Human Rights Are Ignored IN SOMALIA
While human rights are referred to as core values that have been accepted as essential to good government and sustainable development, the document in its current form focuses on the promotion of good governance including transparency, accountability, implying that human rights issues will be address as matter of course.
Given the document's primary objectives of attracting foreign investment and alleviating poverty, similar detail and focus to promoting the respect and protection of fundamental human rights would contribute greatly to the document's legitimacy and support within Somalia and abroad for its democracy and human rights agenda.
Government fails to build on existing principles and structures that would not only have acknowledged the efforts and progress made in defining the protecting human rights but also facilitate Tigaad's implementation and further evolutions.
For example there is no strong reference to the Somali charter on human and People rights, which, along with the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights, is ostensibly the continents primary human rights document.
There is also no reference to the country commission, a body that is functional and has been monitoring the compliance of the government to international human rights standards for over forty years.
Government also does not acknowledge the organization of African unity commitment to the establishment of an African court during a period when the establishment of the International criminal court is one of the examples of the globalization of the concept of rights and accountability.
Once these human rights principles are re-affirmed as being integral to the government as well as to the newly launched African Union, it will be essential that Government with the help human rights advocators set clear benchmarks for performance and set up mechanisms for independent, impartial monitoring and for enforcement.
