On Thursday, young activists from Somalia wrapped up a three-day training session in the capital of Mogadishu, calling for effective action to combat the negative impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups across the country.
According to a statement issued Thursday evening, the 22 young activists who spoke at the UN-backed training on the nexus between human rights and climate change stated that the country has been experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to climate shocks which have led to widespread drought and flooding.
"Floods which are a result of climate change destroy farms and damage crops, which leads to food insecurity and malnutrition," said Abdilatif Hussein Omar, executive director of Action for the Environment, a civil society organization.
The training was part of a wider effort to help create a vibrant cohort of young Somali environmental activists. "The next step forward is actually to create a network of young climate activists that are coming from different sectors, from the academia, civil societies, media and student clubs so that they can continue advocating for effective climate change response in relation to human rights issues," Abdifatah Hassan Ali, a human rights official with UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, said in an official statement.
Ahmed Abdi Osman, a climate change official from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Somalia, noted that Somalia is one of the countries most affected by climate change.
He also said that there are plans underway to address the impacts; and, some 8 million people in the East African country are in need of urgent assistance, with 6.5 million expected to face high levels of acute food insecurity and 1.3 million displaced due to conflict or climatic shocks, according to the UN.
Furthermore, some of the participants noted that the training session would complement some of the advocacy already being carried out by young Somalis.
According to official data, most of the participants were primarily made up of university students and academics and civil society representatives studying or working on climate change issues. They focused on a range of human rights topics interlinked with climate change, such as the right to a healthy environment.