Press Statement: For Immediate Release
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child*, jointly call on Somalia to lift the imposition of the death penalty on any children and young adults sentenced to death for the conviction of crimes committed under the age of 18.
Their joint statement is as follows:
UN Experts are alarmed and strongly condemn the execution of four young adults on 17 August 2024 in Galkayo, Puntland, Somalia for crimes committed during their association with Al-Shabaab. All four young men were under 18 years of age at the time of their offenses, as confirmed by the Puntland Age Verification Committee.
The UN Officials remind the Puntland authorities and the Federal Government of Somalia that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, as well as the Provisional Constitution of Somalia, all define a child as any person under the age of 18. The executions violate the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Somalia ratified in 2015. Article 37 a)** of the CRC specifically prohibits the use of death penalty against minors.
The UN Officials remind the Puntland authorities and the Federal Government of Somalia that children associated with armed groups, including those designated as terrorist groups by the United Nations, should be treated primarily as victims. They urge the Puntland authorities to end the prosecution of children before military courts and to protect children, including young adults who were children at the time of offenses, and ensure the full implementation of the Puntland Juvenile Justice Act and of Somalia’s child protection commitments.
The Officials call for the immediate release of all children from detention to hand them over to the United Nations for reintegration support. They remind that children should only be detained as a last resort and for the shortest period of time, and that alternatives to detention should be actively sought after in line with the best interest of the child. All children, wherever they are, deserve to live in peace with adequate care, protection, and assistance, including reintegration support. They urge the timely implementation of the Federal Republic of Somalia’s commitments under the 2012 action plans and 2019 roadmap on children and armed conflict, the 2014 Standard Operating Procedures for the reception and handover of children separated from armed groups to child protection actors, and the 2023 Age Verification Guidelines and Standardized Checklist.
The Officials further encourage the Puntland authorities to amend the Puntland Anti-Terrorism Act to align its definition of the age of the child with the Puntland Juvenile Justice Act.
The UN Officials remind that Childhood is entitled to special care and assistance per the CRC and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In times of armed conflict, children remain the most vulnerable group and State Parties should take all feasible measures to ensure their protection and care. The detention, harsh treatment, and capital punishment of children actually or allegedly associated with armed groups is unacceptable and exacerbates the vicious cycle of victimization of children in conflict.
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* The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child through its current Chair, Ann Skelton.
**Article 37 CRC -States Parties shall ensure that:
(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age;
