EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 16/68

Somalia

P6_TA(2008)0569

European Parliament resolution of 20 November 2008 on Somalia

(2010/C 16 E/16)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its resolutions on the situation in Somalia, particularly that of 15 November 2007 on Somalia (1) and that of 19 June 2008 on the routine killing of civilians in Somalia (2),

— having regard to the Amnesty International report of 1 November 2008 entitled ‘The State of the World's Human Rights’,

— having regard to the statement of 8 November 2008 made by Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for children and armed conflict, condemning the stoning of 13-year-old Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow,

— having regard to various regional human rights instruments, and in particular the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights of 1981 and the Protocol of 2003 thereto on the Rights of Women in Africa,

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 27 October 2008 a 13-year-old girl named Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was stoned to death in Somalia,

B. whereas the stoning to death was carried out by a group of 50 men in a stadium in the southern port of Kismayo, in front of around 1 000 spectators,

C. whereas she was accused and convicted of adultery in breach of Islamic law while she was in fact a victim of rape by three men,

D. whereas the al-Shabab militia, who control Kismayo, detained and ordered the execution by stoning of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, but did not arrest or detain those accused of her rape,

E. whereas inside the stadium, militia members opened fire when some of the people at the stadium attempted to save the life of Aisha Ibrahim Duholow, and shot dead a boy who was a bystander,

F. whereas there are credible reports that human rights activists in Kismayo have received death threats from the al-Shabab militia, who accuse them of spreading false information about the incident,

G. whereas, due to the dramatic situation in Somalia and the widespread violence perpetrated by some factions of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (the so-called ‘Islamic Courts’) which are trying to topple the legitimate government of Somalia, there are gross violations of human rights in Somalia on a daily basis,

H. whereas these violations of human rights also include the recent kidnapping of two Italian Roman Catholic nuns from Kenya who were then taken to Somalia, and the increase in suicide attacks, which have killed at least 30 people in the north of the country in recent weeks,

I. whereas members of staff from international organisations present in the country have recently been the target of violence and killings, and whereas the majority of these have been attributed to members of armed opposition groups, including al-Shabab militias, and the faction ‘Islamic Courts’,

J. whereas the Islamist insurgents have carried out public floggings in the capital, Mogadishu, attempting to show their growing strength,

K. whereas such brutal acts show the methods employed by such militias and, more generally, all the risks in terms of respect for human rights in the event of an expansion of their control over the country,

L. whereas Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) signed a cease-fire agreement on the 26 October 2008 in Djibouti, and whereas the regional leaders of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) presented a peace plan for Somalia at the special Summit in Nairobi on 28-29 October 2008,

M. whereas it is essential to support Somalia's TFG and its President, Mr Abdullahi Yusuf,

1. Strongly condemns the stoning and execution of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow and expresses its horror at such a barbaric act perpetrated against a 13-year-old rape victim;

2. Calls on the Somali Government to condemn this execution and to take action to prevent such brutal executions in the future;

3. Calls on the Somali Government to issue documents and make statements to restore the honour of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow posthumously;

4. Supports the legitimate Somali Government's attempts to assert its control over the port of Kismayo, and calls for those accused of raping Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to be brought to trial in accordance with due process;

5. Calls on the EU to provide all necessary support in order to create a lasting democratic government in Somalia and to further help the Somali Government to assert its control over the whole country and establish the rule of law in a manner compatible with its international human rights obligations, which would prevent such executions in the future;

6. Strongly urges the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) to make full use of its mandate to protect civilians, with a particular focus on women and children, and calls for it to be mandated to monitor, investigate and report human rights violations;

7. Calls on both the Somali and Kenyan authorities to make all possible efforts and take all possible political and diplomatic initiatives to secure the release of the two Italian Roman Catholic nuns;

8. Strongly supports the Djibouti agreement between the TFG and the ARS aimed at ending years of hostilities in Somalia and at forging a lasting solution to restore peace and put an end to the abuses referred to in this resolution;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Member States, the Secretaries-General of the United Nation and the African Union, IGAD governments, Amisom and the Government of Somalia.

(1) OJ C 282 E, 6.11.2008, p. 479.

(2) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2008)0313.