Human Rights

In an attempt to impede independent coverage, Somaliland jails 16 journalists reporting prison shooting in Hargeisa

MOGADISHU (HORNOBSERVER) Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) and the Somali Media Association (SOMA) condemn in the strongest terms possible the mass arrest of 16 journalists reporting on the prison shooting in Hargeisa by Somaliland police on Wednesday 13 April.

Somalia: New data show how drought is driving up acute hunger

ROME (HORN OBSERVER) The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today warned that dire new hunger data out of Somalia sheds additional light on extended drought's crippling impacts on the Horn of Africa region and underscores the criticality of large-scale agricultural aid…

Somalia: Drought displaces 745,000 people

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Three-quarters of a million people have now been forced from their homes by worsening drought in Somalia. With famine looming, and conflict in Ukraine driving up food costs, the situation is at tipping point.

Somaliland: A local journalist held incommunicado in Hargeisa, another sentenced to a year in jail

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) – Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) and the Somali Media Association (SOMA) are concerned about the detention of freelance journalist, Abdisalan Ahmed Awad, who is held in undisclosed location by Somaliland intelligence service since 3 April 2022, and the sentence of a year…

Appeal: UN Secretary General told to urgently avert a possible famine in Somalia

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) Country Directors of national and international humanitarian agencies working in Somalia have sent a letter to the United Nations Secretary-general, António Guterres, to urge urgent action needed to avert a possible famine in Somalia in 2022.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Millions denied vaccines, deepening inequality and human suffering from conflicts sum up 2021

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) Wealthy states colluded with corporate giants in 2021 to dupe people with empty slogans and false promises of a fair recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic while many people from Africa were denied life-saving vaccines, in what amounts to one of the greatest betrayals of our times,…

Tough choices for drought-affected families in rural Somalia

BELEDWEYNE (HORN OBSERVER) On the outskirts of Beletweyne town in southern Somalia, Maryam Muse Duale breaks up small sticks in her hands, stoking a fire in the dirt to keep her young children warm at night. Maryam has made a flimsy shelter of sticks and cloth; it doesn't keep the cold night air…

Somaliland: Two journalists survive attack in Hargeisa, TV reporter detained in Borame

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) and the Somali Media Association (SOMA) strongly condemn and express their concern about the violent attack and the detention against independent journalists in Somaliland.

Senior NISA agent resigns, cites serious human rights violations inside detention facility

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) is once again embroiled in a scandal over human rights abuses, following the resignation earlier this month by a female agent at the Godka Jila'ow, a notorious detention and torture center run by NISA, a memo…

Somalia presidential official suspended over allegations of serious human rights abuses including sexual harassment – Sources

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The Deputy Chief of Staff of Somalia's presidency, Villa Somalia, has been suspended on charges of serious abuse and sexual harassment of women staffers and threats to journalists, two presidential sources told Horn Observer.

British Embassy and Hormuud sign new Chevening partnership to enable more future Somali leaders to study in the UK

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The British Embassy in Mogadishu and Hormuud have today signed a new Chevening partnership to enable more future Somali leaders to study in the United Kingdom.

Women in Somalia reconnect amid decades of conflict  and displacement

MOGADISHU (HORNOBSERVER) For more than 30 years Somalia has been mired in deep economic, political and social crisis, with its citizens suffering the most. 

Repressed and Threatened: Journalists blocked from covering elections across Somalia

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) and the Somali Media Association (SOMA) condemn the restrictions and blocking of independent media and journalists seeking to observe and report on the process of the indirect elections in Somalia; and express serious concern at the repression…

Journalists in five Somalia regions benefit from Canada-supported media freedom and safety trainings

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) has concluded the fourth round of a series of trainings to improve the safety and security of Somali journalists and media freedom with the support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) in Baidoa, South West State Somalia.

Germany grants 20 million Euro to FAO to help people in need in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) Germany is providing assistance to the tune of 20 million Euro via the United Nations in order to mitigate the suffering from the ongoing severe drought in parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Turkish-trained Somali police attack independent journalists covering al-Shabaab attack in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) and Somali Media Association (SOMA) deplore the brutal attack of the Turkish-trained Haramcad police force against journalists covering militants attack in Mogadishu on Wednesday 16 February 2022.

UK, German equipped and trained Somali police officers raid local radio station, detain seven journalists

MOGADISHU, Somalia 22 January 2022 – Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) and its partner the Somali Media Association (SOMA) condemn the raid and closure on the local independent radio in Beledweyne and detention of its seven journalists by Hirshabelle police in Beledweyne on Friday 21 January 2022…

ICRC calls for transfers of eligible Guantanamo detainees

WASHINGTON, DC – The ICRC is gravely concerned that the remaining people held at Guantanamo Bay have been behind bars for so many years with little or no clarity as to what will happen to them.

UK announces $10.7 million new funding for drought-affected communities in East Africa

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) The UK's Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford MP, today announced a $10.7 million package of UK support for Somalis affected by extreme drought.

State of Press Freedom in Somalia 2021: Silencing Journalists through Targeted Attacks, Restrictions and Censorship Amid Precarious Working Conditions

MOGADISHU, Somalia, 10 January, 2022 – Somali journalists were once again subjected to violence and deliberate attacks by the security forces of the federal government, regional states and the militant group al-Shabaab. Covering insecurity, the continued deadlock in federal elections and the reports…