The UN declared Somalia to be a country without a government between 1992 and 2000. Following the withdrawal of the UN force in 1995, 3 autonomous areas made up Somalia the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the Republic of Somaliland and the State of Puntland. A number of other areas have seceded and been reintegrated into one of these 3 areas over the years. In 2002 the Somalia National Reconciliation Conference (SNRC) was held, when over 400 delegates from all clans met to form a new government. Somaliland did not participate. In 2003 the SNRC adopted the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC), which was promptly contested by several factions but was adopted in 2004. The Charter has never been implemented, but a 275-member Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) has been established.

The former president of Puntland was selected as Transitional Federal President. He appointed the Prime Minister and they chose a Cabinet, but it received a vote of no-confidence from the TFA. In 2005 the TFA accepted a new 89-person Cabinet based on a fixed proportional representation. 22 of 275 seats in the TFA are held by women. 1 woman is a minister and 4 are deputy ministers. The legal requirement that at least 12% of members of Parliament be women has not been met. 31 members of the minority ethnic groups are in the TFA, and 4 are in the Cabinet.

The Republic of Somaliland representatives have not recognised the results of the SNRC, and Somaliland has a constitution and bicameral Parliament with proportional clan representation. It also has functioning institutions in most of its territory. Presidential elections in Somaliland were held in April 2003 with 3 political parties taking part. The incumbent was re-elected. 2 women serve in the lower house of Parliament in Somaliland, and the Foreign Minister is a woman. The Somaliland Parliament and Cabinet have no minority group representation. 5 women serve in the 69-seat Puntland Council of Elders. The Puntland administration banned all political parties and demonstrations. Fighting within and between clans continues, with no group controlling more than a fraction of the territory. In 2006 the Islamic Court Union (ICU), which acted as the opposition to the TFA, grew in strength and claimed control of Mogadishu from the interim government. ICU militias seized a number of towns up to Somalia's border with Ethiopia, controlling the movement of militias and supplies. The TFA responded by moving from the capital to Baidoa. Then the Ethiopian government sent its army into Somalia, defeating the ICU and returning the elected government to the capital. Sporadic attacks have since been made by the ICU, and the Ethiopian troops have returned home. The African Union is to help the government maintain order.

Justice is not based on codified law, and judicial systems do not exist in most of the country. The Islamic Court Union instituted Shari'a law. A combination of traditional and customary law, Shari'a and an old Penal Code are generally used. Amnesty International reports that international standards of fair trial are not met. The unimplemented charter establishes Islam as the national religion, and Somaliland and Puntland have made Islam the official religion in their regions.

Shafi'i school of Sunni law is followed by most citizens and is the only interpretation of Islam allowed in Puntland, where security forces monitor religious activities closely. Religious schools and places of worship must receive permission to operate in Puntland and in Somaliland. Sunni Muslims constitute the majority of the population, and non-Sunni Muslims are viewed with suspicion.

The unimplemented TFC prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender and national origin, but discrimination is a serious problem. The Somaliland Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender and national origin, but this too is not respected in practice.

Members of police forces owe their positions to political connections, with the result that an ineffective and corrupt force is expected to maintain order. Para-military groups are active in support of various warlords. The unimplemented TFC prohibits torture, as does the Puntland Charter, "unless sentenced by Islamic Shari'a courts in accordance with Islamic law." Torture and police brutality are reported in Somaliland, and rape has been used as a weapon of war. Corruption is endemic.

Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed in both the TFC and the Somaliland Constitution, but harassment, arrest and detention of journalists are common in all areas of the country. The Puntland Charter allows freedom of the press "as long as they respect the law." Short, photocopied dailies are published by political factions. Foreign news broadcasts in the Somali language provide most citizens with information. The Somali Journalist Network reports that warlords, militias, clan, Islamic courts and armed business groups are security threats to journalists and that detentions and killings of journalists have increased. Independent television and radio stations are banned in Somaliland, though access to the Internet is not restricted.

Somalia is a source and destination for trafficked women and children and human rights organisations, which cite Puntland as an entry point for trafficking. Trafficking in Somalia is reported as rampant. Children are trafficked for forced labour. An increase in trafficking of children to work out of the country and send remittances home is reported. Somali women and children are trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labour.

Education has collapsed, and since 1991 very few opportunities exist for children to attend school. The European Union estimates that fewer than 3% of all children of any age cohort are enrolled in formal educational programmes. UNICEF reports that only some 22% of school-aged children are in school of some kind and that the majority of students are boys. Enrolment rates are now said to be on the rise, but regional variations are noted.

A traditional system of Koranic schools and a public system of primary and secondary schools now exist in Somaliland and Puntland. The financing is provided by foreign donors and communities. A system of private primary and secondary schools, universities and vocational training institutes also exists. Few children who enter primary school complete secondary school. Materials of all types are sorely lacking.

