Assistance to Somalia in the Field of Human Rights

Urges the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia to allow and facilitate rapid and unhindered humanitarian access to the population in need throughout the country, calls on the African Union and all States to support this essential effort, and strongly encourages the Government and the African Union to increase awareness and training among the troops of the African Union Mission in Somalia and Somali security forces at the national and subnational levels on human rights and on international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, with the support of the international community, while noting that humanitarian access and security and the fulfilment of human rights are linked, and that assistance efforts should take these linkages into account;

Calls on the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia to take immediate steps to protect women, and to end abuses and violations of their human rights, in particular sexual violence, emphasizes the need for accountability for all such abuses and violations, urges non-State actors, in particular Al-Shabaab, to immediately refrain from abusing the rights of women, including forced and underage marriage, and calls on all States to support these essential efforts;

Urges the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia and subnational authorities to seek the tangible and timely assistance from, inter alia, regional bodies to reform the Somali judiciary system, to select and enhance the capacity of the Somali judges inside the country, with a particular focus on the promotion and protection of human rights and, in this regard, calls upon all States to provide assistance;

Requests the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, in close cooperation with the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia, subnational authorities and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and the United Nations Political Office for Somalia to provide advisory services to the new Government and Parliament for the establishment of a national human rights commission, in compliance with the Paris Principles, as well as for a truth and reconciliation commission, as provided for by the provisions of articles 111 B and 111 I of the new provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and calls upon Member States to support this crucial task;

Encourages the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia to develop, with the assistance of the Independent Expert, a human rights post-transition road map with benchmarks and timelines to promote and protect all human rights, including, inter alia, the right to water and sanitation, the right to health care and the right to education and other basic needs of vulnerable people, such as internally displaced persons, women, returnees, children, minorities and journalists;

Invites the special procedures system and thematic mandate holders to engage fully and coordinate with the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia;