Amnesty International considers that forced returns to south and central
Somalia amount to a violation of international law. Amnesty
International is seriously concerned about continued attempts by the
Dutch government to effect such forced returns.
The Dutch government’s
position is that, under certain circumstances, Somalis can be returned
to areas under the control of al-Shabaab, an Islamist armed group with
links to Al-Qaeda. Amnesty International considers it dangerous,
irresponsible and in violation of international law to attempt to
return, or compel Somalis to return, to areas under al-Shabaab control.
The Netherlands’ repeated attempts to argue for the forcible return
of Somalis to areas controlled by the Islamist armed group al-Shabaab
exposes them to grave risks of human rights abuses and would be a
blatant violation of international law, Amnesty International said in a new briefing published today.
The
Dutch government has insisted that Somalis can be forcibly sent to the
most perilous areas of the country, including those where al-Shabaab is
responsible for unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment.
“For
some Somalis, being returned to al-Shabaab-controlled areas is akin to
being handed a death sentence,” said L. Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty
International’s Regional Director for Eastern Africa, the Horn and the
Great Lakes.
“By sending Somalis to volatile areas where
their lives are in danger, the Dutch government is also responsible for
the human rights abuses they face on their return.”
International
law requires that states do not return people to areas where their
lives or freedoms are at real risk, such as certain situations of armed
conflict.
Amnesty International has called on other
governments including Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway and
Saudi Arabia to end their policy of returning Somalis to south and
central Somalia.
The briefing Forced returns to south and central Somalia, including to Al-Shabaab areas: a blatant violation of international law highlights the grave risks faced by civilians in Somalia.
Amnesty
International has received numerous reports of Somalis being accused of
spying by armed groups, leading in many cases to retribution -
including killings. Many Somalis fear returning to areas not only
controlled by al-Shabaab, but also to areas where the armed group has a
presence, including Mogadishu.
The briefing includes
testimonies of human rights violations people have faced upon return,
such as Fartuun, 25, whose uncle was killed in August 2013 shortly after
returning from Yemen.
“He was captured the day he returned home.
Al-Shabaab soldiers took him away and held him captive. After five
days, they brought him in front of the stadium and beheaded him in front
of people. After, they left him outside with his head on his stomach.
He was there for one week,” Fartuun told Amnesty International.
In
Mogadishu and other areas of south and central Somalia, people continue
to be killed and wounded in crossfire during armed clashes and by
suicide attacks, grenade attacks and by improvised explosive devices
(IEDs). Ongoing military operations throughout 2014 have led to an
increase in violence against civilians.
In November
2013, the Netherlands flouted international law and forcibly returned
26-year-old Ahmed Said, who had left Somalia more than 20 years earlier,
to Mogadishu - a city he said he had never visited.
Three days later he was wounded along with numerous others in a suicide attack that killed at least six people.
“All
countries have a responsibility to protect people who are at risk of
serious human rights abuses if returned to their countries, rather than
sending them back into the lion’s den,” Wanyeki said.
“Not
only is it dangerous and irresponsible to put people’s lives at risk in
this way, but states are in flagrant violation of their obligations
when they do.”
The Netherlands recently scheduled a
meeting of its Parliament and Migration Minister to discuss its policy
of returning failed asylum seekers to areas under al-Shabaab control.
In
May 2014, the United Nations Secretary-General urged all countries
providing refuge to Somalis fleeing conflict to comply with their
obligations under international law and not to return them forcibly to
Somalia, where their lives could be at risk.
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