Grave Violations

1,161

children (1,116 boys, 45 girls)

793

(200 killed - 593 maimed; 573 boys - 220 girls)

307

children (306 girls, 1 boy)

33

(30 schools, 3 hospitals)

1,030

children (933 boys, 97 girls)

16

verified incidents

*The information below is based on the Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (A/76/871-S/2022/493) issued on 11 July 2022. Violations that occurred in previous years but were verified in 2021 have been included in the totals above.

 

Developments & Concerns

Progress

  • Efforts to implement the 2012 action plans on ending and preventing the recruitment and use and the killing and maiming of children and the 2019 road map, including at the federal member state level.
  • Establishment of working groups on children and armed conflict at the federal member state level is a positive development.

 

 

Challenges

  • Continuing high number of children in detention.
  • Clashes between Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama‘a and security forces in Galmudug and call upon the group to cease child recruitment and use.
  • Staggering numbers of grave violations committed by all parties to conflict, the majority of which were committed by Al-Shabaab.

Recommendations

To the Government:

  • To strengthen and expedite the implementation of the Government’s commitments to combat conflict-related sexual violence.
  • To ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, fast-track the endorsement of the child rights bill, endorse the juvenile justice bill and age verification guidelines, and adopt the sexual offences bill of 2018.
  • To immediately release children in detention and to treat them primarily as victims.
  • To apply the standard operating procedures for the reception and handover of children separated from armed groups to child protection actors, endorsed in 2014.
  • To provide information on the integration of Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama‘a into the Somali Federal Defence and Police Forces and enable the United Nations to conduct screening exercises.

To All Parties:

  • To immediately cease and prevent violations by all parties and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

 

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