During my time as Minister for Women and Human Rights Development, I engaged in several strategic international initiatives aimed at championing the rights of the Somali people. A high point in my international activities, in the area of human rights, was during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2017. In his speech to the General Assembly, the then Prime Minister – Hassan Ali Khaire made a commitment for his government to pass vital legislations on human rights. This included the Sexual Offences Bill (SOB), which was meant to provide the tools to fight impunity for sexual violence as well as establish the Independent National Human Rights Commission (INHRC).
Engagements on Women’s Rights
Engagement with the SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict
During my mission to New York, I met with the newly appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (SRSG-SVC), Pramila Pattern. The office of the SRSG had been established through the adoption of Security Council resolution (SCR) 1888 in 2009, to tackle conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) as a peace and security issue, while also bearing in mind other serious violations of human rights that occur during armed conflict. The SRSG’s mandate is to provide coherent and strategic leadership, work effectively to strengthen existing United Nations coordination mechanisms and engage in advocacy efforts in collaboration with governments, including military and judicial representatives, and all parties to armed conflict (State and non-State armed groups) and civil society. During the meeting, I extended an invitation to her to visit Somalia in 2019, which she graciously accepted.
The engagement with the office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (SRSG-SVC) was significant as we shared the mission of addressing conflict-related sexual violence in the country. Our cooperation supported and amplified my Ministry’s effort toward protecting women and children.
Ending SGBV in Humanitarian Crisis Conference, OSLO Norway
In May 2019, Somalia, represented by my Ministry, co-hosted the “Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Crisis” conference that was held in Oslo, Norway, together with the governments of Norway, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. Significantly, the Oslo conference came at a critical moment for Somalia, as the cabinet unanimously approved the SOB (Sexual Offences Bill). The conference acknowledged gender inequalities as a challenge that needed to be addressed urgently and pledged the need to put survivors at the centre of all interventions: by ensuring accountability, ensuring that the security sector acts responsibly, and acknowledging the need to improve financing for the SGB prevention and response.
African Union Peace (AU) and Security Council
Somalia campaigned for a seat at the AU Peace and Security Council in 2019. During the 862nd meeting in 2019, the PSC organised a session dedicated to the theme, “Sexual Violence in Armed Conflicts in Africa”, in which I participated to share the progress that Somalia had made with regard to the passing of the SOB at the Executive level in 2018.
Anti FGM Benchmark visit to Djibouti
I had the opportunity to meet the Djibouti Government’s Minister of Women and Family, Her Excellency, Moumina Houmed Hassan, during one of the AU African Ministries of Gender meetings in Addis Ababa. I was intrigued by the fact that Djibouti had successfully reduced the practice of FGM in the country with the support of President Ismail Omar Gelle, religious and traditional leaders, and their society at large. This was achieved through concerted efforts using widespread civic awareness and the inclusion of FGM prevention in the curriculum of the Djiboutian educational system. Hence in 2019, I visited Djibouti with the Ministry’s anti-FGM legal drafting team with a view to exchanging ideas and learning from their experience.
Women Deliver Conference, Canada
In 2019 I attended the “Women Deliver” conference in Canada. During my visit, H.E. Maryam Monsef, the then Canadian Minister for Women and Gender Equality, had the opportunity to discuss how we could collaborate toward the advancement of women’s rights in Somalia. During this visit, I also met the Human Rights Committee of the Federal Parliament of Canada and attended one of their parliamentary sessions.
Green Templeton College-University of Oxford Talk
In June 2018, I was invited to present a paper titled “Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in conflict-affected contexts: Current challenges and opportunities in Somalia.” at the University of Oxford, Green Templeton College. The theme of my engagement was the need for increased efforts to document women’s activities in Somalia from independence to date because there is negligible academic work on Somali women. It was my view that partnering with such a prestigious university as Oxford would accord opportunities for future research and perhaps scholarship for deserving young girls in Somalia. In this regard, I engaged with various Somali Universities and proposed curriculum development with particular emphasis on gender studies.
Engagements on Children’s Rights
Engagement with the SRSG on Children and Armed Conflict
While attending the 2017 UNGA meeting, I met with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict, Virginia Gamba and extended an invitation to her to visit Somalia. It is important to note that Somalia is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and my Ministry, since 2017, was on course towards drafting a holistic Child Rights Bill that sought to protect Somali children from all forms of violence and exploitation. This was in line with the Somalia Provisional Constitution, and regional and international human rights obligations.
As we were drafting Somalia’s Child Rights Bill, I decided to include provisions for the six grave violations against children in times of war. This meant that passing the Child Rights Bill would have addressed the requirements of the two optional protocols, which has not yet been ratified by Somalia.
The invitation of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict was significant as it gave us the opportunity to share Somalia’s experience in addressing child protection issues, including our progress in the process of ratifying the African Children’s Charter.
African Union (AU)
In 2018 I extended an invitation to a delegation of officials of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) to Somalia with an aim of accelerating ratification of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). Their visit accorded us the opportunity to share our advancement as a country with regard to continental protocols on the rights and welfare of children in Somalia.
Engagements on Disability
To raise the profile of this vital commitment, my Ministry co-hosted, with the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the first side event for Somalia to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council in Geneva (42nd regular session). The theme of the event was ‘Making the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities a Reality in Somalia: The Road Ahead’, which was aimed to discuss the implementation of the CRPD in Somalia, while ensuring at the same time, that increased efforts in Somalia are based on the overarching and underlying principles of inclusion and gender, independence, full participation, equality, and human dignity. I also had the opportunity to represent Somalia at the Global Disability Summit in London, where Somalia made several pledges to advance and protect the rights of Persons with Disabilities. In 2019, I represented the Ministry at the Oslo Conference on the Mine Ban Treaty, focusing on mine survivors and other persons with disabilities.
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