NEW MASS GRAVE IN HARGEISA

[Gabbal]

Fabrication. There is a very apt saying that goes "there are no secrets in Somalia". Are we now at at "discovering" graves? I remember Jacaylbaro posting a very similar topic last year so kindly do excuse me if I start taking anything from you with a pinch of salt.

[Jacaylbaro]

You not forced to do so ,,,,,,,,, the guilty always closes his eyes and wish he was not born

 

 

This will continue sxb ,,, and more are expected in the coming years

[Gabbal]

Well I am definitely not guilty of anything nor wish my eyes were closed, but perhaps you shouldn't over dramatize unfortunate incidents in order to give more legitimacy to current political maneuverings?

[Jacaylbaro]

,,,

[Jacaylbaro]

Forensic report on mass graves in the vicinity of Hargeisa

 

 

The presence of mass graves in Hargeisa was brought to the IE's attention in the summer of 1997. The account of events following the discovery of the remains, confirmed by the UNDP Office for Somalia, indicated that several hundred bodies were unearthed and then re-buried by the local community. Information indicated that the victims had been bound by the wrist and roped together in groups of 10 to 15 individuals and were believed to have been killed by government troops in 1988 during the regime of President Siad Barré. In the report to the 1998 Commission (E/CN.4/1998/96), the IE called for steps to be taken to preserve the evidence at the sites for possible use at a later stage.

 

A mission to conduct an on-site forensic assessment of alleged mass graves was carried out by Physicians for Human Rights, an NGO, under the auspices of the OHCHR. The mission took place in December 1997. Among the tasks of the forensic experts were: (a) determination of the nature of the graves and a preliminary assessment on the conditions of the remains and types of injuries to the bodies; (b) assessment of all logistical considerations regarding the exhumation and examination of all the graves; © and the conducting of a one-day workshop for the local authorities and NGOs to provide them with basic information on how to determine whether corpses discovered in a mass grave are the result of a massacre and how to preserve evidence.

 

The forensic report prepared for the 1999 Commission ( E/CN.4/1999/103/ Add.1) reviews conditions leading to the creation, discovery and partial excavation of the grave sites and notes, inter alia, that: (a) a total of 92 to 116 alleged mass grave features were observed in three areas examined by the forensic team; (b) the nature of the graves, evidence of peri-mortem injury, and the occurrence of bodies bound together by ligature, in combination with the haphazard placement of the bodies in the graves led to the conclusion that the deaths of these individuals were suspicious, and constituted a violation of human rights; and © features described by witnesses as mass graves are indeed mass graves.

 

The recommendations in the report included that:

 

given the number of graves in the vicinity, the location of all known mass graves be mapped; a limited and representative sample of graves be fully exhumed and the victims examined by an international team of forensic experts;

for those graves not the subject of an in-depth forensic investigation, they be excavated by the Somaliland authorities, with the assistance of local physicians specially trained in forensic analysis of skeletal remains;

advance preparations in Somaliland include the location and securing of facilities for storage examination remains selection training a forensic analysis team composed medical doctors as well local excavationadministrative issues concerned with certification death final disposition be resolved prior to start excavations;

forensic investigations be undertaken in the dry season; a preparation lead time of approximately five to six months be arranged to develop and implement the logistics of the mission; and

training and assistance be provided to the Somaliland Administration in regard setting up its own forensic team for purposes of performing controlled excavations mass graves osteological analysis recovered human remains.

The report also recommended that the UN, in consultation with the Technical Committee:

 

provide assistance to the Technical Committee relating to the procedures for the collection of witness testimony;

provide assistance to the Technical Committee relating to compiling a comprehensive grave registry, including detailed survey, in the vicinity of Hargeisa, as well as in other regions and towns with suspected mass graves;

establish a means of providing financial support for the conduct of thorough investigations of alleged and known mass grave sites and human rights violations linked to the period 1988 to the present; and

authorize and assemble an international team of forensic specialists, working with local professionals for the purpose of conducting investigations of selected mass graves and encourage and support additional forensic investigations conducted by local professionals trained in forensic methods, assisted by international specialists.

Resolution of the Commission on Human Rights

 

The Commission adopted by consensus a resolution on assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights (1999/75). The Commission, inter alia: noted with concern the persisting lack of a central authority and the ongoing armed conflict in Somalia; welcomed efforts by international and regional governmental organizations to bring about peace, national reconciliation, unity and reconstruction; expressed its wish that human rights issues be integrated into these efforts; welcomed the integration of human rights issues into the programmes of a number of UN agencies; noted with concern the forensic report on mass graves in Hargeisa; expressed deep concern at reports of arbitrary and summary executions, torture and ill-treatment, violence against women and children, the absence of an effective judicial system; condemned widespread violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law, in particular against minorities, women and children; and condemned any violation of international law on armed conflict (e.g. hostage-taking and abduction).

 

The Commission also, inter alia: urged all parties to: respect human rights and international humanitarian law pertaining to internal armed conflict; support the re-establishment of rule of law throughout the country, in particular by applying internationally accepted criminal justice standards; and protect UN personnel, humanitarian relief workers and NGO representatives as well as representatives of international media. The Commission called upon: all parties to the conflict to work towards a peaceful solution to the crisis; subregional, regional and international organizations and concerned countries to continue and intensify coordinated efforts aimed at facilitating the national reconciliation process; individual donor countries and others to incorporate human rights principles and objectives in the humanitarian and development work being carried out.

 

The Commission also extended the mandate of the IE for a further year, welcomed the decision of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to appoint a human rights officer in the framework of the office of the UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, and stressed the importance of implementing that decision.

 

 

FULL REPORT

[RedSea]

In dhiigyacabkii Siyad Barre iyo wixii ushaqayn jireen dad dileen muran kama taagna.

 

SNM iyana dad way laysay oo may ahayn sida lasheegay culimo awdiin.

 

Markaa wixii dhintay ee dad masakiin ah Ilahay ha unaxariisto. Intaas ayaa qofkasta uga eeg in kaga baxo.

[Jabarjaan]

Siyad Barre's Spies now rule somaliland so i dont see the point y'all are tryin' to make