Somalia drought linked to human-rights failures, Amnesty report finds

A devastating four-year drought across southern Somalia between 2020 and 2023 nearly collapsed food and water systems and caused widespread human rights violations — including the rights to food, water, and life, Amnesty International said in a new report

The report, based on 177 interviews with displaced people as well as with aid workers, government officials and climate experts, found that failed rains and rising temperatures wiped out crops and decimated pastoral livelihoods that support millions. The drought “exhausted food reserves” and destroyed rural economies, forcing entire communities to relocate.

Amnesty cited humanitarian data showing dramatic livestock losses and economic collapse. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that 60% to 70% of livestock died in parts of Jubaland during the drought. Families reported selling their last animals, selling land or leaving villages when crops and herds failed.

With local production shattered, food and water prices soared and families quickly became unable to afford basic staples. Amnesty documented widespread malnutrition, especially among children, and numerous deaths and family separations as people exhausted their savings. By 2023, about 8.2 million Somalis needed humanitarian aid, with children disproportionately affected. Water infrastructure was also devastated. Rivers, dams, wells and boreholes dried up or became contaminated. The lack of affordable clean water fueled outbreaks of acute watery diarrhea (cholera) and other diseases during 2021 and 2022.

Environmental degradation made the crisis worse. As livelihoods collapsed, many households turned to charcoal and firewood production to survive, accelerating deforestation and worsening vulnerability to droughts and floods. Amnesty said that despite U.N. Security Council restrictions on charcoal exports, the trade and charcoal burning continued, often taxed by local armed groups

Security and governance failures deepened the disaster. The report said Al-Shabaab imposed illegal “taxes” on food, water and charcoal traders and at times confiscated food or property from starving communities. The Somali government, meanwhile, “failed to protect people or provide basic water, health and social services.” Amnesty concluded those failures breached Somalia’s obligations under national and international human rights law.

The group also linked local governance failures to global responsibility for climate finance. It said Somalia’s inability to scale up early warning systems, safety nets and water infrastructure was worsened by a lack of international climate adaptation and loss-and-damage funding from high-income, historically high-emitting countries, leaving Somalia without resources to adapt to a crisis it did little to cause.

Speaking at COP30, the annual Conference of the Parties held this year in Belém, Brazil, Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Salah Jama said, “Somalia contributes less than 0.019% of global emissions, and yet it is ranked among the top three most hard-hit countries on the front line of the climate change crisis. For Somalis, climate change is not a distant future — it is here and it is happening.”

He added that access to climate finance must be a global priority for fragile and conflict-affected countries. “Globally, climate finance reached over $1.5 trillion in 2022, yet fragile and conflict-affected countries together received less than 5%. In Somalia, actual flows were under $300 million by 2020 — less than 1% of what is required for us to adapt.” He said that his country has suffered “an estimated $2.8 billion in direct climate-related losses.”

On Saturday, the vice president of Puntland, Ilyas Osman Lugatoor, issued “an urgent appeal” for humanitarian aid in response to a severe drought affecting nearly one million people across Puntland.

In a statement, Lugatoor called the situation “unprecedented,” warning that widespread crop and pasture failures from four consecutive poor rainy seasons have left most of Puntland without sufficient rainfall for two years. An estimated 940,000 people face food and water insecurity, including 130,000 in critical condition requiring immediate assistance. More than 310,000 children under age five are suffering from malnutrition, according to data cited in the statement. The drought has displaced 360,000 people, mostly pastoralists, and forced another 50,000 families to migrate from rural areas in search of food and water.

The Amnesty report comes at a time when Somalia is grappling with worsening drought conditions and an escalating security crisis. The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate due to a combination of extreme climate shocks and ongoing armed conflicts. Despite years of international support, security gains remain limited, and Al-Shabaab has been gaining ground in several regions. Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounds the funding and future of the African Union peacekeeping mission, as international partners hesitate to fully commit to its next phase. The political landscape remains fragile, with the roadmap toward the 2026 elections stalled amid continued disagreements between the federal government and opposition groups. This political deadlock has diverted attention and resources away from addressing the deepening humanitarian emergency. As a result, large parts of the country are now facing severe food insecurity, displacement, and limited access to essential services.