Somalia and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

What is the Convention?

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a UN treaty adopted in 1989. It sets out the rights of every person under 18, including to life, health, education, a name and nationality, and protection from violence and exploitation. Almost every country in the world has joined it. A committee of experts in Geneva reviews each country's record.

When did Somalia join?

Somalia ratified the Convention on 1 October 2015 (UN Human Rights Committee, concluding observations on Somalia, 2024).

Reservations. On ratifying, Somalia made interpretative reservations to:

• Article 14: freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
• Article 20: care for children without a family;
• Article 21: adoption;
• and a general reservation to any provision contrary to the general principles of Sharia (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/SOM/CO/1, 22 Jun 2022, para. 6).

At the 2022 review, Somalia's delegation said the reservations came mainly from religious considerations (Child Rights Connect, session report, 2022). Because Somalia did not accept Article 20, its citizenship law has no rule for adopted children (Manby, Citizenship Law in Africa, 2016, p. 57).

The first review, 2022

The Committee considered Somalia's first report on 9 and 10 May 2022, and adopted its findings on 3 June 2022 (CRC/C/SOM/CO/1, para. 1; UN Geneva, May 2022). It welcomed new bills, the Somalia Every Newborn Action Plan 2019 to 2023, a national child health strategy and the 2019 Social Protection Policy (CRC/C/SOM/CO/1, para. 3).

What did the Committee find?

All points below are from the Committee's 2022 findings (CRC/C/SOM/CO/1).

Who counts as a child (para. 22)

• The 2012 Provisional Constitution defines a child as under 18.
• The constitutions of Puntland and Somaliland, it said, define a child as under 15.
• Under Sharia and custom, as described to the Committee, childhood ends at physical maturity, between 12 and 14.

Birth registration and nationality (para. 32)

• Birth registration coverage "remains extremely low", despite efforts in some districts of Puntland and Somaliland.
• There was no legal framework to register a child at birth.
• Somali women cannot pass citizenship to their children unless the father is also Somali, and the Citizenship Amendment Bill had not moved since 2016. See Somali citizenship law.

Harmful practices (para. 42)

• Female genital mutilation is widespread, "in particular involving girls between 5 and 10 years of age".
• Progress was limited, partly because of resistance from traditional and religious leaders.
• Child marriage was common, "especially among children 15 years of age or even younger".
• It noted a draft federal bill against FGM and Puntland's zero-tolerance policy.

Violence and sexual offences (paras. 40 to 41)

• It welcomed sexual offences laws in Puntland and Somaliland and urged adoption of the federal Sexual Offences Bill of 2018.

Children and armed conflict (para. 68)

• It noted an army order banning the use of children, the children and armed conflict road map, and the programme for disengaged combatants.
• It was "seriously concerned" that children as young as 8 are recruited or abducted by armed groups and government forces, and that recruiting children was not a crime in law.

What did it recommend?

(CRC/C/SOM/CO/1)

• Define a child as under 18 in every law, and ban marriage under 18 for girls and boys (para. 23).
• Create a legal system to register every birth (para. 33).
• Adopt the FGM bill and end child marriage (para. 43).
• Adopt the Juvenile Justice Bill (para. 67).
• Make recruiting children into armed forces a crime (para. 69).
• Withdraw the reservations (para. 7).

Related pages

• Birth records
• Ministry of Family and Human Rights
• Disengaged combatants programme