The workshop was organised by two key stakeholders in Somalia’s constitutional review process – the Constitutional Oversight Committee of the Somali Federal Parliament (OC) and the Independent Constitutional Review and Implementation Commission (ICRIC).
During the workshop, ICRIC presented the draft constitutional amendments and the accompanying draft report on Chapters 1-4 of the Somali Provisional Constitution to the members of the OC. ICRIC had prepared these amendments based on the political agreements concluded by the National Consultative Council (NCC). It will now be up to the OC to present these draft constitutional amendments and the accompanying draft report on Chapters 1-4 of the Somali Provisional Constitution to fellow members in the Somali Federal Parliament and lobby for adopting the proposed amendments.
Engaged in discussions with the Somali lawmakers, the team provided members of the OC with some insights into other countries’ experiences on the relevant constitutional regulations, including the protection of human rights and issues related to the electoral system and Somali citizenship.
The team also met with the representatives of both Houses of the Somali Federal Parliament, including the Speaker of the Upper House, and discussed critical aspects of the proposed constitutional changes. In this regard, these meetings also served as preparatory measures for a new Foundation project in Somalia, funded by the European Union and starting in January 2024, which aims to strengthen the role of the Federal Parliament in Somalia’s constitutional review process and will be implemented in partnership with the Somali Center for Rule of Law and Good Governance (SomLaw).
The event was held within the framework of the Foundation’s EU-funded project ‘Legal Capacity Building and Advice for the Legislative Branch of Government in Somalia‘.