Protection Cluster

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – A 10-year-old girl in central Somalia has died after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM), prompting calls from campaigners to criminalise the internationally condemned practice in a country with the world’s highest rates. The girl was taken by her mother to a traditional circumciser on July 14. The …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the United Nations have reiterated their commitment to help develop capacity of the Somali national security forces to address all forms of human rights violations. The two organizations promised to continue mobilizing resources and providing specialized training to the …

BAIDOA (SOHA) – Safiyo, 26, lies in a hospital bed in the southern Somali town of Baidoa, recovering from multiple stab wounds after a brutal attack on 22 June. Safiyo – whose real name we have concealed to protect her – told Radio Ergo a man sneaked into her house …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – More than 30 participants from the Somali national security forces have concluded a five-day course on gender equality and human rights. The participants drawn from security agencies of the federal and state governments were taken through sets of rules, regulations and laws on gender equality and human …

JOWHAR (SOHA) – An 85-year-old was beaten and raped inside the Jilayaale IDP  Camp in Jowhar of middle Shabelle Somalia. The 85-year-old women Madina Ali Kay Osman was later admitted to a hospital in Jowhar town and investigations are still on by the security forces where several people were arrested …

JENEVA (SOHA) – More than 10,000 children were killed or maimed amid armed conflicts worldwide last year, while others were raped, forced to serve as soldiers or caught in attacks on schools and hospitals, a United Nations report said Wednesday. A total of more than 21,000 violations of children’s rights …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is taking concrete steps to tackle Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Somalia. The Mission’s gender unit plans to train additional Somali police officers to help fight increased cases of sexual violence against women. The Reforms, Restructuring and Development Coordinator with AMISOM …

NEW YORK (SOHA) – There are now more children forcibly displaced by conflict – an estimated 30 million – than at any other time since the Second World War, UNICEF said on the eve of World Refugee Day. The UN children’s agency went on to warn that these vulnerable children need …

When Anab’s madrasa teacher in Mogadishu told her to stay behind after classes, everyone but her two younger brothers left. He ordered the boys to face the wall, then assaulted their six-year-old sister. Anab’s father, Yusuf, says he clearly saw the “shock and horror in the face” of his daughter …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – A United Nations human rights expert on Friday called for the immediate release of all children kidnapped or recruited as fighters in armed conflict in Somalia. Bahame Tom Nyanduga, the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, also condemned recent terrorist attacks in …