Trial of children in military courts still rampant in Somalia-HRW report
BY FAUXILE KIBET
The global campaign body Human Rights Watch has accused Somali Authorities of unlawfully detaining and at times prosecuting in military courts children with alleged ties to Islamist armed group Al-Shabaab.
The 85-page report titled “It’s Like We Are Always in a Prison’: Abuses Against Boys Accused of National Security Offenses in Somalia,” details a series of abuses dating back to 2015 of boys in government custody for suspected Al-Shabaab related offenses.
The Somali Federal government had agreed to expeditiously hand over captured children to the United Nations child protection agency (UNICEF) for rehabilitation but according to the report, Mogadishu has been inconsistent in keeping up to the promise.
The report points out the capture of 36 children from Al-Shabaab on January 18th that took a series of negotiations involving the United Nations and child protection advocates to work out procedure for dealing with them.
“Children who suffered under Al-Shabab find themselves at risk of mistreatment and hardship in government custody,” observes Laetitia Bader, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report.
According to the UN, hundreds of boys have been detained by Somali authorities across the country on suspicion that they were part of the Al-Shabaab militant group.
Somalia is obligated under international law to recognize the special situation of children – defined as anyone below the age of 18, who has been recruited or used in conflict.
Children who participate in armed groups can be tried for serious crimes, but legal proceedings should comply with juvenile justice standards and non-judicial measures should be considered.
“Somali authorities have not handled security cases involving children in a consistent manner. While government officials had previously admitted to detaining boys they classified as “high risk,” Human Rights Watch found that factors including socio-economic status, clan background, and external pressure may influence the outcome of a boy’s case,” the Human Rights Watch report observes.
FORCED CONFESSIONS
The report also notes that while the criminal prosecution of children is not common in Somalia, the authorities make use of an outdated legal system to try children in military courts, primarily as adults, for security crimes, including solely for Al-Shabab membership.
“In a justice system that remains heavily reliant on forced confessions, children are not spared. Children in intelligence detention in Mogadishu and Bosasso have been coerced into signing or recording confessions and threatened and on occasion beaten, at times in ways that amount to torture,” the rights body notes.
According to the report, over two dozen children have been tried in military courts in Puntland alone since 2016.
While federal and regional authorities have handed over 250 children to UNICEF for rehabilitation since 2015, this has largely been the result of sustained advocacy and often after children have spent considerable time in detention.
The report opines that Somalia’s international partners should press for civilian oversight of cases involving children, seek independent monitoring of all detention facilities, and call for the credible investigation of abuses against children, including by intelligence officers.
“The Somali government should treat children as victims of the conflict, and ensure that children, regardless of the crimes they may have committed, are accorded the basic protection due to all children,” argues Laetitia Bader, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.