AFRICA/SOMALIA - In Somaliland children are detained and prosecuted, even for minor offenses, together with adults

Hargeisa (Agenzia Fides) - The children's rights activists are concerned about the stagnation of a law on juvenile justice in the independent Republic of Somaliland in Somalia, where it is estimated that about 200 children are arrested by the police each month. According to a group of activists in favor of the children of Hargeisa, children are routinely detained for minor crimes and end up sharing prisons with adults because there are no jails or rehabilitation centers for children.
In 2007 a law on juvenile justice was approved in Somaliland, but has not yet been implemented due to economic constraints and lack of knowledge concerning legal matters on behalf of leaders of institutions and their staff. The law provides penal prosecution from the age of 15, and requires that the measures are proportionate to the circumstances of the child and the severity of the offense. It limits the maximum sentence to 15 years and prohibits corporal penalties, imprisonment and death penalty.
However, according to a study conducted in August by the Ministry of Justice of Somaliland, on average only 5% of the 200 children detained each month are trialed in court; they are often arrested and arbitrarily released. During the investigation period, 104 children were detained for crimes such as theft, possession of illegal drugs and rape, 10% were female. 59% of all detained children were sentenced by the courts primarily for rape, drug possession and petty crime, while the remaining 41% were on remand. During the trial, it was learned that 46% of those sentenced had been subjected to arbitrary detention. Traditionally, criminal cases against children in Somaliland are treated by the elders of the clan, with the clan that bears the crime and not the child. The 2007 law aims at protecting children's rights according to the international law on human rights. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 27/10/2011)