorities did not always maintain effective control over the security forces.Significant human rights issues included: unlawful or arbitrary killing, including extrajudicial killings, of civilians by federal government forces, clan militias, al-Shabaab, and unknown assailants; forced disappearances by al-Shabaab; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by federal government forces, clan militias, al-Shabaab, and unknown assailants; arbitrary and politically motivated arrest and detentions, including of journalists by federal government forces and regional government forces; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; political prisoners; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; the worst forms of restrictions on free expression, the press, and internet, including violence, threats of violence, and unjustified arrests and prosecutions of journalists, censorship, site blocking, and the existence of criminal libel laws; numerous acts of corruption; restrictions on political participation; unlawful recruitment or use of child soldiers by federal government forces, clan militias, Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama (ASWJ), and al-Shabaab; the existence or use of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults; violence against women and girls, partly caused by government inaction; forced labor; and the worst forms of child labor.Impunity generally remained the norm. At least a dozen persons were killed in violence on the margins of protests the weekend before the vote, including a state member of parliament and a young boy, although the South West State government investigation reported only four deaths.Parliamentary elections in Somaliland, last held in 2005, were overdue by 14 years.