UN Human Rights Council 39: UK Introductory Statement on Somalia
The UK called on Council members to adopt its resolution on technical assistance to Somalia, stressing the importance to support states who recognise their challenges.
The UK is proud to present this resolution with Somalia and the group of friends of Somalia, to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert on human rights in Somalia.
We commend Somalia for recent progress it has made in the field of human rights and recognise that Somalia’s recovery from over 25 years of conflict is ongoing. In this regard, we welcome progress in upholding human rights and in strengthening political processes. We particularly commend the work by the Ministry for Women and Human Rights Development as the lead federal government body to advance the human rights agenda in Somalia.
The resolution does not shy away from recognising the many challenges that remain. It calls for support to Somalia’s institutions to build a stable, peaceful and prosperous state. It stresses the essential need to continue our support for security sector reform. It calls on Somalia to end a prevailing culture of impunity, and to pay particular attention to children who have been recruited as child soldiers by establishing and implement rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.
The resolution looks to build bridges between the work we do in Geneva and regional and international efforts to support Somalia, by building on some of the important outcomes of the London Somalia Conference and Somalia Partnership Forum.
The cooperation shown by Somalia with a range of international mechanisms and this Council, demonstrates a willingness to move forward and improve the human rights situation.
It is clear we must continue to strengthen our combined support to Somalia. This resolution does exactly that, and we count on your support.