News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International AI-index: AFR 52/002/2003 21/02/2003
21 February 2003

As the four-month-long Somali Peace and Reconciliation Conference resumes
at a new Kenyan venue and with a new chairperson, Somali human rights
activists have issued an important declaration founded on their many years
of mostly unacknowledged and risk-fraught human rights defence work.

Somali human rights defenders from 23 organizations, meeting in Hargeisa
from 10 to 18 February 2002, declared that they will "increase the struggle
against human rights abuses, such as arbitrary killings, torture, arbitrary
detention and kidnapping, and work for the equal rights of all, with full
protection for vulnerable groups such as women and minorities". They
affirmed support for women human rights defenders campaigning for the
eradication of violence against women and for women's full political
participation in building democratic governance.

In addition, they called on all Somali political authorities to "publicly
recognize the legitimate role of human rights defenders in the protection
and promotion of human rights, as set out in the UN Declaration on Human
Rights Defenders", and that "human rights defenders will not be subject to
reprisals for these activities".

They also called on the international community to protect human rights
defenders at risk, and assist them to build up the capacities of their
organizations. The declaration was adopted in the presence of the UN
Independent Expert for Somalia, Dr. Ghanim Alnajjar.

Human rights defenders in conflict-riven central and southern Somalia face
daily dangers of arbitrary killing or detention by faction militias or
ransom kidnapping by gunmen whom faction leaders have done little or
nothing to suppress in the areas they claim to control. In Puntland, civil
society organizations documenting abuses receive little tolerance from the
political authorities and are at risk as a result of the unresolved armed
conflict. In Somaliland in contrast, where there is a long-established
peace, general respect for human rights, a largely free press and a
multi-party election process, activists are concerned mainly about a very
poor justice system and declining political representation for women and
minorities.

In November 2002, Amnesty International's Open Letter to the Somalia Peace
Conference supported the demands of civil society groups attending it for
greater priority for human rights and not just a sharing-out of
violently-acquired power and its gains between armed faction leaders. The
Somali Human Rights Defenders Declaration took up the concerns of other
Somali activists at the peace talks and reiterated that there should be "no
impunity granted to those who have committed war crimes and crimes against
humanity .. .if they were allowed to hold government office they could
commit such crimes again".

"The outcome of the peace talks should not be a government of warring
faction-leaders giving themselves total impunity for their gross violations
of human rights", said Amnesty International. "Somali political leaders who
believe in peace and human rights must unite now to stop the cease-fire
violations, arbitrary killings, rape, kidnapping and financial extortion."
So far there is little indication from the armed faction leaders that they
are committed to rescue Somalia from a seemingly endless crisis threatening
regional peace and security.

"The regional and international sponsors of the peace talks must strive
harder to secure this commitment and see it in action as a basic
pre-requisite for any new transitional government," they said

Background

Meeting in Somaliland at a workshop organised by Amnesty International,
Novib and International Cooperation for Development in the only safe area
of the former state of Somalia which disintegrated in 1991, the
participants included human rights defenders from Mogadishu, such as the
Peace and Human Rights Network, Coalition of Grassroots Womens'
Organizations and Dr Ismail Jumale Human Rights Organization; Dulmidiid
Centre for Human Rights from Puntland regional state; Isha Human Rights
Organization from Baidoa; Kisima Peace and Human Rights Organization from
Kismayu; and Nagaad Women's Coalition, Hornwatch and several others from
Somaliland.

Somaliland's 12-year government is still campaigning for international
recognition. The UN-supported Transitional National Government (TNG) holds
little power even in Mogadishu as it approaches the end of its three-year
term. Two rival coalitions of over a dozen armed clan-based factions - one
linked to the TNG and the other backed by Ethiopia - continue to struggle
for power. Violations of the October 2002 cease-fire persist unpunished.

The full text of the Declaration, and a link to the Somali-language text is
available on our website.

For the full text of Amnesty International's Open Letter to the Somali
Peace Talks see:
http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/Index/AFR520022002?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIES [2]\SOMALIA

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