By George Murumba

27^th Feb 2012:

The London Conference on Somalia has not adequately tackled the dire human rights situation in Somalia which is threatening the lives of civilians including children, Amnesty International said in a press release issued last week, Thursday 23, February.

“The recent surge in military operations increases civilians’ vulnerability to attacks and displacement, and brings more arms into a country already awash with weapons,” said Benedicte Goderiaux, Amnesty International’s Somalia researcher.

Goderiaux added:  “…This is a lethal mix that could fuel further human rights abuses.  At this conference we hoped to see more efforts to improve the safety of the Somali population.”  Amnesty International said although the conference’s closing communiqué made some reference to human rights, it fell short of the measures required to address the risks faced by civilians in Somalia.

At a very minimum, Amnesty International added, “…the international community must ensure that its current actions in Somalia do not contribute to a further deterioration in the human rights situation.”  It said the international community must take concrete measures to increase the monitoring, documenting, and reporting of human rights violations committed by any party to the conflict in Somalia.

Children in Somalia are particularly vulnerable in the armed conflict. They continue to be killed – including in recent airstrikes in southern Somalia – while many more lose parents, carers and homes to the fighting.  Armed groups specifically target children, recruiting them as child soldiers, and denying them access to education.

Amnesty International further warned that the step-up in military operations against Al-Shabab have led the armed group to intensify its child recruitment drive. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and militia affiliated with them have also been accused of having child soldiers in their ranks.

The international rights group said the international community should ensure that effective mechanisms are put in place for the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of child soldiers. “…Until then, no military or security assistance should be provided to armed forces and groups that use child soldiers,” Amnesty International said.

Amnesty also called on the international community to respect and strengthen the UN arms embargo on Somalia.  The London based rights group is also calling for action to address wide-ranging impunity for the decades of human rights violations and abuses committed in Somalia, some of which, it says, “…could amount to war crimes.”

Consequently, Amnesty International said, “…an independent commission of inquiry should be established to investigate these abuses.”  Benedicte Goderiaux also warned that unless impunity is tackled, perpetrators of human rights abuses will have no incentive to stop and others will be encouraged to commit abuses.

He advised the international community not to leave Somalia’s civilian population to bear the brunt of what he called the “…endless cycle of violence.”  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.