6.B HUMAN RIGHTS - SPECIFIC GROUPS 

Ethnic Groups 

6.79 Somali society is characterised by membership of clan-families, which are sub-divided into clans, and many sub-clans (clan members are classified as ethnic Somali), or minority groups (minority groups are usually defined as those of non-ethnic Somali origin) and any political affiliation generally follows clan lines. [8][32]   

Somali clans 

6.80 The clan structure comprises four major "noble" clan-families of Darod, Hawiye, Isaaq or Dir. "Noble" in this sense refers to the widespread Somali belief that members of the major clans are descended from a common Somali ancestor, and that the minority clans/groups have a different, usually mixed, parentage. [7][32] More than 80% of the population shares a common ethnic heritage, religion and nomadic influenced culture. [2a] Two further clans, the Digil and Mirifle - collectively referred to as Rahanweyn (see below), take, in many aspects, an intermediate position between the main Somali clans and the minority groups. [7]

6.81 Most Somalis ensure their personal safety by residing in the 'home areas' of their clan, where they are assured full status and protection by their kinship group. This may in effect mean a form of internal displacement, even for some people in Mogadishu, who have to move from their actual homes in the city to traditional clan areas elsewhere. [38] 

6.82The dominant clan in any particular area has generally excluded other clans and minorities from participation in power. [2a] An individual will be most secure in an area in which their clan is dominant and able to afford them protection. However, the Majerteen-dominated Puntland authorities have been willing to allow thousands of people from other clans and minorities to live in the territory they administer. Similarly, the Isaaq-dominated Somaliland authorities have been tolerant of non-Isaaq clan members living in their territory, even Ogaden clan members who moved into the area under Siad Barre's administration. The authorities in the central Hiran and Galgudud regions have also proved tolerant of Somalis from other clans and regions travelling into their territories and, with consent, settling there. [31][32][36] 

6.83 After the fall of Siad Barre's Marehan-dominated administration in 1991 thousands of Marehan in Mogadishu died in the ensuing fighting at the hands of the Hawiye-dominated USC militia. Many Marehan consequently fled to their home region of Gedo but some have been able to return to Mogadishu and generally do not face persecution. [33][34][35][36] 

6.84 In south and central Somalia rival Hawiye factions control much of the territory.  The rival members of other clans, such as the Digil and Dir, also live in these areas but are not directly involved in the conflict.  However, whilst they are not a target of general persecution by the parties to the conflict they risk becoming victims of hostilities. [33] [36] 

The Rahanweyn clans 

6.85 As reflected in the British/Danish Nairobi fact-finding report on Minority Groups in Somalia, published in December 2000 the Rahanweyn clans, comprising the Digil and Mirifle, are considered as a minority group by some experts and related to the major Somali clans by others, though considered as less 'noble' by others.  However, the Digil and Mirifle were included as one of the major Somali clan-families and allotted 49 seats (including 5 for women), distinct from the recognised official minorities who formed a separate grouping when seat allocations for the TNG were decided upon at the Arta conference of 2000. [8]  

6.86 The Rahanweyn clans were largely excluded from political participation in the Rahanweyn-populated Bay and Bakool regions following their capture by General Aideed's Hawiye-based USC/SNA in September 1995, when the Rahanweyn-supported SDM regional administration was ousted. Since then the RRA has fought to reassert Rahanweyn control, capturing Huddur town from the USC/SNA in October 1998 and taking Baidoa in June 1999 with Ethiopian assistance. The RRA set up a regional administration for Bakool region in December 1998. [11a][15a][20][33][36] In March 2002, the RRA set up a new regional administration, SWS, effectively covering Bay and Bakool but claiming to cover other regions. [7][28] 

Minority Groups  

6.87 Minority groups within Somalia include the Bajuni, Bantu, Benadir, Bravanese, Eyle, Midgan, Tumal and Yabir.  As with the majority clans several of these individual groups are divided into sub groups. The minority groups were the only people in Somalia who, when Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991, did not have their own armed militia to protect them.  During the civil war minority groups were among the most vulnerable and victimised populations in the country. [8] Certain minority groups, most notably the Benadiri and Bravanese, have been particularly disadvantaged and targeted by clan militia since the collapse of central authority in 1991. [7][8] 

6.88 Minority groups are not evenly distributed throughout Somalia; there is a higher concentration in the control and southern parts of the country. [8] However, some groups, such as those with special occupational skills (see the section on Midgan, Tumal and Yibir below) are more likely to be found in different parts of the country. Other members of minority groups have, in some cases, been able to settle outside their traditional areas. [8][31][33]  

General security position for minority groups 

6.89 Generally, minority groups remain unarmed and, according to the US Department of State have limited access to whatever social services are available, including health and education. [2a][8] Minority groups are generally excluded from participation in the political system; however, they are represented in the TNA. [2a] Politically weak social groups are less able to secure protection from extortion, rape and other human rights abuses by the armed militia of various factions and remain somewhat vulnerable wherever they reside. [2a][38] In its report covering 2002 AI refers to female members of minority groups being particularly at risk of rape at the hands of faction militias and other gunmen. [6b]  

6.90 As with Somalia as a whole, an individual in Mogadishu will be most secure in an area in which his or her clan is able to afford them protection. Members of small clans and minority groups are inevitably at more risk.  However, some minority groups, such as the low-caste Midgan, Tomal, Yahar, Ayle and Yibir may risk harassment by Somali clans in rural areas, do not necessarily find themselves facing particular human rights or security problems in Mogadishu. [35] Although minorities have usually been able to avoid involvement in clan disputes they have sometimes come under pressure to participate in fighting in areas of conflict. This happened to the Midgan in Mogadishu following the collapse of the Barre administration. [36][35] 

