Social protection

The Federal Government of Somalia and Somaliland have yet to establish comprehensive legal frameworks recognizing the right to social protection for forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) and stateless individuals. In both jurisdictions, social insurance systems—covering pensions, unemployment, disability, and maternity protection—are either underdeveloped or nonexistent. These limited schemes are typically inaccessible to non-citizens due to exclusionary nationality laws, lack of identification, and weak institutional frameworks.

Somalia’s 2019 Social Protection Policy identifies the need to build a national social insurance system but does not include provisions specific to FDPs or stateless persons. The National Development Plan (2020–2024) prioritizes expanding social protection but does not translate this into legal entitlements for refugees or asylum seekers. Somaliland’s Social Protection Strategy (2022–2030) similarly focuses on non-contributory social assistance and excludes non-citizens from the scope of coverage. Contributory models, where they exist, remain limited to formally employed citizens and are not structured to include FDPs or stateless populations.

Non-contributory social assistance, such as food aid and emergency cash transfers, is delivered almost entirely through donor-led, ad hoc humanitarian initiatives by UN agencies and NGOs. Somalia’s policy includes plans for a lifecycle-based social registry and broader coverage for vulnerable groups, but implementation is in early pilot phases. Somaliland’s policies echo these aspirations but lack binding legal obligations to ensure access for displaced or undocumented populations. Existing national efforts prioritize internally displaced persons (IDPs), often excluding urban refugees and stateless individuals from assistance programs.

For vulnerable groups—including unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), trafficking victims, and persons with disabilities—domestic policies acknowledge protection needs. However, service provision is fragmented, donor-dependent, and poorly coordinated. Somalia’s Draft Child Rights Bill and Sexual Offenses Bill remain stalled, and enforcement of existing policies is minimal. In Somaliland, implementation of child protection and disability strategies is sporadic and often inaccessible to non-citizens.

Neither Somalia nor Somaliland provides legally guaranteed minimum social protection benefits for FDPs or stateless persons. While Somalia’s policies recognize IDPs as vulnerable populations, they do not provide enforceable entitlements. Somaliland’s frameworks emphasize poverty reduction and resilience but do not define eligibility or benefits for displaced persons, particularly those without legal status or documentation.

There are no specialized administrative or judicial mechanisms through which displaced individuals can appeal exclusion from social protection programs. The judiciary in Somalia is weak, and in Somaliland, legal redress mechanisms are limited to citizens. Without robust legal frameworks, oversight mechanisms, or accessible remedies, access to social protection remains discretionary, underfunded, and reliant on humanitarian actors rather than state responsibility.