STORY: SOMALIA HUMAN RIGHTS ROAD

MAP READY FOR IMPLEMENTATION

TRT: 5:46
SOURCE: UNSOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
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CREDIT REQUIRED: UNSOM PUBLIC
INFORMATION
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/SOMALI/NATS
DATELINE: 9TH/MAY/2015, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
SHOT LIST
1.
Wide shot, Minister of Women Affairs and Human Rights,
Sahra Ali Samatar chairs the Human Rights workshop
2.
Med shot, Minister of Women Affairs and Human Rights,
Sahra Ali Samatar chairs the Human Rights workshop
3.
Close up, Minister of Women Affairs and Human Rights,
Sahra Ali Samatar
4.
Med shot, officials present at the meeting
5.
Med shot, officials present at the meeting
6.
Med shot, Ms. Guadalupe de Sousa, Chief, UNSOM
Human Rights Section
7.
Med shot, officials present at the meeting
8.
SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) GUADALUPE DE SOUSA,
HUMAN RIGHTS SECTION, UNSOM:
The Action Plan which is being validated today is the outcome of
a broad consultation process led by the Ministry of Women and
Human Rights Development, with full participation of an interministerial team made up of focal points from 13 ministries. This
is a remarkable achievement for Somalia, and I congratulate the
Government for such coordination efforts.
9.
Close up, civil rights official at the function
10. Close up, an official present at the meeting
11. Med shot, officials present at the meeting
12. Med shot, Minister of Women Affairs and Human Rights,
Sahra Ali Samatar
13. Close up, an official takes note of the proceedings
14. Close up, points to note as discussed during the meeting
15. SOUNDBITE: (SOMALI) SAHRA ALI SAMATAR,
MINISTER OF WOMEN AND HUMAN RIGHTS, SOMALIA:
Our meeting here today shows our resolve towards ending the
violations of human rights. God willing, from today onwards we
will start to implement the human rights laws and as I said, we
are required to complete it by October. If I also speak about the

National Government, we are preparing the National Commission

on Human Rights which is required to be in place by May. The
Ministry of Women and Human Rights is also required to work on
many other laws, which also protect human rights whether it is
children, women, the disabled and in general, the problems
facing the Somali population. It will also look at how to prevent
human rights violations and if there are any rights to be observed
or laws to be implemented, and then we have to observe or work
on them. So our meeting today is very important because we
were able to discuss human rights issues and also agree on how
to beat the October deadline of this year.
16. Med shot, officials present at the meeting
17. Close up, an official present at the meeting
18. Close up, a government official present at the meeting
19. Close up, Ms. Guadalupe de Sousa, UNSOM Human
Rights Section
20. Med shot, Minister of Women Affairs and Human Rights,
Sahra Ali Samatar
21. Med shot, officials present at the meeting
22. SOUNDBITE: (SOMALI) MOHAMED OMAR,
DIRECTOR GENERAL, MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND HUMAN
RIGHTS, SOMALIA:
We will take with us some of the recommendations that came
out of this meeting and for those regions that did not take part,
we will also include their recommendations, Thereafter, we will
have a working document which represents the whole country
and will be used by the national government or the Federal State
on how they want to address the human rights issue, its abuse
and its implementation in Somalia. This shows how Somalia is
committed towards addressing human rights violations and
especially violations against child and women rights and as well
rights violation against vulnerable groups or communities.
23. Wide shot, Mohamed Omar, Director General, Ministry of
Women and Human Rights
24. Close up, Mohamed Omar, Director General, Ministry of
Women and Human Rights
25. Med shot, officials present at the meeting
26. SOUNDBITE: (SOMALI) ABDIRAHMAN HASSAN
OMAR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE NATIONAL
UNION OF SOMALI JOURNALISTS (NUSOJ)
We request the government to fast tract the bills and laws on
human rights and also to educate the public through awareness
programs because Somalia is recovering from a long civil war. As
things get better, we urge the government and parliament to put
in place laws or regulations on human rights. As Civil society
members, we are ready to always defend human rights wherever
we are and to see that each person gets his or her rights. As such
we will defend human rights especially when we talk about the
media. Somalia journalists are facing many problems even

