Protection of Human Rights in Somalia: Structural, Legal, and Institutional Perspectives
Abstract
Abstract. Somalia’s constitutional guarantees of fundamental rights operate amid insecurity, poverty, displacement, and fragmented authority, producing a persistent gap between legal recognition and lived protection. This study evaluates how structural conditions, constitutional rules, and institutional arrangements shape enforcement, redress, and accountability. A qualitative doctrinal approach is applied, analyzing the Provisional Constitution of 2012, the Penal Code of Somalia 1962, the Independent Human Rights Commission Law (Law No. 16 of 2016), and related provisions on remedies and oversight, alongside comparative and international standards on effective remedies and due process. It also maps non-derogable and derogable rights and tests limitation practice against legality, necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination. The analysis identifies three recurring constraints: weakened territorial control and service delivery; limited judicial capacity and perceived independence; and incomplete accountability architecture, including delayed operationalization of constitutionally mandated bodies such as the Ombudsman and Judicial Service Commission. The Study Concludes that, a constitutional entrenchment of rights is necessary but insufficient where institutional pathways for complaint-handling, investigation, and enforcement remain thin or uneven across regions. It was recommended that, prioritizing the establishment of the Judicial Service Commission and Ombudsman, strengthen court independence and access, resource the Human Rights Commission for investigations and follow-up, and harmonize federal–state coordination to ensure consistent minimum standards and reliable remedies for citizens and residents.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30659/icls.v5i0.51235
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