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Four Million Children in Somalia Suffer From Conflict and Climate Change, UN Expert Says

17:56, 11 May 2024

Christina Glazkova

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Since the mid-2000s, al-Shabaab*, a military group with close ties to al-Qaeda*, has waged a violent insurgency against the Somali government and remains active in neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya.

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The conflict situation in Somalia, together with the effects of climate change, has impacted around four million children in the country, Isha Dyfan, a UN independent expert on the human rights situation in Somalia said.

"[...] Four million children are affected by the conflict situation as well as the impact of climate change. Children represent 60 to 70% of the IDP [Internally Displaced People] and other vulnerable populations. [...] I noted slow progress in the implementation of the National Action plan on Children and I wish to call upon the Federal Government to take measures to promote and protect women and children rights," she said.

Some of the most important issues that children and other vulnerable people are facing include forced evictions, as well as inadequate clearance of mines and hazardous materials in liberated areas, Dyfan noted.

The UN expert also advised Somalia to use debt forgiveness and allocate the money into areas that will contribute to the development of education and improvement of people's health.

Furthermore, she outlined the "epidemic problem" of sexual and gender-based violence and murder, noting the lack of accountability for perpetrators.

"In this context, I reiterated the need to take all necessary measures to strengthen capacity for investigation and prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence and to promote a safe environment where victims and survivors can report crimes without any fears of reprisals or stigma and to ensure that victims are protected, have access to justice and effective remedies," the UN official urged.

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At the same time, Dyfan commended efforts that the government has already made to protect minors.

"These include measures to prevent the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, implementing age verification processes, and biometric registration within the Somali National Armed Forces to ensure compliance," the expert said.

Despite the existing problems, the Somali government has noted successes in the fight against terrorists and therefore recently appealed to the UN with a request to terminate the mandate of the UN mission in Somalia, which, among other things, helped the state in the fight against al-Shabaab militants.

* Terrorists groups banned in Russia and many other countries.