| Strengthening access to justice in Puntland |
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In early February 2009, the local non-governmental organization (NGO) Hornpeace, in collaboration with UNDP, held the first ever state conference for Puntland’s traditional leaders. The conference was attended by 130 traditional leaders, religious leaders, and government representatives, as well as representatives from the police, courts, and national and international organizations. The five-day national conference brought together traditional leaders drawn from all seven regions of Puntland and included regional aqils and nabadoons (elders), together with sultans, intellectuals, and cultural experts. Representatives from the legislation, international relations, justice, environment, and family and social affairs committees of the Puntland Parliament were also in attendance. Additional participants included the head of the Supreme Court, judges from Garowe Regional Court, representatives from the Office of the Attorney General, and officials from the Garowe regional and municipal authorities. By the end of the conference, the elders and ministers who attended had drafted and adopted a national declaration. This declaration is an important step towards harmonizing customary law with international standards; strengthening the interaction between the formal and informal laws, particularly in the courts; obtaining agreement on the proper treatment of internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, migrants, minorities, the disabled, women and children, in accordance with international human rights standards; preserving the environment, including marine resources; and developing conflict resolution mechanisms to deal with urban land disputes and other conflicts. It is significant, as it will govern in the future how cases involving traditional and customary law are dealt with, therefore increasing access to justice for all, especially the destitute and vulnerable groups.The first objective of the conference was to revise, unite and standardize xeer or customary law. An additional aim was to adopt a national declaration on those revised xeer that focus on enhancing peace, protecting human rights, and preserving the degraded environment. The final objective was to establish a national networking body for traditional leaders. The conference was the culmination of three years of advocacy activities targeting the traditional leaders of Puntland, implemented by Hornpeace, with support from UNDP and Danish Refugee Council (DRC). Prior to the conference, Hornpeace facilitated human rights seminars for the traditional leaders throughout Puntland, followed by advocacy campaigns in all areas. These workshops identified harmful Somali customary law codes that conflict with international human rights standards and need to be replaced with revised customary laws that reflect human rights norms and harmonize the three legal systems that Somalia uses: customary, sharia and secular. The national conference opened the door for the first time for dialogue between high-ranking national government officials and traditional leaders. The traditional leaders identified principles, mechanisms and responsibilities for enforcement of the individual principles of the national declaration. The participants outlined plans to continue their efforts at harmonizing and realigning the traditional system, the formal, secular judicial system, and sharia law. Several forums are being organized as follow-up to the conference. It was decided that a state-wide meeting will be held in April 2009 for aqils from all seven regions of Puntland to establish a network for the traditional leaders. The aim is to identify ways to overcome the challenge of belonging to different clans from different regions and improve their cooperation around further peace building. In addition, meetings with local authorities and formal judges will be held two months after the conclusion of the conference, in order to exchange information and enhance coordination. These meetings are ultimately geared towards empowering the traditional leaders and enabling them, through their state-wide network, to act as positive agents of change as the three legal systems are harmonized. In addition to promoting human rights among particular groups (see above), these initiatives aim to specifically address issues such as sexual and gender-based violence, forced labour, and the maltreatment of those in conflict with the law. They also aim to resolve intra-clan and inter-clan conflicts that pose a threat to peace and stability in all regions. The conference was officially closed by the Speaker of the Puntland Parliament, HE Abdirashiid Mohamed Hersi. A Somali copy of the declaration can be found at: http://www.puntlandpost.com/newspage.php?articleid=5941 To read the English version of the declaration click here: Puntland traditional leaders conference |