Ministry of Labour (Somaliland)

In April 2011, the Government of Somaliland reported its achievements for the previous three months, stating that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs had completed the first draft of a Family Law based on Sharia, formulated a national policy on female genital mutilation (FGM), established a rehabilitation and protection centre for street children, begun implementation of the National Gender Policy, facilitated recruitment to positions in international and domestic organisations, promoted vocational training programmes, and established a labour safety unit within the Directorate of Labour to supervise labour conditions.^[4]

As of 2016, the UK-based FGM/C Research Initiative reported that the Ministry of Labour, which responsible for gender issues in Somaliland, had not yet reached agreement on a national policy or strategy for the eradication of FGM.^[9]

In July 2017, the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs stated that many companies and institutions in Somaliland were violating the Civil Labour Law, including the requirement that vacant posts be advertised in national newspapers for at least two weeks and that recruitment be conducted by a committee including representatives of the employer and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.^[10]

In September 2018, the Rape and Sexual Offences Act was brought into force. The House of Elders and the House of Representatives were reportedly at odds over the act, which was described as having generated major controversy on the grounds that it was contrary to Islam.^[11] Then, this act was enacted, but was reportedly suspended and was not effectively implemented in practice.^[12] In 2020, a new act incorporating the views of religious leaders and traditional elders was introduced, but Somaliland Women in Law criticized it as violating the Constitution of Somaliland and international human rights law and as placing girls and women at great risk.^[13]

In October 2018, the Somaliland Minister of Labour submitted a letter to the Supreme Court of Somaliland requesting a review of a decision issued by the Ministry of Labour earlier in 2018 in a dispute between the African Relief Committee and two teachers, which had ruled in favour of the teachers following a complaint by the African Relief Committee. The minister also requested a review of another case involving the African Relief Committee and a different teacher, in which the Maroodi-Jeex Regional Court had issued a judgment in August 2018 in favour of the teacher. Hiiraan Online noted that the reasons for the minister’s intervention in decisions that had already been issued by the courts were unclear.^[14]

In November 2018, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs announced that three foreign workers had been deported for working in positions that Somaliland citizens were capable of performing.^[15]

In May 2021, the European Union launched two projects in Somaliland in cooperation with the Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs and Family to reduce violence against women and girls and female genital mutilation (FGM). The projects, implemented by the NGOs Candlelight and Health Poverty Action, aim to combat sexual and gender-based violence and FGM through community-based awareness activities and by strengthening the rights of women and girls. Rape, early marriage, and FGM remain widespread in Somaliland, where an estimated 99 percent of women aged 15–49 have undergone FGM. The Somaliland government has also established an inter-ministerial task force to develop a zero-tolerance policy on FGM.^[16]

In September 2024, the Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs and Family (MESAF) hosted a two-day Linking and Learning Forum with support from Options' The Girl Generation programme and ActionAid International Somaliland. During the forum, the President of Somaliland formally approved the signing of the Somaliland National Anti-FGM Policy by the Minister of Employment, Social Affairs and Family, strengthening Somaliland's efforts towards a zero-tolerance stance on FGM/C.^[17]

• Politics of Somaliland
• Cabinet of Somaliland