UN urged to end attacks on Journalists in Somalia

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Somali affiliate, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), have told the United Nations to push the Federal Government of Somalia and its regional administrations to end the continuing intimidation, harassment and attacks against journalists in the country.


This comes after gunmen killed a Somali radio journalist in the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday.
Addressing the ongoing 33rd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) during the Interactive Dialogue NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman told the UN body with responsibility to promote and protect human rights around the globe: “…in Somalia, media freedom continues to be constrained by those seeking to use the mass media as a means to pursue their own interests. They have been doing this by using direct or indirect threats, but also by physical assaults, or in some cases even murders.”

Somalia has been devastated by an Islamists insurgence for the better part of a decade.
The country’s election officials pushed the poll date from October to November, citing security issues and administrative problems.
The UN expressed its disappointment with this move, but expressed hope that the balloting will be “transparent and credible.”