266 lines
8.8 KiB
YAML
266 lines
8.8 KiB
YAML
abstract: 'According to the World Bank (WB), the Federal Republic of Somalia
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population is estimated in 2020 at a total of 15 893.13 inhabitants.
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According to the 2020-2023 roadmap of the Ministry of the Promotion of
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Women and Human Rights, the percentage of people with disabilities in
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Somalia is over 15 per cent of the total population. The Federal
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Republic of Somalia does not provide information on common forms of
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disability; there are still no databases due to the lack of a census.
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Somalia signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights
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of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 2 October 2018 and 6 August 2019
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respectively. It did not sign and ratify the Optional Protocol, however.
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The Federal Republic of Somalia has not submitted any report, although
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it was due in September 2021. The reasons for the delay may be related
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to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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According to article 35 of the 2012 Constitution of Somalia,
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international agreements apply directly in domestic courts, which is the
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monist approach to international laws. The ratification of the CRPD
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meant its incorporation into the legislation of Somalia; the Law N
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degrees 134 creating the National Disability Agency (NDA) was
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promulgated in December 2018 and the Disability Bill drafted in 2019.
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The Constitution of Somalia contains provisions directly relating to
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persons with disabilities. According article 11 there is an equality
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between all citizens independently of their gender, religion (.)
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disability. No person shall be discriminated against based on (.)
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disability. In addition, the Constitution indirectly addresses
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disabilities through its article 12 which states that it is the State''s
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responsibility to ensure that it does not violate rights through its
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actions, and makes reasonable decisions to protect the rights of any
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person from abuse by others. Furthermore, article 13 states that
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everyone has the right to life, and article 27 provides for
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socioeconomic rights such as a right to care. No one can be deprived of
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urgent care whatever the reason, including the lack of economic means.
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Somalia has numerous pieces of legislation that directly addresses
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disability. The key ones are:
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center dot Law 134 of 31 December 2018 creating the National Agency for
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Persons with Disabilities which is `mandated under paragraph 5(2)(e) to
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oversee the delivery of services, including social services for persons
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with disabilities''.
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center dot Article 2 of the Provisional Constitution sets out 14 grounds
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of discrimination including disability.
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center dot Article 27(5) recognises that persons with disabilities who
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have long suffered from discrimination must have the necessary support
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to realise their socio-economic rights.
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center dot The Ministry of Women and Human Rights drafted a disability
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law. This law is in its final phase of public consultation. Participants
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in this consultation process included persons with disabilities,
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representatives of civil society organisations and the Somali Bar
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Association.
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We did not find any case law in Somalia. However, the policies that
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directly address persons with disabilities are: center dot Roadmap
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2020-2023 - Persons with disabilities and disability rights in Somalia.
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Following an audit on the implementation of a first roadmap, 2017-2019,
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this programme develops new issues, not foreseen in the previous one.
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center dot Development of a national social protection policy by the
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Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (18 July 2019). Its implementation
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(17 September 2019) aimed at establishing an inclusive social protection
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system that meets the needs of employable people with disabilities, to
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combat poverty and social exclusion. Social service programmes are thus
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planned and will consider existing policies, rights stipulated in the
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Constitution and laws.
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center dot Better protection and management of people with mental and
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mental disabilities: a) In response to allegations of mistreatment of
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these persons, the Government launches criminal investigations into the
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private institutions in charge of these persons with disabilities. The
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National Disability Agency will now be responsible for monitoring their
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living conditions. b) Creation of a toll-free telephone number for
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reporting abuse of persons with disabilities. c) Provision of legal
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defense for persons with mental and mental disabilities, by the Penal
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Code.
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Other than ordinary courts or tribunals, the Federal Republic of Somalia
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has an official body that specifically addresses the violation of the
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rights of persons with disabilities; the National Disability Agency
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whose role is to file a criminal complaint against any public and
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private entity that violates the rights of people with disabilities.
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Somalia has a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Its mandate
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includes the protection of disability rights. The NHRC has a broad
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mandate that includes monitoring the human rights situation in Somalia,
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investigating human rights violations, including torture or cruel,
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inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and an advisory mission
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to the Government on the integration of human rights into legislation
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and policies. There are numerous organisations that represent and
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advocate for the rights and welfare of persons with disabilities in
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Somalia. These include Somali Union for the Blind (SUB), Somali
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Disability Empowerment Organization (SODEN), SAFDI Somalia Association
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Female Disability, Somali Women Development Centre (SWDC), Somali
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National Association for the Deaf (SONAD). These organisations
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contribute to the promotion of disability rights through
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awareness-raising. To improve their efficiency, they need to organise
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themselves in a national federation and improve their capacity through
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training including on disability and financial subventions. In the
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Federal Republic of Somalia, the Ministry of the Promotion of Women and
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Human Rights is initiated a comprehensive process to allow Somalia to
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overcome its delay in reporting to conventional bodies, due to the
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country''s protracted civil war. The Ministry for the Promotion of Women
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and Human Rights and other line ministries are working on comprehensive
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legislation and policies for the protection of people with mental
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disabilities. The NDA (Law 134 of 31 December 2018) is responsible for
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removing barriers faced by persons with disabilities, holding the
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Government accountable for the protection of the rights of persons with
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disabilities, and ensuring the effective participation of persons with
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disabilities in all aspects of society; notably in the areas of
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governance and development.
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People with mental disabilities are very often victims of ill-treatment
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in private and public institutions. In view of the increasing number of
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allegations of ill-treatment, the State has launched criminal
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investigations against these institutions. The NDA is now responsible
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for monitoring the living conditions of these people with disabilities.
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In addition, a free telephone number has been created to report any
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mistreatment against them. Finally, persons with a mental disability now
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have a specific legal defense under the Criminal Code. A person who
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`does not possess the capacity for understanding and willpower'' at the
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time of the commission of an offence should not be punished for an act
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constituting a crime. As a result, these individuals are not detained
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for offences committed because they are not found guilty. Although there
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are some good laws to foster disability rights, it is imperative that
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they are implemented if they are to make a difference in the protection
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of disability rights. A special attention should be called for women,
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girls, children as well as elderly people with disabilities. Moreover,
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the Federal Republic of Somalia has a duty to carry out a census of its
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population in general and of the population with disabilities in order
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to obtain precise data broken down by age, sex, region, and category of
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disability.'
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affiliation: 'Severin, M (Corresponding Author), Sci Po Bordeaux, LAM, Bordeaux, France.
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Severin, Marianne, Sci Po Bordeaux, LAM, Bordeaux, France.'
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author: Severin, Marianne
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author_list:
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- family: Severin
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given: Marianne
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da: '2023-09-28'
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files: []
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issn: 2311-8970
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journal: AFRICAN DISABILITY RIGHTS YEARBOOK
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language: French
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number-of-cited-references: '25'
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pages: 202-228
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papis_id: ee1fe96393dab0c63a787823b71e300b
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ref: Severin2022federalrepublic
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times-cited: '0'
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title: FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALILAND
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type: Article
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unique-id: WOS:000964889700010
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usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
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usage-count-since-2013: '1'
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volume: '10'
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web-of-science-categories: Law
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year: '2022'
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