UN Human Rights Council 63: UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue on Somalia.

Thank you Madame Vice-President,

The UK welcomes Somalia’s support to all three of the UK’s recommendations made during its UPR earlier this year. And we remain committed to supporting Somalia to implement its UPR recommendations.

As Somalia moves from review to implementation, continued engagement remains essential. The end of the Independent Expert’s mandate, and the closure of UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia will not reduce international attention, monitoring, or commitment to provide technical support. We encourage Somalia to maintain close cooperation with OHCHR and the wider UN human rights system.

We welcome the establishment of the National Independent Human Rights Commission and encourage the Federal Government of Somalia to provide the support needed for the Commission to operate independently and effectively.

We remain concerned about reported differentiation between the age of “maturity” and the age of “responsibility”. Somalia must ensure that the rights of all children — every individual under 18 — are fully protected.

We are also concerned by aspects of Somalia’s draft Penal Code, including provisions that could weaken protections for children, restrict freedom of expression and media freedom, and fall short of international human rights obligations.

We urge Somalia to ensure the Penal Code and related legislation strengthen, rather than weaken, rights protections.

Thank you.