No place for children. Child recruitment forced marriage and attacks on schools in Somalia.

Since mid-2010 increased fighting in Somalia between the Islamist insurgent group al-Shabaab and Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) along with African Union forces (AMISOM) has been characterized by grave violations against children. In the words of a Somali mother shortly before her 15-year-old son fled to Kenya: “Somalia is no longer safe for children.” Focusing on abuses in 2010 and 2011 this report documents how al-Shabaab has targeted children for recruitment as soldiers forced marriage and rape. The group has deployed their fighters in schools packed with students using children as “human shields” and exposing them to indiscriminate return fire from TFG and AMISOM forces. They have imposed their harsh interpretation of Islam on the school curriculum banning English and other subjects and threatened and even killed teachers who resist. The few children still remaining in schools are rapidly dropping out. Children have continued to serve in TFG forces and TFG-aligned militias. The TFG has detained children they believe were in al-Shabaab instead of providing them with rehabilitation and protection in accordance with international standards. For this research Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 164 Somali refugees in Kenya including children their parents teachers and eyewitnesses to abuses. Human Rights Watch calls on the TFG to establish age screening procedures for all its recruits to hold its forces to account for abuses against children and to hand captured children over to appropriate civilian programs. It calls on the TFG and AMISOM to identify and protect schools in areas of military operations. It also calls on al-Shabaab to stop recruiting children as fighters or for forced marriage and to end attacks on schools and teachers. Concerned governments should take steps to end abuses against children and improve reporting on and sanctions for violations of children’s rights.