STORY: UN Report says freedom of expression

critical for ongoing political transition in Somalia

TRT: 2:42
SOURCE: UNSOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
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DATELINE: 04/09/2016, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
SHOT LIST
1. Wide shot, journalists cover the press conference on UN human rights
report
2. Med shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the United
Nations Secretary General for Somalia (SRSG), Kirsten Young, UNSOM
Chief of Human Rights and Protection Group, and Raisedon Zenenga,
Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General
for Somalia (DSRSG)
3. Close up, Kirsten Young, UNSOM Chief of Human Rights and
Protection Group
4. Close up, Kirsten Young, UNSOM Chief of Human Rights and
Protection Group, takes notes during the press conference
5. SOUNDBITE: MICHAEL KEATING, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE
OF THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL FOR SOMALIA.
(SRSG)
We thought this was the right time to emphasize the importance of
freedom of expression to Somalias political future. Freedom of expression
is good for accountability. Its good for stability. It is good for security and
that is why we wanted to release it now.
6. Wide shot, journalists cover the SRSGs press conference on human rights
report
7. Med shot, journalists cover the SRSGs press conference on human rights
report
8. Close up, journalists cover the SRSGs press conference on human rights
report
9. Wide shot, journalists who were present during the press conference on
human rights report
10. SOUNDBITE: MICHAEL KEATING, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF
THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL FOR SOMALIA. (SRSG)

The Federal Government should review and withdraw laws and practices
that currently restrict and endanger the right to freedom of expression. The
Federal Government should bring the countrys 2016 media law in line with
regional and international norms and standards.
11. Med shot, journalists who were present during the press conference on
human rights report
12. Close up, a journalist reads through the human rights report
13. Close up, a journalist reads through the human rights report
14. Med shot, journalists who were present during the press conference on
human rights report
15. Close up, Raisedon Zenenga, Deputy Special Representative of the
United Nations Secretary General for Somalia (DSRSG)
16. SOUNDBITE: KIRSTEN YOUNG, UNSOM CHIEF OF HUMAN RIGHTS
AND PROTECTION GROUP.
Its now a publicly available document which is a United Nations
document. We will refer to it within the Secretary-Generals report which
gets released to the UN Security Council. But also its an important
instrument going into the Human Rights Council. Somalia was reviewed
this year under the Universal Periodic Review. There will be a midterm
review in a couple of years. And this report will also be used to measure
progress against the commitments that Somalia made this year.
17. Wide shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary General for Somalia (SRSG), Kirsten Young, UNSOM Chief of
Human Rights and Protection Group, and Raisedon Zenenga, Deputy Special
Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Somalia (DSRSG)
18. Med shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary General for Somalia (SRSG) and Kirsten Young, UNSOM Chief of
Human Rights
19. Wide shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary General for Somalia (SRSG), Kirsten Young, UNSOM Chief of
Human Rights and Protection Group, and Raisedon Zenenga, Deputy Special
Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Somalia (DSRSG)
20. Wide shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary General for Somalia (SRSG), Kirsten Young, UNSOM Chief of
Human Rights and Protection Group, and Raisedon Zenenga, Deputy Special
Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Somalia (DSRSG)

STORY

UN Report says freedom of expression is critical to Somalias political

transition
MOGADISHU, 4 September 2016 - A UN report on freedom of expression in
Somalia has welcomed the countrys recent progress in making government
more accountable and widening political space for Somali citizens to air their
views.
But the report also draws attention to the continuing restrictions on freedom of
expression posed by killings, arrests and harassment of journalists, human
rights defenders and political leaders.
The first ever UN report on human rights in Somalia was released in
Mogadishu today by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General
(SRSG) for Somalia Michael Keating, and it reviews Somalias record on
freedom of expression issues over a four-year period dating back to 2012.
We thought this was the right time to emphasize the importance of freedom
of expression to Somalias political future as we enter into an electoral
process in the coming weeks. Freedom of expression is good for
accountability. Its good for stability. It is good for security, and that is why we
wanted to release it now, SRSG Keating said.
Produced jointly by the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the 59-page report
cites important measures that have strengthened the legal framework for
human rights such as the passage of a federal media law last January and a
National Human Rights Commission law in August.
But the document also criticizes what Mr. Keating called egregious examples
of the denial of freedom of expression.
The UNSOM Human Rights and Protection Group documented the killings of
30 journalists and media workers in Somalia between August 2012 and June
of this year, said Mr. Keating.
UNSOM also recorded 120 instances of arbitrary arrest and detention of
journalists, media workers and owners of media outlets by members of
Somalias security forces, he added.
The report also highlights violence against political leaders that resulted in the
assassination of at least 18 members of parliament since 2012, further
compounding restrictions on freedom of expression.

The Federal Government should review and withdraw laws and practices that
currently restrict and endanger the right to freedom of expression. The
Federal Government should bring the countrys 2016 media law in line with
regional and international norms and standards, the SRSG urged.
The report makes a series of recommendations aimed at improving the
climate for freedom of expression in Somalia. It calls for the regulation of the
National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) to deter recurring human
rights violations by its agents against politicians, journalists and human rights
defenders.
The report also calls for the repeal of a section of the media law that
criminalizes the dissemination of false news. It urges the Federal
Government of Somalia to take steps to guarantee women the right to full
participation in this years electoral process and one-person, one-vote
elections envisioned for 2020.
The report emphasizes the need for the Federal Government to promptly
establish an independent National Human Rights Commission, which is
intended to play a key role in protecting and promoting the rights of all
Somalis.
Kirsten Young, the Chief of the UNSOM Human Rights and Protection Group,
said the report will serve as a key benchmark for monitoring the state of
freedom of expression in the future. This report will be used to measure
progress against the commitments Somalia has made this year, she said.
Somalia was reviewed this year by the UN Human Rights Council under its
Universal Periodic Review process and pledged to implement a lengthy list of
recommendations. A midterm review of the country is due in two years time.
END