Mogadishu 26 August 2015- The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) has

held a four-days training workshop to sensitize youth on their role in advocacy, safeguarding
human rights and promoting peacebuilding in the country.
The workshop was jointly organized by UNSOM Human Rights Section and the African
Development Trust (ADT), a non-governmental organization working for communities in Somalia.
Participants included out-of-school youth and students from different tertiary institutions
including Mogadishu University and Simad University.
Ms. Muna Abuagla, the UNSOM Human Rights Officer said, that UNSOM is keen to continue
supporting the youth, enhancing their civic awareness as well as their empowerment.
I am very happy to work closely with students and with youth. They are very enthusiastic about
this workshop. They have expressed their will and concern to learn and they are asking a lot of
questions and are willing to also communicate the knowledge and experience to others. These
young people are fully aware of what they are doing and have an idea about what they want.
The students in the universities are very young, nevertheless they have good conception and
realization and know exactly what their role will be in either college or university, she said.
Ms. Khadro Dahir Hassan, one of the female participants said, that they had acquired a lot of
knowledge from the training workshop. A workshop like this one enable us to discuss issues
about human rights that are beneficial to us in many ways. The youth will be people who can
speak out, will have the power to negotiate for their rights and they are going to understand a lot
of things that they currently don't understand, said Ms. Khadro Dahir Hassan
Mr. Mubashir Mohamed Ahmed, another participant added, that it is important for Somali youth to
know their role and to speak out on issues of human rights and freedom because they are
currently vulnerable to human rights abuses.
Youth in Somalia have rights, like any other. These rights disappeared with the
collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's Government. UNSOM Human Rights Section and African
Development Trust (ADT) are supporting us to know more about human rights, to know more
about peace building and to give us more opportunities to speak out on issues of human rights
and peace building, he noted.
Mr. Ahmed Abdihayi Muse, the African Development Trust program coordinator said, the decision
to partner with UNSOM to train youth in human rights arose from an assessment, which
established that awareness of human rights issues is low among the youth.
Areas covered during the training workshop include human rights principles and mechanisms, the
Somali Constitution and the stipulated Bill of Rights in the Constitution; the national laws
enshrining the principle of human rights, as well as the intersection between Somali traditions,
the Sharia law and international human rights law in respect to advancing equality and upholding
human dignity.