Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Assents To Human Rights Bill

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Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Assents To Human Rights Bill

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday signed into law the Human Rights Commission bill, which effectively opens the avenue for the creation of the Human Rights Commission in Somalia.

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President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday signed into law the Human Rights Commission bill, which effectively opens the avenue for the creation of the Human Rights Commission in Somalia.

While signing the bill at Villa Somalia, Mogadishu, President Mohamud said the move was an indication of the importance of the bill and the need to uphold the rights of any person living in Somalia: "The commission will be the highest organ in the Federal Government of Somalia, which protects the rights of citizens.

Everyone will be accountable to the law in accordance with the constitution of Somalia,” said the President in a press release.

The President pledged his support to ensure the commission effectively executes its functions. The new law is expected to rein in on violators of human rights in the country, who largely go unprosecuted.

Human rights groups among them Human Rights Watch, have severally pointed to gross violations of human rights perpetrated separately by the state, clan militias and armed groups in Somalia.

African Union troops in Somalia have also come under criticism for human rights violations.

And journalists have been major victims of human rights violations with some having to pay the ultimate price, with their lives.

The Committee to Protect Journalists and the National Union of Somali Journalists indicate that over 35 journalists have been killed since 2012 in Somalia.

In most cases, those behind the killings have walked scot-free.

In a report in May this year, Human Rights Watch reported that Government authorities had failed to adequately investigate and prosecute those responsible for the abuses, leaving journalists to work and live in fear.