Somalia: Govt Setting Up Task Force On Human Rights

Somali's Prime Minister, Abdi Farah Shirdon, has said his government will shortly set up an Independent Task Force on Human Rights to investigate human rights violations, abuses against women and violence against journalists.

In a statement, released on Sunday (February 3rd), the Prime Minister said the government was committed to upholding human rights and freedom of expression. He specifically referred to reform of the judiciary which he described as "under-resourced and lacking the needed capacity to meet today's challenges", noting that this was one of the government's six leading priorities. The Prime Minister underlined that the crime of rape was completely intolerable in Somalia culture and stressed the importance of encouraging "any victim of sexual violence, to come forward and report such attacks, which must then be investigated and prosecuted". He said the government was encouraged by a sharp drop in incidents since it made its involvement clear.

...

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.