As so often happens following conflicts, few teachers have been trained, and they are paid very little. Communities often have to finance the salary of the teacher. Reliable statistics do not exist, but the literacy rate is said to be 25%. Foreign teachers are reported to have been brought into the country to teach in inexpensive private madrassas. They provide basic education and are reported to promote conservative Islamic practices.

A 3-year programme begins at age 3.

Primary school begins at age 6 and continues for 6 years.

Secondary education begins at age 12 and is completed in 7 years.

1,139 students study abroad, such as in India (146), Malaysia (123), Saudi Arabia (111), the United Kingdom (86) and Pakistan (80).

The needs of persons with disabilities are not addressed. Local NGOs in Somaliland provide some services for persons with disabilities, but there are reports of numerous cases of discrimination and of widespread abuse of persons with mental illnesses. The United Nations Independent Expert (UNIE) raised the issue of asi walid, a custom allowing parents to place their children in prison for disciplinary purposes with no legal procedure being necessary. Many juveniles are incarcerated with no chance of formal education.

No provisions exist for granting asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. Somaliland authorities cooperate with the UNHCR in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. There are reports from refugee camps in Kenya that "Somali bandits" plunder and loot during the day and rape women and girls who leave the camps to undertake necessary chores; these bandits are said to re-enter the refugee camps at night.

The United Nations Independent Expert on Human Rights (UNIE) estimates that some 370,000 to 400,000 refugees in the area are classed as most highly vulnerable. Over 270,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), mostly women and children, live in temporary settlements in Mogadishu and Kismaayo. IDP settlements are overcrowded and offer little or no education. No local or UN authorities have responsibility for the settlements. It is expected that the current unrest will increase the number of IDPs.

The majority of citizens share a common ethnic heritage, religion and nomadic culture, though groups other than the predominant clan are excluded from participation in institutions and are subject to discrimination in access to public services.

The UNIE estimates that minority groups constitute up to one-third of the population. Minority groups, and clans considered to be of low caste, include the Bantu, the Benadiri, Rer Hamar, Brawanese, Swahili, Tumal, Yibir, Yaxar, Madhiban, Hawrarsame, Muse Dheryo and Faqayaqub. Intermarriage between minority groups and mainstream clans is restricted. Some but not all of the minority groups have access to education. They live in conditions of great poverty and are subjected to discrimination and exclusion. In 2007 Somalia was reported to have overtaken Iraq as the world's most dangerous country for minority groups.

Academics are reported to practise self-censorship. A professor who criticised the Somaliland administration was banned from travel to Somaliland. Academics must obtain a government permit before conducting academic research in Puntland. There are 2 universities in Mogadishu, 2 in Somaliland and 1 in Puntland, but no organised higher education system operates in most of the country.

Women do not have the same rights as men and are subordinate in a strong patriarchal culture. Polygyny is permitted. Women inherit only half as much as their brothers. Violence against women is a serious problem, and no laws address domestic violence. Both Shari'a and customary law require the resolution of family disputes within the family. UNHCR reports that husbands who have lost their traditional roles often abuse their wives.

Police and militia members are accused of using rape as a weapon in interclan conflicts, and women and girls in camps for refugees or displaced persons are vulnerable to sexual violence that has spread the HIV virus. Somaliland has seen an increase in gang rape in urban areas, primarily by youth gangs, members of police forces and male students, though most cases are not reported. Infibulation, the most severe form of female genital mutilation, is widely practised throughout Somalia.

The previous Labour Code and the unimplemented TFC prohibit child labour, but children are among the chief victims of the continuing violence. Unemployment has made the formal employment of children rarer, but children from an early age are involved in agriculture, herding and household labour. The lack of educational opportunities contributes to child labour.

The 2006 annual report of the UN Secretary-General on children and armed conflict cites grave violations in Somalia: killing or maiming, recruitment or use of child soldiers, attacks against schools or hospitals, and rape and abduction. Recent statistics on child labour are unavailable, but for the year 2000 the ILO projected 455,000 economically active children aged 10 to 14 (213,000 girls and 242,000 boys), representing 31% of this age group.

Trafficking in children for forced labour is reported as a serious problem. The UNIE on Somalia reports that children under 15 are recruited by the militias and that children as young as 10 serve as personal bodyguards. The UNHCR reports that refugee children are victims of rape, sodomy, early or forced marriages and unwanted pregnancies. The Somaliland constitution has no minimum age of recruitment into the armed forces, which are said to include minors. An inadequate system of birth registration makes it difficult to verify the age of recruits. Child prostitution and trafficking in children for forced labour are serious problems.

Workers have the right under the unimplemented TFC to form and join trade unions. The civil war has resulted in the disintegration of the labour confederation, the General Federation of Somali Trade Unions. Wages and work conditions are based on supply and demand and clan influence. Strikes have taken place in Puntland to protest high fuel costs and raising of taxes. Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited but is commonplace. Clan militias force members of minority groups to work without compensation. Bantus especially are reported to suffer such abuse.