Queen’s Speech

Baroness Kidron Excerpts

Wednesday 11th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kidron (CB)]

My Lords, last night, alongside the noble Baroness, Lady Kennedy of The Shaws, I hosted a meeting that focused on sexual violence in south-central Somalia. The meeting was attended by the Somalian Foreign Minister, Members of the federal Parliament and representatives from the largest Somali women’s group, IIDA. After much robust discussion, a British citizen of Somali extraction stood up and said, “I did not intend to speak this evening but there is something I have not yet heard and it must be said. I stand to say thank you to the Government of the United Kingdom for supporting Somalia and thank you to the British taxpayer. Thank you”. Our noisy debate came to a silent halt as all in the room contemplated the spectre of a Somalia without the essential support of international donors. I think it is fair to say that all present were proud and moved.

I declare an interest as a patron of Legal Action Worldwide, an NGO that provides innovative and legal systems to women and children in fragile and conflict-affected states, and it is with its expert advice that I speak today. Sexual violence in south-central Somalia is pervasive and committed with near total impunity. There were 1,700 reported cases in internally displaced persons camps in 2012 and 800 reported rapes in the capital in the first six months of 2013—and all sources agree that these official figures are likely to vastly underrepresent the actual numbers of women affected by sexual violence in the region. There is a social stigma associated with rape and survivors have a very legitimate fear of reprisals against not only themselves but their broader family.

As with sexual violence the world over, much of it is committed by men known to the women—but in Somalia, a great many rapes and acts of sexual violence are committed by armed men in uniform. Estimates from the UN and Somali bodies vary wildly from 30% to 70% but what is constant is that the perpetrators include the Somali police, the army and, in some cases, peacekeeping troops of the African Union mission in Somalia, AMISOM. This raises very difficult issues for donor nations such as the UK that support either directly or indirectly all three of these security bodies. As a major donor to the security forces and to Somalia more generally, we have a duty not only on paper but in practice to create a red line—a line that says our contribution is dependent on victims of sexual violence in Somalia having recourse to support and meaningful redress.

It has to be said that the UK provides leadership in this area. Last night, we heard from colleagues in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that four new AMISOM personnel will focus on the protection of women and children and that AMISOM has promised to implement the civilian casualty tracking cell—a mechanism by which to track and address allegations of abuse. The UK has also supported Somali-led action plans for ministries to address violence—and of course, in the humble Address, the United Kingdom promised to lead efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict worldwide.

However, we must translate promises into action and action plans into implementation. The AMISOM tracking mechanism has been promised for more than three years without moving forward. Will the Minister now establish and agree a date for implementation and subsequent review? The new personnel, however welcome, must implement it with a guarantee that tracking will be accessible to women in the community as part of an effective and trusted mechanism by which civilians can make allegations of sexual violence.

Thirdly, the status of mission agreement should be revised to provide greater clarity on who takes the lead in the investigation of sexual offences so that we do not inadvertently finance a system where the perpetrators and investigators are from the same body.

Finally, can we make certain that action plans for Somalia allowing ministries to address sexual violence are properly funded, resourced, monitored and implemented on time? This includes, I believe, supporting the first sexual offences Bill in Somalia and adopting accountability policies for the Somali police force and the Somali national army. For the women of Somalia, questions of security are inextricably tied to questions of protection from sexual violence. A strong security sector is not weakened by proper structures of justice and accountability—on the contrary.

This week the Foreign Secretary hosts the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. It is a matter of considerable leadership. In last evening’s meeting there was anger and three were tears, but there was also hope. Will the Minister carry our congratulations and these recommendations back to the Foreign Secretary? It is imperative that the structures we put in place are equal to the undertakings that we make.