The Coalition for Justice and Peace in Somaliland

12 May 2005

For additional information, please contact Ibrahim Jama Ali (415851) or Ibrahim Haji Musa

Human Rights Organizations Under Threat

The Coalition for Justice and Peace in Somaliland (CJPS) is concerned about the implications for human rights of statements made on 10 May by the Minister of the Interior, Ismail Adan Osman, during a conference to debate a proposed National Human Rights Commission. The comments, given prominent coverage by the local media yesterday, underline the government’s intolerance of criticism, and its determination to control the flow of information that reaches the outside world. The Coalition shares the desire of the government and public in Somaliland to attract international interest and investment. But it believes that sweeping unpleasant facts under the carpet, rather than confronting reality and addressing problems, is detrimental to the interests of Somaliland. It also believes that the government’s extreme sensitivity to alternative opinions and voices is in fact undermining Somaliland’s nascent institutions, demoralising its people and jeopardising its future.

It is ironic, and instructive, that the comments by the Minister of the Interior were made during a presentation to a conference called to discuss the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission. The conference was organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The Coalition was among a number of prominent and experienced human rights groups who were not invited to the conference, the others being Samotalis, the War Crimes Commission and African Rights. These organizations have, on a number of recent occasions, clashed with the government on its human rights record, a fact that should not have been allowed to stand in the way of their presence at a UNDP conference.

The Minister of the Interior told the conference what he expected of the proposed Commission, as reported by Jamhuuriya.

I would like so see included in the articles of the National Human Rights Commission clauses that restrain human rights activists based in Somaliland.

The newspaper went on to explain the Minister’s grievances against unnamed human rights groups.

He accused certain members of human rights groups in Somaliland of disseminating false reports that are damaging to the dignity and statehood of Somaliland.

The case of Zamzam Ahmed Dualeh, the young girl who was detained for five months last year, and whose detention and accusations of rape against a number of police officers was documented and publicised by the Coalition, was highlighted in the Minister’s speech.

There was a case which was used to weaken our economic development and [our quest] for recognition. It was intended to make the international community put an end to their support for us by making them perceive us as people who violate human rights and who are no better, if not worse, than the government we struggled against. [These human rights people] are doing this in order to trample upon the rights of all of us.

According to the article, the Minister is determined to vet human rights reports before they are allowed to reach an international audience.

The Minister warned human rights organizations by telling them that they should not disseminate reports without first submitting such reports to his Ministry.

The Coalition is particularly troubled by the tendency of the government to label critics as enemies of Somaliland. He asked the audience this question:

What is your own judgment when you see a citizen of Somaliland, be it a man or a woman, who submits a report critical of Somaliland to the British Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union delegation, both of whom paid a visit here recently?

The government newspaper, Maandeeq, also quoted the Minister as he expressed his opinion that human rights groups in Somaliland have a duty to keep the truth away from foreign visitors.

Every time that foreign visitors come to Somaliland, in order to learn more about our affairs, and where we stand regarding our independence, our achievements, and whether we are mature enough to be recognized [as an independent state], it so often happens that citizens, who claim to represent human rights, address their criticism and accusations of the government to the [foreign] delegations instead of submitting their concerns to the government.

I consider the person who acts in this manner to be someone who is opposed to our statehood and our search for independence.

Haatuf concentrated on the part of the Minister’s speech where he took the human rights groups who had defended Zamzam Ahmed Dualeh to task.

It is important that we collectively safeguard [human] rights and at the same time avoid inventing what is not true. He took an example of the girl from Puntland who accused the Somaliland police of raping her.

Haatuf quoted the Minister as he explained how the case developed.

The Minister said they had requested the United Nations to send them a doctor who investigated the case and who confirmed to them that the girl had never been raped. But complaints continue, and foreign delegations who come to Somaliland still ask the Somaliland government about the case. Therefore, the Minister said: “it is essential to seek information from those who are concerned before making such information available.”

We do not wish to comment here on the substance of the Zamzam case. We would merely point out that it was in fact inappropriate to condition her release on a medical examination that did not involve her consent or her mother’s, in order to minimize “embarrassment” to Somaliland. The embarrassment lay in the manner in which she was arrested, detained, tried, sentenced and denied a wide range of human rights.

The Coalition for Justice and Peace in Somaliland is committed to protecting and improving human rights. We see dialogue and debate as important, and urge all the people of Somaliland, irrespective of their politics, to contribute to the search for constructive solutions to the myriad problems Somaliland faces. We recognize and salute the abilities, judgement and resilience of the people of Somaliland who can, and will, make up their own minds about the truth as they see it. We also believe in justice and fairness, and that includes our right to speak our minds, without fear or favour, on issues of national interest, to national, regional and international audiences. We hope that the government of Somaliland will, in time, come to see this endeavour as an exercise in the responsibilities of citizenship.

The Coalition for Justice and Peace in Somaliland brings together organizations and individuals that share a common interest in promoting justice, peace, human rights, the culture of dialogue and the establishment of democratic institutions in Somaliland.