Country profile SOM
National Legal Framework
National Legal Framework
| Provision | Legislation date | Convention | Legislation info | sources | Value | sort_order | Provision description | Legislation description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, prohibited? | N/A | C182 | N/A | [{"link_name":"CEACR Direct Request","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4419446,103244:NO"}] | No | 11 | C182 prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. | In a Direct Request published in 2025, the CEACR requests the Government to include in its legislation provisions which would provide for sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions of imprisonment and not just fines for the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, including the production and trafficking of drugs, thus implying no such law has been implemented. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of a child for the purpose of prostitution and for production of pornography prohibited? | 1962-12-16 | C182 | Penal Code - Articles 47, 59, 407 and 408 | [{"link_name":"Penal Code","source_link":"https://antislaverylaw.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Somalia-Penal-Code.pdf"}] | No | 10 | C182 prohibits the use of a child under the age of 18 for prostitution, regardless of the child's consent. The use, procuring or offering of any person under the age of 18 for commercial sexual exploitation constitutes a worst form of child labour, even if prostitution is a legalised. In regard to the prohibition of child pornography, States need to make sure that national legislation addresses the involvement of a child in the production of pornographic materials, including non-recorded performances. | While Article 407. punishes whoever instigates another to commit prostitution, or aids or in any manner facilitates prostitution, or exploits, wholly or in part, the proceeds of prostitution; Article 408. punishes whoever, by violence or threats, compels another to commit prostitution. Furthermore, the Text provides for increased penalties when the act is committed against a person incapable of giving consent (according to section 59, read in conjunction with section 47, a child under the age of 14 is considered as a person incapable of giving consent) or against a person entrusted to the offender for care, education, instruction, supervision, or custody. Section 408 of the Penal Code stipulates that whoever, by violence or threats, compels another to commit prostitution shall be punished with imprisonment from two to six years and with fine; the punishment shall be increased under the same conditions of section 407. However, the Code makes no mention of the prohibition of the use of children in the production of pornographic materials. |
| Is forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict prohibited? | - | C182 | Provisional Constitution - Article 29. (6) and Article 29. (8) | [{"link_name":"Provisional Constitution","source_link":"http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/research/Somalia-Constitution2012.pdf"}] | Yes | 9 | C182 defines forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict as a worst form of child labour. Nevertheless, C182 only prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18, and does not cover the voluntary recruitment of children under 18. | Article 29. (6) of the Text provides for the right of children to be protected from armed conflict and not to be used in armed conflict while subsection (8) of that same Article defines a child as a person under the age of 18 years. |
| Is the sale and trafficking of children for sexual and labour exploitation prohibited? | 1962-12-16 | C182 | Penal Code - Article 455. and Article 464. | [{"link_name":"Penal Code","source_link":"https://antislaverylaw.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Somalia-Penal-Code.pdf"}] | Yes | 8 | C182 defines all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour as worst forms of child labour. | Article 455. punishes whoever reduces a person to slavery or similar condition while Article 464. prohibits compulsory labour apart from the cases of military or civil emergency or the cases in which compulsory labour is pressly provided for by law. However, it should be noted that no provision prohibits expressly the trafficking of children for the purpose of the crimes above mentioned. |
| List of hazardous activities prohibited for children | No | C138 & C182 | N/A | [{"link_name":"CEACR Direct Request","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4419446,103244:NO"}] | No | 7 | C138 and C182 require the national determination of a list of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age. The competent authorities should consult with workers' and employers' organizations to determine what types of employment or work are considered to be hazardous. Such a list shall be periodically examined and revised as necessary. | In a Direct Request published in 2025, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) requests the Government to communicate the list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children and trusts that the draft Labour Code of 2019 will be adopted in the near future in this regard. However, it is worth noting that Article 94. of Law No. 65 on the Labour Code states that the minimum age for the employment on a vessel as a trimmer or stoker or on underground work in quarries or mines shall be 18 years and that young persons under the age of 16 years shall not be employed in work done on flying scaffolds or portable ladders in connection with the construction, demolition, maintenance or repair of buildings. |
| Minimum age for hazardous work | 2012-08-01 | C138 & C182 | Provisional Constitution - Article 29. (3) and (8) | [{"link_name":"Provisional Constitution","source_link":"http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/research/Somalia-Constitution2012.pdf"}] | 18 | 6 | C138 and C182 set 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work, which is defined as work that, due to its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize children’s health, safety or morals. C138 and C182 allow countries to permit hazardous work exceptionally as from 16, provided that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or training. | While subsection (8) of the Article defines a child as a person under 18 years of age, subsection (3) states that no child may perform work or provide services that are not suitable for the child's age or create a risk to the child's health or development in any way. |
