Mr President,

the EU warmly thanks the Independent Expert for all the work carried out during his mandate and for his comprehensive report and appreciates the continuous engagement of Somalia with him over the past six years.

We welcome the progress in the human rights situation in Somalia since 2016, notably in relation to peace, reconciliation, institution-building and constitutional review processes and as regards the increased number of women in Parliament and in Cabinet and the establishment of a Disability Authority and hope that this progress will continue. The EU stands ready to support Somalia’s efforts and recalls the first formal political dialogue between the Somali Government and the EU and its Member States, last March, further deepening and enhancing the quality of our engagement.

We remain concerned about persistent violations and abuses of human rights, in particular those affecting women and girls, including sexual and gender based violence, female genital mutilation, child early and forced marriage and recruitment and use of children in armed in conflict In addition, the persistence of civilian casualties, the continued application of the death penalty and the increasing restrictions to freedom of expression and opinion, in particular for journalists, especially outside of Mogadishu, is also deeply worrying.IDPs, persons with disabilities and other groups in vulnerable situations are particularly exposed.

The EU calls on Somalia to implement its human rights obligations and commitments in full, to take efforts to ensure accountability for human rights violations and abuses and to enhance protection of civilians. It is essential to strengthen reconciliation and cooperation between the federal and member state levels, as well as to pursue efforts to strengthen official institutions and the justice and security sector ahead of the 2020/2021 elections.

We also encourage Somalia to swiftly adopt the Sexual Offences Bill and increase efforts to operationalize the National Human Rights Commission, reinforce the protection of children against abduction, protect freedom of expression and media freedom, ensure access to basic social services, including water supply, health delivery and education for all children.

Finally, the EU reaffirms its support to the continued commitment of the United Nations, IGAD, the African Union and East African countries to stabilize the situation in Somalia and to bring peace and security to the Horn of Africa.

Mr. Nyanduga, how could Somalia’s efforts to address the negative effects of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights of its population be further supported by the International Community?

Thank you.