Somalia: UN Urged to Probe War Crimes

Rights groups are sceptical of the ability of the proposed Somali government to address the thorny issues of human rights abuses which have been at the heart of the collapse of Somalia since 1991. Rights groups and women parliamentarians want the international community to help the proposed government to address the human rights violations, particularly rape. The groups have asked the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to appoint a Special Rapporteur on violence against women to lead a mission to Somalia, to establish the magnitude of violation of human rights.