6.91 While many displaced minority groups would not necessarily face persecution on the basis of clan membership or ethnicity were they to return to their home areas, they may well face difficulty in regaining their homes and land which were seized by clan militia which took control of their territories. Members of smaller clans and minority groups such as the Bantu have been able to settle in Somaliland and Puntland. As minorities often have skills such as weaving, fishing and building (see below) they are often economically better off than ethnic Somalis. Persecution solely on the basis of clan membership or ethnicity is now very unlikely in most areas of Somalia. [7][36][31][33][34] 

Bajuni 

6.92 The small Bajuni population, numbering some 3,000 to 4,000, possibly as many as 11,000, are mainly sailors and fishermen who live in small communities on the coast south of Kismayo and on islands between Kismayo and the border with Kenya. The Bajuni are of mixed Arabic, Bantu, Somali and possibly Malay ancestry. Their principal language is Kibajuni, a dialect of Swahili. Bajuni Elders who met with the delegation of a joint British-Danish-Dutch fact-finding mission on Somali minority groups to Nairobi in September 2000 informed the delegation that most Bajuni also speak Somali. The Elders stated that younger Bajuni, who have lived mainly in exile, might only have a limited knowledge of Somali but they stressed that they should know at least some key words in Somali as their family Elders would have taught them. The Elders stated that the Bajuni do not regard themselves as a Benadiri people, although they had some trading links with the Bravanese people. [8][43]  

6.93 The Bajuni had traditionally held a low status in Somalia. As Siad Barre's administration collapsed in the early 1990s, the Bajuni were attacked by groups of Somali militia who wanted to force them off the islands. Many Bajuni left Somalia for Kenya, the majority having fled during 1992. Some Bajuni earned money by transporting refugees out of towns such as Brava and Kismayo to Kenya. In Kenya the Bajuni went to the Jomvo refugee camp in Mombasa. When the Jomvo vamp was closed in 1997 many Bajuni were returned by the UNHCR to the Bajuni islands, which at the time were considered safe. However, with the fall of Kismayo in 1999 to the allied forces of the SNF and Aideed's SNA, and subsequent attacks on the Bajuni islands, the UNHCR suspended returns. [8][43] 

6.94 A visit by a UN official to the Bajuni islands in early 2002 found 3,000 Bajuni families living on the islands, compared to only 50 in 1994, after most Bajuni had fled the invading Marehan. Elders stated that the position of the Bajuni had improved of late. Bajuni were able to return to their home areas, although they were still not able to own boats with engines, only traditional sailing boats. Recent Marehan settlers still have effective control of the islands. Bajuni can work for the Marehan as paid labourers, which is at least an improvement over the period when General 'Morgan's' forces controlled Kismayo and the islands, when the Bajuni were treated by the occupying Somali clans as little more than slave labour. With the Bajuni, their position is more one of denial of economic access by Somali clans than outright abuse. [7] 

Bantu 

6.95 The Bantu, the largest minority group in Somalia, are an agricultural group found in pockets, usually in the river valleys of southern Somalia in Hiran region (the Reer Shabelle and Makanne groups), Gedo (the Gobaweyne), Lower and Middle Shabelle (the Shidle and 'Jereer') and Lower Juba (the Gosha). [2a][7] There are also several other Bantu groups, it is also the case that some Bantu have settled in other parts of Somalia. [8] Some Bantu have adopted Somali clan identity while others maintain their East African tribal identity. Some Bantu are descendants of pre-Somali Bantu populations while others are descendants of slaves taken from East Africa to Somalia. [7][36] Other Somalis, including those of Bantu origin commonly refer to Bantu as "Jarer". [6b][8]  

6.96 The Bantu did not take part in the civil war and are therefore not in danger of recriminations or reprisals, but they were displaced by the fighting and often lost their land along the Juba River and in the Middle Shabelle region. According to the UNHCR many Bantu preferred to resettle in their ancestral lands rather than stay in Somalia, however many Bantu have since returned to the country. [7][36] In September 2000 Bantu Elders suggested to a British/Danish fact-finding delegation visiting Nairobi that there were a number of regions where the Bantu population were actually in the majority in numerical terms. [8] Some Bantu have also found work in the construction industry in Somaliland. [36] The Bantu are represented by Somali African Muki Organisation (SAMO) which is aligned to the SSA (see Annex C); SAMO aligned itself with the G8 group at the Eldoret/Nairobi peace talks. [10bc]   

6.97 Conditions for Bantu reportedly vary according to the region in which they live. [7][8] As stated above Bantu have been largely displaced along the Juba and Shabelle rivers. They are usually able to remain in their home areas, to work mainly as labourers for the Somali clans (mainly the Marehan, Ogadeni and Habr Gedir) that have taken their traditional land. They can usually retain about 10% of their land for their own use. [7] However, in some cases Bantu work as plantation labourers in what Bantu elders describe as situations of near slavery. [8] Bantu try to link themselves to the dominant Somali clans that have dispossessed them of most of their land, as, for their own security, they still need their protection. [7][8] However, in Bay and Bakool Bantu have largely been incorporated into the Rahanweyn clan structure and are able to retain their land.  Bantu that have assimilated themselves with the indigenous clans they live with are reportedly known as 'sheegato', which means they are not bloodline clan members, but adopted. [7]