(OSRSG-CAAC) – Boys and girls living in countries affected by armed conflict have been victims of widespread violations in 2016, as documented in the Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict released today and covering the period from January to December 2016. The alarming scale and severity of violations against children in 2016 – including […]
(Voice of America) – Al-Shabab militants have launched what appears to be a forced recruitment campaign in Somalia’s southwestern regions of Bay and Bakool, according to Somali officials. The group, which controls large parts of both regions, is pressuring leaders of local villages to make sure teenagers join its ranks, according to the governor of Bay […]
(Human Rights Council) – The Human Rights Council during its midday meeting held an interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia and an interactive dialogue on the oral update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Libya. The President of the […]
(British Embassy Mogadishu) – The UK has funded a training course on the prevention of the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, delivered by Somalis to their fellow countrymen. The three day course brought together 60 participants from the Federal Government of Somalia, Federal Member States and Somali Security Sector. Link
(NPR) – Why would anyone want to harm an aid worker? They’re just there to help. They don’t take sides. They’re protected by international humanitarian law. Yet they’ve repeatedly been the target of some of the worst forms of violence, from kidnapping to gang rape to beheadings. In 2016 alone, 288 aid workers were attacked. Link
(UNDP) – Deprivation and marginalization, underpinned by weak governance, are primary forces driving young Africans into violent extremism, according to a comprehensive new study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – the first study of its kind. Based on interviews with 495 voluntary recruits to extremist organizations such as Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, the new […]
(UNICEF) – Around the world, conflict is exacting a devastating toll on millions of children. With increasing frequency, children are being deliberately and indiscriminately attacked and denied life-saving humanitarian assistance in breach of international humanitarian law. On World Humanitarian Day on 19 August, join the United Nations and its partners in standing together to demand that children […]
(VOA) – More than 100 children fleeing areas controlled by al-Shabab militants in central Somalia have arrived in the coastal town of Adale, seeking the government’s protection, officials said. Adale is a key trading town in the Middle Shabelle region, 220 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu. Link
(HRW) – The Islamist armed group Al-Shabab burned numerous homes in raids on villages in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region in late May 2017, Human Rights Watch said today based on witness accounts and satellite imagery analysis. Al-Shabab fighters abducted civilians, stole livestock, and committed arson in attacks that caused more than 15,000 people to flee their homes. […]
(TheirWorld) – For most children, exam time means cramming in last-minute studying, a nervous walk to school and a worrying wait for the results. But for many others, it can mean long and arduous journeys – sometimes with overnight stays – to get to an exam centre. It can mean trying to study and answer test questions […]