Somalia and the Horn of Africa region are bound to be tested to the limits as foreign forces withdraw from the country over the next year. The African Mission on Somalia (AMISOM) will withdraw all its troops from Somalia by end of December 2021 upon the expiry of its mandate.1 Other countries with contingents not part of AMISOM are also withdrawing their troops for domestic reasons. The United States, pursuing reduced overseas military engagement under President Donald J. Trump, has already begun its troop withdrawals. Ethiopia is said to have already withdrawn at least 3,000 troops from Somalia as it faces internal disturbances, particularly in the Tigray region 2 Critically, the troops are not just leaving a country. They leave behind millions of victims of the Al-Shabab terrorist group who have not been accorded justice and who face grim chances of ever attaining criminal justice. States, whether individually or collectively, have a duty to investigate, prosecute and punish criminals for human rights violations. Failure to do so amounts to a breach of the victims’ right of access to justice. The international community has always attached immense value to criminal justice. First, numerous regional and international human rights instruments recognise and define cardinal fundamental rights and freedoms, and spell out the obligations of States in observing, fulfilling, and protecting such rights. Beyond the treaties, under customary international law, there are certain crimes that the community of States has deemed an affront to humankind, and the perpetrators must be punished whether their States have ratified treaties prohibiting the crimes or not. Second, the international community has over the years established elaborate enforcement mechanisms designed to ensure States comply with obligations. The Human Rights Committee monitors the compliance of States with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee against Torture monitors compliance with the United Nations Convention Against Torture, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Moreover, the international community has always established accountability mechanisms for perpetrators of 1 UNSC Res 2520 (29 May 2020) UN Doc S/RES/2520; Vincent Achuka, ‘East Africa: Tough Times Ahead for Somalia as Troops Start Pulling Out’ (AllAfrica 22 December 2020) <https://allafrica.com/stories/202012220086.html> accessed 22 December 2020 2 Ibid Vincent Achukagrave crimes. Such mechanisms have ranged from international and regional courts as well as specialised international and hybrid tribunals. Third, there is rich jurisprudence emphasizing that victims of violations of human rights must be accorded justice by their State. Further, States have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent human rights violations and to use the means at their disposal to seriously investigate violations committed within their jurisdiction, identify those responsible, punish them, and adequately compensate the victims.3 Where States are unable to undertake those duties, the international community must intervene to punish perpetrators and accord justice to victims. There has not been any hope for victims of Somalia’s armed conflict. Despite prima facie evidence that Al-Shabab is committing the gravest crimes of terrorism and even crimes against humanity and war crimes, there is a complete lack of accountability for perpetrators. This study focuses on the two later crimes whose prohibition constitutes a peremptory (jus cogens) norm in international law. Somalia is itself hampered by a lack of a functional government and weak institutions since 1991 when the government of Siad Barre fell at least until 2012 when the country managed to install its first permanent government post-Barre. With international support, Somalia has managed to establish a police force and a fairly remunerated, independent, and professional judiciary. However, challenges of deeply embedded corruption, clannism, and weak institutions persist. Somali institutions have still yielded limited results when it comes to holding Al-Shabab fighters accountable for their crimes in and around Somalia. There is a need to examine the available accountability mechanisms to ascertain how they can be improved or how mechanisms not being applied can be applied and in the process deliver justice to millions of AlShabab victims.

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