UNODC Eastern Africa News and Stories

You are here: Home / News

Ground Breaking at Mogadishu Prison and Court Complex.

Mogadishu, Somalia - 18 February 2016

Mogadishu, 18 February 2016 - The foundation stone for the future Mogadishu Prison and Court Complex (MPCC) was laid at a ceremony in the Somali capital today that spotlighted the construction of a state-of-the-art facility designed specifically to handle terrorism and other high-security cases.

The ceremony was attended by Somalia's Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, the Dutch ambassador to Somalia Frans Makken, senior United Nations officials and other Somali VIPs including the National Security Advisor, Commissioner of the Custodial Corps and Mayor of Mogadishu. The MPCC project is a key component of the Global Maritime Crime Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which was originally launched in 2009 to provide support for the trials of piracy suspects in east Africa.

"Through this important project, we are helping the people of Somalia rebuild much needed institutions that respect and promote the rule of law and tackle damaging terrorism and organized crime," said Yuri Fedotov, Executive Director of the UNODC. "Lawyers and judges will be able to hear trials in a safe and secure environment, and those awaiting trial for the most serious crimes will have a protective and humane environment that upholds their fundamental human rights."

The first phase of construction is already underway and is expected to finish at some point next year. Plans for the initial phase call for the building of two courthouses, accommodation for judges and a high-security cell block that can house up to 200 inmates.

Trials of high-risk suspects are projected to begin by the middle of 2017. The provision of accommodation for suspects and inmates near secure courthouse facilities will reduce the need to transport prisoners through Mogadishu, which exposes them and corrections officers to risks of violent attack.

The UN Office for Project Services produced designs for the facility and is overseeing construction of the MPCC, which is expected to be completed by early 2018. In its finished state, the prison will be equipped with 1,000 beds and meet international human rights standards. Three medium-security cell blocks will be erected during the third and fourth phases of construction.

Mr. Fedotov thanked the governments of Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for funding construction of the MPCC, along with the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund.

The project is being undertaken within the structure of the Somali Joint Rule of Law Programme under the Somali New Deal Compact's peace- and state-building goal 3 that focuses on justice issues.

 

Points of Contact:

 

Notes:

  1. The Mogadishu Prison and Court Complex Project is supported with funding from Denmark, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Somalia.

UNODC GMCP continues its training and mentoring roles at its supported prisons in Hargeisa, Somaliland and Garowe, Puntland through the provision of four prison experts to assist Custodial Corps management in the day to day operations of prisons, as well as mentoring to Commissioners and Minsters on defining and implementing strategic correctional objectives..