though the situation improves with each year that goes by. We
will defend the people whose voices do not reach far because we
speak on their behalf as their defenders; we defend the media,
the Somali people and every other human being.
27. Wide shot, Mohamed Yusuf, Chairman, Puntland
Independent Office of Human Rights Defender
28. Close up, Mohamed Yusuf, Chairman, Puntland
Independent Office of Human Rights Defender
29. Close up, an official present at the meeting
30. Wide shot, Mohamed Omar, Director General, Ministry of
Women and Human Rights
31. Close up, an official participates during the discussions
32. Close up, an official present at the meeting
33. Close up, a Government official present at the meeting
34. Wide shot, Mohamed Omar, Director General, Ministry of
Women and Human Rights
35. Close up, an official works on his laptop
36. Close up, an official participates during the discussions
37. Wide shot, an official participates during the discussions
38. Med shot, Mohamed Omar, Director General, Ministry of
Women and Human Rights
39. Close up, Mohamed Omar, Director General, Ministry of
Women and Human Rights
40. Med shot, an official participates during the discussions
41. Wide shot, Mohamed Omar, Director General Ministry of
Women and Human Rights
STORY
Somalia Human Rights Roadmap ready for implementation
MOGADISHU, 9 May 2015 The Federal Government of Somalia
and Somali human rights defenders have endorsed, with some
amendments, the countrys Human Rights Roadmap at a validation
meeting held in Mogadishu on Saturday.
Federal and regional government officials, representatives of civil
society organisations, human rights defenders, Somalias key
development partners attended the meeting, which was organised
with the support of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia
(UNSOM).
Representing the Federal Government of Somalia, Sahra Ali
Samatar, the Minister of Women Affairs and Human Rights
Development said the Government was committed to implementing
its international human rights commitments, including the Universal
Periodic Review recommendations.

Our meeting here today shows our resolve towards ending human
rights violations and abuses. The Federal Government is in the
process of establishing the National Human Rights Commission as
soon as the parliament has passed the bill, she said.
The Ministry of Women and Human Rights is also required to work
on many other laws in the area of human rights; be it children,
women, people with disabilities and in general, address challenges
facing the population and prevent human rights violations and
abuses.
Speaking at the meeting, the Director of the UNSOMs Human Rights
Section Guadalupe de Sousa said: The Action Plan which is being
validated today, is the outcome of a broad consultation process led
by the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development, with full
participation of an inter-ministerial team made up of focal points
from 13 ministries. This is a remarkable achievement for Somalia,
and I congratulate the Government for such coordination efforts.
The Federal Government adopted the Human Rights Roadmap in
August 2013 with an aim to protect and promote human rights in
Somalia. The adoption came after the UN Human Rights Council
reviewed Somalias human rights record in 2011 and made certain
recommendations.
The roadmap provides for six key thematic areas of human rightsrelated activities to be implemented in 2015 and 2016. The areas
cover protection of civilians, access to justice, womens rights, and
rights of the child, rights of internally displaced persons and
refugees and other vulnerable groups, as well as economic and
social rights including the right to health, education and food.
De Sousa said the Action Plan is consistent with the countrys Peace
and State-building Goals (PSGs), adding that the UN is committed to
supporting the Federal Government in implementing it. She also
called on all other partners to ensure that adequate funding this
purpose.
The Minister cited the ratification of the International Convention on
the Rights of the Child in January 2015 by the President of Somalia
as one of the areas of progress made so far. She said plans were
underway by the Government to ensure the (domestication)
application of the Convention in the country. She added that
separately, the government was finalising laws on Female Genital
Mutilation as well as on the establishment of the independent
Human Rights Commission.

With respect to the submission of the state report to the UN Human

Rights Council, the Minister noted that efforts are being made to
meet the October deadline.
Finally, the Minister emphasised that the effective implementation
of the Human Rights Road Map would lead to Somalia being able to
stand on its feet again, and called for all to cooperate.
During the workshop, a number of civil society members and human
rights defenders called for the popularization of the Human Rights
Action Plan in the regions and districts in Somalia. A human rights
defender and the Assistant Secretary-General of the National Union
of Somali Journalists, Abdirahman Hassan Omar said: We request
the Government to fast-track the laws on human rights and also
educate the public through awareness and advocacy programmes.
Speaking at the close of the workshop, Mohamed Omar Nur, the
Director General of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Human Rights
Development expressed optimism at the outcome of the meeting,
saying: We will take on board the recommendations that came out
of this meeting, and those regions that did not take part, we will
open up informal dialogue with them to solicit for their inputs for
inclusion in the recommendations. Thereafter, we will have a
working document which represents the entire country that would
be used in addressing the human rights challenges facing the
country.
END