PGA has worked with Parliamentarians from Somalia to promote the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes since 2014, and is currently promoting accession and ratification of the Rome Statute.
Rome Statute
Somalia has not yet signed the Rome Statute of the ICC, and has yet to ratify it, including both amendments to the Statute adopted in Kampala in 2010 on the crime of aggression and on the use of certain weapons in armed conflict not of an international character.
Status on domestic implementation of the rome statute
Somalia has not yet incorporated into its domestic legislation the definitions of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression as defined under the Rome Statute, and has yet to incorporate general principles to enable its domestic tribunals to exercise its primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute the most serious crimes under international law.
Somalia also has not put in place any procedures to cooperate with the ICC on eventual investigations or prosecutions at the international level, including enforcing warrants against ICC fugitives.
Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court (APIC)
Somalia has yet to accede to the APIC.
Progress and Recent Action
The process of ratification of the Rome Statute has not commenced yet in Somalia due to the existence of other priorities in place and general lack of interest on the topic. Indeed, no government action towards ratification has been registered due to a lack of political will. It appears that Somalia does not view membership in the ICC as sufficiently relevant or important.
In light of the internal conflict that Somalia had been facing and the on-going and regular attacks by terrorist group Al-Shabab, there could be additional concerns, in particular from the military, about the possibility of the Court to investigate acts being committed in the territory of Somalia.
The conflict underlines however the necessity for Somalia to ratify the Rome Statute, PGA has thus been engaged in creating momentum to trigger the accession process by generating political will and providing political and technical assistance to its members in the Parliament.
PGA’s close work with Somalia during 2014 led to the participation of two MPs in the 6th Meeting of PGA’s Working Group on the Universality of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in the Middle East and North Africa, during which Mr. Abdirahman Hosh Jibril, MP, Former Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Reconciliation of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, confirmed his strong commitment to launch the ratification process in Somalia by raising awareness and creating political will within the public opinion, the Parliament and the government, highlighting the imperative for Somalia to join the Rome Statute system in the context of the continued attacks by Al-Shabab against the population.
Additionally and together with Mr. Abdi Ali Hassan, MP and new PGA Member (Chair of the National Electoral Commission), he highlighted the priority to create a close alliance with Somali and international civil society organizations to achieve the goal of accession to the Rome Statute.
PGA secretariat will continue to work with its PGA Members and with Somalian MPs to build on those commitments, to launch and foster support for the ICC ratification process. PGA seeks to mobilize further engagement for the ratification of the Rome Statute as an indispensable tool for the construction and consolidation of the rule of law and complementary to domestic judicial systems. Ratification of the Rome Statute also reinforces the entire judicial system of countries implementing it and can contribute to the reconciliation process in the country.
Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review
Somalia will be reviewed during the 24th session of the UPR in 2016. It is currently considering the 2011 recommendation from France to sign and ratify the Rome Statute.
Additional Relevant Information
As a member of the African, Caribbean and Pacific community (ACP), and as signatory of the revised Cotonou Agreement, Somalia has recognized the importance of the ICC as a mechanism for peace and international justice, and has committed to promote the ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute. For more information click here.
