abstract: 'According to the World Bank (WB), the Federal Republic of Somalia

  population is estimated in 2020 at a total of 15 893.13 inhabitants.

  According to the 2020-2023 roadmap of the Ministry of the Promotion of

  Women and Human Rights, the percentage of people with disabilities in

  Somalia is over 15 per cent of the total population. The Federal

  Republic of Somalia does not provide information on common forms of

  disability; there are still no databases due to the lack of a census.

  Somalia signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights

  of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 2 October 2018 and 6 August 2019

  respectively. It did not sign and ratify the Optional Protocol, however.

  The Federal Republic of Somalia has not submitted any report, although

  it was due in September 2021. The reasons for the delay may be related

  to the Covid-19 pandemic.

  According to article 35 of the 2012 Constitution of Somalia,

  international agreements apply directly in domestic courts, which is the

  monist approach to international laws. The ratification of the CRPD

  meant its incorporation into the legislation of Somalia; the Law N

  degrees 134 creating the National Disability Agency (NDA) was

  promulgated in December 2018 and the Disability Bill drafted in 2019.

  The Constitution of Somalia contains provisions directly relating to

  persons with disabilities. According article 11 there is an equality

  between all citizens independently of their gender, religion (.)

  disability. No person shall be discriminated against based on (.)

  disability. In addition, the Constitution indirectly addresses

  disabilities through its article 12 which states that it is the State''s

  responsibility to ensure that it does not violate rights through its

  actions, and makes reasonable decisions to protect the rights of any

  person from abuse by others. Furthermore, article 13 states that

  everyone has the right to life, and article 27 provides for

  socioeconomic rights such as a right to care. No one can be deprived of

  urgent care whatever the reason, including the lack of economic means.

  Somalia has numerous pieces of legislation that directly addresses

  disability. The key ones are:

  center dot Law 134 of 31 December 2018 creating the National Agency for

  Persons with Disabilities which is `mandated under paragraph 5(2)(e) to

  oversee the delivery of services, including social services for persons

  with disabilities''.

  center dot Article 2 of the Provisional Constitution sets out 14 grounds

  of discrimination including disability.

  center dot Article 27(5) recognises that persons with disabilities who

  have long suffered from discrimination must have the necessary support

  to realise their socio-economic rights.

  center dot The Ministry of Women and Human Rights drafted a disability

  law. This law is in its final phase of public consultation. Participants

  in this consultation process included persons with disabilities,

  representatives of civil society organisations and the Somali Bar

  Association.

  We did not find any case law in Somalia. However, the policies that

  directly address persons with disabilities are: center dot Roadmap

  2020-2023 - Persons with disabilities and disability rights in Somalia.

  Following an audit on the implementation of a first roadmap, 2017-2019,

  this programme develops new issues, not foreseen in the previous one.

  center dot Development of a national social protection policy by the

  Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (18 July 2019). Its implementation

  (17 September 2019) aimed at establishing an inclusive social protection

  system that meets the needs of employable people with disabilities, to

  combat poverty and social exclusion. Social service programmes are thus

  planned and will consider existing policies, rights stipulated in the

  Constitution and laws.

  center dot Better protection and management of people with mental and

  mental disabilities: a) In response to allegations of mistreatment of

  these persons, the Government launches criminal investigations into the

  private institutions in charge of these persons with disabilities. The

  National Disability Agency will now be responsible for monitoring their

  living conditions. b) Creation of a toll-free telephone number for

  reporting abuse of persons with disabilities. c) Provision of legal

  defense for persons with mental and mental disabilities, by the Penal

  Code.

  Other than ordinary courts or tribunals, the Federal Republic of Somalia

  has an official body that specifically addresses the violation of the

  rights of persons with disabilities; the National Disability Agency

  whose role is to file a criminal complaint against any public and

  private entity that violates the rights of people with disabilities.

  Somalia has a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Its mandate

  includes the protection of disability rights. The NHRC has a broad

  mandate that includes monitoring the human rights situation in Somalia,

  investigating human rights violations, including torture or cruel,

  inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and an advisory mission

  to the Government on the integration of human rights into legislation

  and policies. There are numerous organisations that represent and

  advocate for the rights and welfare of persons with disabilities in

  Somalia. These include Somali Union for the Blind (SUB), Somali

  Disability Empowerment Organization (SODEN), SAFDI Somalia Association

  Female Disability, Somali Women Development Centre (SWDC), Somali

  National Association for the Deaf (SONAD). These organisations

  contribute to the promotion of disability rights through

  awareness-raising. To improve their efficiency, they need to organise

  themselves in a national federation and improve their capacity through

  training including on disability and financial subventions. In the

  Federal Republic of Somalia, the Ministry of the Promotion of Women and

  Human Rights is initiated a comprehensive process to allow Somalia to

  overcome its delay in reporting to conventional bodies, due to the

  country''s protracted civil war. The Ministry for the Promotion of Women

  and Human Rights and other line ministries are working on comprehensive

  legislation and policies for the protection of people with mental

  disabilities. The NDA (Law 134 of 31 December 2018) is responsible for

  removing barriers faced by persons with disabilities, holding the

  Government accountable for the protection of the rights of persons with

  disabilities, and ensuring the effective participation of persons with

  disabilities in all aspects of society; notably in the areas of

  governance and development.

  People with mental disabilities are very often victims of ill-treatment

  in private and public institutions. In view of the increasing number of

  allegations of ill-treatment, the State has launched criminal

  investigations against these institutions. The NDA is now responsible

  for monitoring the living conditions of these people with disabilities.

  In addition, a free telephone number has been created to report any

  mistreatment against them. Finally, persons with a mental disability now

  have a specific legal defense under the Criminal Code. A person who

  `does not possess the capacity for understanding and willpower'' at the

  time of the commission of an offence should not be punished for an act

  constituting a crime. As a result, these individuals are not detained

  for offences committed because they are not found guilty. Although there

  are some good laws to foster disability rights, it is imperative that

  they are implemented if they are to make a difference in the protection

  of disability rights. A special attention should be called for women,

  girls, children as well as elderly people with disabilities. Moreover,

  the Federal Republic of Somalia has a duty to carry out a census of its

  population in general and of the population with disabilities in order

  to obtain precise data broken down by age, sex, region, and category of

  disability.'
affiliation: 'Severin, M (Corresponding Author), Sci Po Bordeaux, LAM, Bordeaux, France.

  Severin, Marianne, Sci Po Bordeaux, LAM, Bordeaux, France.'
author: Severin, Marianne
author_list:
- family: Severin
  given: Marianne
da: '2023-09-28'
files: []
issn: 2311-8970
journal: AFRICAN DISABILITY RIGHTS YEARBOOK
language: French
number-of-cited-references: '25'
pages: 202-228
papis_id: ee1fe96393dab0c63a787823b71e300b
ref: Severin2022federalrepublic
times-cited: '0'
title: FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALILAND
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000964889700010
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '1'
volume: '10'
web-of-science-categories: Law
year: '2022'