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IRIN Webspecial: A Decent Burial
Part Two: The need for peace and justice
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Photo: IRIN
Next to a shanty town, this mass grave is said to contain at least 23 men executed in Berbera.
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Somalilanders say these mass graves contain loved ones who were executed during Muhammed Siyad Barre's notorious military regime - when war against the north caused an estimated 250,000 people to flee in 1988 into neighbouring Ethiopia and Djibouti. Others say the mass graves may also contain people killed after 1991, when the Barre regime collapsed. For now, no-one is any closer to the truth, because since the initial forensic report of 1997, there have been no further investigations. The UN, the local committee and survivor groups have continued to collect documents, testimonies, videos and photos, but with no forensic support.
In 1999, a report by UN Special Rapporteur Ms Mona Rishmawi, recommended that "authorities in foreign countries... take steps to bring to justice those suspected of committing [war crimes or crimes against humanity] in Somalia". She reminded the UN Security Council of the "responsibility of states to end impunity and to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law".
Stressing that the need for accountability was essential for reconciliation and peace, the Special Rapporteur said peace and justice in Somalia should not be alternatives, but should go hand in hand.
"In the context of Somalia, where serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law rise to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity, ending impunity for such crimes by prosecuting those who commit them should be among the main objectives of all states and an integral part of, not an alternative to, a peace plan."
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Photo: IRIN
"Peace and justice in Somalia should go hand in hand"
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She also welcomed a proposal by President Ismail Omar Guelleh's to the UN General Assembly on 22 September 1999 that a regional peace initiative could include "the possible trial of those suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity".
Recommendations to the Security Council were based on discussions the Special Rapporteur had had with leaders and civilians during visits to Somaliland; Baidoa, in southern Somalia; and the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia. Rishmawi said she had heard "chilling allegations" during the visit to Baidoa regarding the massacre of civilians, and described the human rights situation in the capital, Mogadishu, as "serious". There were also allegations of massacres in the southern port of Kismayo and the Juba Valley. "Many acts that could be qualified as war crimes or crimes against humanity are being committed now in Somalia, in particular in the south of the country." Recommendations also dealt with concerns regarding the absence of justice and the denial of freedoms in post-1991 administrations.
The report of the Special Rapporteur referred to abuses committed under the previous regime, and during the post-1991 factional fighting that followed its collapse.
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? 2001, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. All rights reserved.
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