Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery, Somalia

In the early years of the 21st Century  -  2000 to 2010                                      gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Somalia.htm Somalia Despite the lack of effective national governance, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and semi-pastoralists, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. Livestock, hides, fish, charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar, sorghum, corn, qat, and machined goods are the principal imports.  [The World Factbook, U.S.C.I.A. 2009] Scope and Magnitude. Information regarding trafficking in Somalia remains extremely difficult to obtain or verify; however, the Somali territory is believed to be a source, transit, and perhaps destination country for trafficked men, women, and children. In Somali society, certain groups are traditionally viewed as inferior and are marginalized; Somali Bantus and Midgaan are sometimes kept in servitude to other more powerful Somali clan members as domestics, farm laborers, and herders. During the year, the widespread use of children in fighting forces in the country was noted;  - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009   [full country report]

CAUTION:  The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Somalia.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. *** FEATURED ARTICLE *** Human Trafficking: Greed and the Trail of Death The Independent, 5/25/2006 www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8393 [accessed 23 December 2010] The human trafficking trade out of Somalia is now one of the busiest, most lucrative and the most lethal in the world. The ferocious violence and anarchy in the region has kept the scale of profits and misery the most hidden from outside eyes. Dozens corpses are found floating in the Arabian Sea every month, often with gunshot wounds, often with hands tied behind their back - victims of traffickers who have jettisoned their cargo in the most final way. *** ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2005 www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/somalia.htm [accessed 23 December 2010] INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children are also conscripted by armed Somali militias and used for forced labor or sexual exploitation.  Boys as young as 14 or 15 have participated in combat and many belong to gangs who raid indiscriminately.  Trafficking networks exist that transport children to South Africa and promote their commercial sexual exploitation. Human Rights Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 8, 2006 www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61592.htm [accessed 23 December 2010] TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The pre-1991 law prohibits trafficking; however, there were reports of trafficking during the year. The unimplemented TFC does not specifically prohibit trafficking. Puntland was noted by human rights organizations as an entry point for trafficking. The UNIE reported that trafficking in persons remained rampant in Somalia and that the lack of an authority to police the country's long coastline contributed to trafficking. Various forms of trafficking are prohibited under the most widespread interpretations of Shari'a and customary law, but there was no unified policing in the territory to interdict these practices, nor any authoritative legal system within which traffickers could be prosecuted. Somalia: Journalist Arrested in Bossasso National Union of Somali Journalists (Mogadishu), 8 January 2008 allafrica.com/stories/200801080456.html [partially accessed 23 December 2010 - access restricted] The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) is strongly condemning the arrest of Journalist Idle Moallim in Bossasso on 5 January 2008 by the police force of Puntland Regional State. Idle Moallim, a freelance journalist, was arrested when the Puntland asked him several times where he came from and what reports he prepared about Human Trafficking of people travelling from Bossasso to the Gulf by boat.   The authorities detain him in the central detention centre in Bossasso. Human Trafficking: Greed and the Trail of Death The Independent, 5/25/2006 www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8393 [accessed 23 December 2010] The human trafficking trade out of Somalia is now one of the busiest, most lucrative and the most lethal in the world. The ferocious violence and anarchy in the region has kept the scale of profits and misery the most hidden from outside eyes. Dozens corpses are found floating in the Arabian Sea every month, often with gunshot wounds, often with hands tied behind their back - victims of traffickers who have jettisoned their cargo in the most final way. Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 7   Civil Liberties: 7   Status: Not Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2009&country=7704 [accessed 23 December 2010] Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide www.hrw.org/africa/somalia [accessed 23 December 2010] U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study Library of Congress Call Number DT401.5 .S68 1993 lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/sotoc.html [accessed 23 December 2010] SUMMARY - Extreme underdevelopment UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Somalia 2004 Appeal www.un.org/depts/ocha/cap/somalia.html [accessed 23 December 2010] Somalis still face extreme poverty and underdevelopment. They consistently rank among the lowest in the world on key indicators of human development, life expectancy, per capita income, malnutrition and infant mortality. Somalis also suffer widespread human rights violations, including: murder, rape, looting and destruction of property, child soldiering, kidnapping, discrimination against minorities, torture, female genital mutilation, unlawful arrest and detention, and denial of due process. All material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use.  PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES.  Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - Somalia", http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Somalia.htm, [accessed ]