A United Nations expert in Somalia has called for the immediate release of all children kidnapped or recruited as fighters in the country’s armed conflict.
Tom Mukirya Nyanduga, the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, urged the warring factions to release the children, saying their involvement in war was a violation of children’s rights.
“The abduction of children by the Al Shabaab group and their recruitment and use by Government security forces in the armed conflict constitute a grave violation of the children’s rights,” he said in a statement.
He commended the government for measures taken so far to rehabilitate children captured in combat, and for recognizing that such children were victims, but he urged the authorities to act now to stop children being used in the fighting.
Nyanduga also called on the Government to build rehabilitation centres to address the plight of children associated with Al Shabaab.
He hailed the Government for some human rights improvements, including ending the practice of executing in public those convicted of terrorism-related offences, but made clear there was still much more to be done to improve human rights more generally in Somalia.
“There has been a considerable improvement in the right to freedom of expression and opinion compared to the previous year, but I am still receiving reports of harassment, intimidation, arrest and detention without trial of journalists. I call on the Government to ensure respect for the right to freedom of expression and opinion, and a free media,” he said.
Somalia has been rid by a decade long conflict perpetrated by jihadist group al-Shabaab.
The war has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions others, creating a humanitarian crisis that has been worsened by adverse weather patterns.
