Federal government websites often end in. The site is secure. In , Somalia made minimal advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The government and the International Labor Organization also finalized Somalia's first Decent Work Country Program to support the implementation of policy objectives and initiatives related to fundamental labor rights, including the elimination of child labor and forced labor.
However, despite new initiatives to address child labor, Somalia made only minimal advancement because federal and state security forces continued to recruit and use children in armed conflict, in violation of national law.
Government security forces also detained children for suspected association with armed groups, subjecting some of them to lengthy interrogations and coerced confessions. It is also unknown whether labor and criminal law enforcement agencies in Somalia took actions to enforce child labor laws in In addition, Somalia lacks legislation prohibiting child trafficking and the use of children in illicit activities.
In , there were continued allegations of grave violations against children linked to federal and state government security forces, including recruitment and use, killing and maiming, and sexual violence. Despite a government order barring the recruitment of children into state armed groups, members of the federal armed forces, security services, regional forces, and police in Galmudug, Jubaland, and Puntland continued to recruit children into their ranks.
Al-Shabaab, which forcibly recruited children as young as age 8 into its ranks, committed a majority of grave violations, using deception or coercion tactics to forcibly recruit victims, including children, into sexual slavery, combat, and support roles. Al-Shabaab also continued the practice of forcing communities to turn over male children to serve as child soldiers, imposing a financial penalty on families who refused to cooperate. Conflict, severe drought, and devastating floods forced more than 1 million people in Somalia to flee their homes, raising the country's population of internally displaced persons IDPs to over 3.