| Minimum age for admission to apprenticeship | 1972-10-01 | C138 | Law No. 65 on Labour Code - Section 59. (1) | [{"link_name":"Law No. 65 on Labour Code","source_link":"https://lac.so/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Somalia-Labour-Code-1972.pdf"}] | 15 | 5 | C138 does not apply to work done in school for general, vocational or technical education or in training institutions or work done by children at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority. Such work must be an integral part of: (i) a course of education or training for which a school or training institution is primarily responsible; (ii) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking, which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or (iii) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate the choice of an occupation or of a line of training. | Section 59. (1) of the Law sets the minimum age for admission to apprenticeship to 15 years. |
| Is the minimum age for admission to work not less than the age for completion of compulsory schooling? | N/A | C138 | N/A | [{"link_name":"N/A","source_link":"http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/research/Somalia-Constitution2012.pdf"}] | N/A | 4 | C138 requires that the minimum age for admission to work shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years. | Although Article 30 of the 2012 Interim Constitution recognises the right of every citizen to free education up to secondary level, it does not specify the ages at which compulsory schooling begins and ends. |
| Light work - Determination of types and conditions of activities | N/A | C138 | N/A | [{"link_name":"Law No.65 on Labour Code","source_link":"https://clr.africanchildforum.org/Legislation%20Per%20Country/somalia/somalia_labour_1972_en.pdf"}] | N/A | 3 | If the country chooses to allow light work, States must determine what activities are considered light work, and the hours and the circumstances under which they may be carried out. | Although Article 93. of the Labour Code sets a minimum age of 12 years for admission to light work, no legal provision specifically determines what activities are considered light work, and the hours and the circumstances under which they may be carried out. |
| Minimum age for light work | 2024-12-31 | C138 | Law No. 36 on Labour Code - Article 125. 1 | [{"link_name":"Law No. 36 on Labour Code","source_link":"https://molsa.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Sharci_Lr.36_Sharciga_Shaqada_Soomaaliyeed_-1.pdf"}] | 13 | 2 | C138 defines light work as work that does not interfere with children’s schooling, or their ability to benefit from it, and that is not hazardous. C138 allows countries to permit light work for children younger than the general minimum age. For countries that set the minimum age at 15, this means children aged 13-14, and for those that set it at 14, children aged 12-13 may engage in light work. | Article 125.1 of the Law states that children between the ages of 13 and 15 who have not yet completed their compulsory education may be allowed to perform light work. |
| Minimum age for admission to work | 1972-10-18 | C138 | Law No.65 on Labour Code - Article 93. (1) | [{"link_name":"Law No.65 on Labour Code","source_link":"https://clr.africanchildforum.org/Legislation%20Per%20Country/somalia/somalia_labour_1972_en.pdf"}] | 15 | 1 | C138 establishes 15 as the minimum age for work in general. Developing countries have the option of setting a minimum age of 14 as a transitional measure as they strengthen their education systems and economies. | Article 93. (1) of the Law sets the minimum age for admission to work to 15 years. It is also worth noting that, the same Article stipulates that can be exempted from the minimum age for admission to work, pupils attending public and state-supervised trade schools or non-profit-making training workshops as well as members of the employer's family and his relatives if they are living with him and are supported by him and are employed on work under his orders in an undertaking in which no other persons are employed. |
International Legal Framework
International Legal Framework
| Ratification status | Convention | Convention description | Date of ratification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in-force | C182 | Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) | 20-MAR-2014 | Source |
Policies and Plans
Policies and Plans
| Description | sources | Period | Policy name | Implementing agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE ESSP aims at investing in the development of education to create the foundation for economic growth and social development. The Plan follows 6 policy priorities including : Access, equity, and completion in basic and secondary education ; Quality and relevance of education in basic and secondary ; Access to affordable, quality, and relevant TVET ; Access to quality of higher education ; Governance and system management ; Utilization and integration of ICT in education. It should be noted that the implementation of the plan differs across Federal Member States. | [{"link_name":"ESSP","source_link":"https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/ressources/somalia_essp-2022-2026.pdf"}] | 2022-2026 | National Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) | National Steering Committee |
| The Policy enhances and reinforces elements of a national social protection system, including safety net initiatives. The policy includes provisions for a guaranteed minimum income for vulnerable households, particularly those with children under the age of five, notably through the implementation of cash transfer programs. It also aims to reduce the risks faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable groups, with a specific focus on preventing gender-based violence and human trafficking. | [{"link_name":"Somalia Social Protection Policy","source_link":"https://baxnaano.so/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MoLSA-Somalia-FINAL-min.pdf"}] | 2019-2040 | Somalia Social Protection Policy | Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs |
| Developed with support from the ILO as part of a joint UN Project on Youth Employment in Somalia, the plan seeks to enhance labour conditions, and includes a focus on child labour. Its main goals are as follows : the establishment of a governance system for employment, the promoting of the growth of productive and sustainable (micro, small and medium enterprises) MSMEs and the promotion of the growth of key sectors of the economy. Some of the measures planned to tackle specifically child labour include the providing of training opportunities to parents or children and the reducing of poverty through employment to prevent the recruitment of children or to facilitate their reinsertion on the labour market. | [{"link_name":"NEP","source_link":"https://molsa.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Draft-2-NEP-somalia.pdf"}] | 2019 | National Employment Policy (NEP) | Somali National Tripartite Consultative Committee |