Human Rights

After long silence, US Embassy finally calls for end of violence against Somalia journalists

MOGADISHU, Somalia (Horn Observer) -Abandoning its long silence on the violations committed against human rights in Somalia, including violations against freedom of the media, the United States Embassy in Somalia has on Tuesday condemned the killing of the young Somali freelance Somali journalist, Abdiwali…

Somalia: Young Somali freelance journalist shot dead in Afgoye

MOGADISHU, Somalia, 16 February, 2020 - Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) condemns in the strongest terms possible in the killing of a young freelance TV and radio journalist, Abdiwali Ali Hassan aka Abdiwali Onine) who was shot dead in Afgoye town, 30KM south of Mogadishu, on Sunday evening 16 February,…

HRJ Welcomes the Amnesty International report on Freedom of Expression in Somalia and calls for the government to stop violations

The Human Rights Journalists (HRJ) has today welcomed the report of the Amnesty International on the worsening situation of freedom of expression in Somalia. The report titled, "WE LIVE IN PERPETUAL FEAR" sheds light on the concerns over endless attacks on journalists and violations of freedom…

SJS welcomes AI's findings on Somalia's freedom expression report, calls authorities to publicly condemn violations

MOGADISHU, Somalia 13 February 2020 – Somali Journalists (SJS) welcomes Amnesty International report entitled "We live in Perpetual Fear: Violations and Abuses of Freedom of Expression in Somalia" that documented violations and abuses against Freedom of Expression in Somalia in the past three…

Somali TV journalist briefly arrested in SW Somalia over critical Facebook post

MOGADISHU, Somalia, 11 February, 2020 – Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) condemns the brief detention of journalist Hussein Ali Gesey, a correspondent for the privately-owned independent Five Somali TV, by South West State authorities in Burhakaba town of Bay region on Tuesday 11 February, 2020…

Somalia's Puntland arrests its presidential press officer

GAROWE, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) Police in Somalia's Puntland State on Wednesday evening arrested senior Presidential Press Officer, Omar Mohamed Somane in the Puntland State capital, Garowe for what officials described as violating internal rules of the presidency.

Somalia: Kenya must arrest and return escaped Jubaland minister to face trial in Mogadishu - AI

A regional security minister in Somalia arrested for "serious crimes" on 31 August 2019, who recently escaped from detention and is currently in Kenya, must be returned to face justice, Amnesty International said today.

British diplomat criticizes Somaliland over bad press freedom reputation

HARGEISA, Somalia (Horn Observer)- Head of the British Office in Hargeisa, Mr Stuart Brown has courageously slapped Somaliland with criticism of its bad reputation of bad press freedom record and human rights.

Up to 178,000 Somali children impacted by severe acute malnutrition, UNICEF says

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) - Up to 178,000 children in Somalia are expected to be impacted by severe acute malnutrition (SAM) as of June 2020, according to he United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) which is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental…

Somalia: Ethiopian officers serving under AMISOM undergo human rights training

BAIDOA . Somalia– Thirty-five Military Officers from Ethiopia serving under sector three of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Friday completed a three-day human rights training in Baidoa. The training was to boost their understanding and appreciation of International Human Rights Law…

ICRC: Millions trapped in near-constant crisis in Somalia, Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (HORN OBSERVER) – Millions of people in Somalia and Ethiopia are trapped in near-constant crisis as the combination of droughts, floods, and violence force people from their homes and erode already-fragile livelihoods, International Committee of the Red Cross President Peter…

Missing Somali Danish girl found and sent to Denmark, family told

MOGADISHU, Somalia - (Horn Observer) The family of Somali Danish Girl Amaal Nor Osman who went missing after fleeing a rehabilitation center two months ago has been found and sent to Denmark, family said Wednesday.

Somali journalists union reports multiple violations against the press from Somaliland, Puntland and Southwest State of Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia, 19 January, 2020 – Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) calls for Somaliland authorities to quash the 21 months jail sentence and the fines against journalist Abdirahman Mohamed Hiddig, Eryal TV reporter in Erigavo, Sanaag region following a facebook post deemed critical to a senior…

Climatic shocks continue to affect Somalia, says UN Humanitarian Coordinator

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) - An estimated 5.2 million people in Somalia need humanitarian assistance, according to the 2020 Humanitarian Needs Overview. These include 1.7 million people who have been displaced by conflict, insecurity, forced evictions, droughts and floods.

AMISOM fetes senior police officers for service to Somalia

Mogadishu—The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Wednesday feted senior police officers from Zambia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone for outstanding service to Somalia during their tour of duty.

Denmark donates DKK115 million for the protection of the rights of Somali children

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) – During a visit to Baidoa, South West Somalia, the Danish Government underscored their commitment to uphold the protection rights of Somali children by contributing an additional DKK50 million to UNICEF, making a total contribution of DKK115 million.

East African people risk plunging into hunger as locust outbreak threatens food security

NAIROBI, Kenya (HORN OBSERVER) - A serious and widespread Desert Locust outbreak is destroying crops and pasture across eastern Ethiopia and neighbouring areas of Somalia, parts of Sudan, Eritrea and northern Kenya with a high risk of further spread in the absence of immediate and significant scale…

UN: 5.2 million people remain in need of assistance in Somalia

NAIROBI, Kenya (HORN OBSERVER) - The humanitarian situation in Somalia remains fragile due to the impact of the prolonged 2016-2017 drought, and erratic and abnormal performance of rains through last year and the year before.

Ethiopia: 8.4 million people are in need of humanitarian aid, UN says

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (HORN OBSERVER) - The United Nations says some 8.4 million Ethiopians are projected to have humanitarian needs in 2020, the majority of whom are in Oromia (3.3 million), followed by Somali region (2.4 million) and Amhara (1.0 million).

Somalia: Police confiscate and delete footage from journalists' cameras, detain one in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) - Somalia's police on Wednesday detained a senior TV journalist Ahmed Abdi Adawe in Mogadishu while seven other journalists were their equipment confiscated as the police deleted footage files from the journalists' cameras following a deadly car bomb near the…