Ambassador ‘Bari Bari’ – “We have lost a great human rights advocate,” UN expert on Somalia says

GENEVA (31 March 2015) – The United Nations Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, Bahame Tom Mukirya Nyanduga, condemns the terrorist attack in Mogadishu city on 27 March that took the life of Ambassador Yusuf Mohamed Ismail ‘Bari Bari’, the Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Somalia to the UN in Geneva, and resulted in the death and injury of many innocent Somalis.

“I condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack which resulted in the death and injury of many innocent Somalis, including the death of Ambassador Yusuf Mohamed Ismail ‘Bari Bari’.

Somalia and the whole world have lost a great human rights advocate.

Ambassador Bari Bari was personally interested in seeing that the human rights of the ordinary citizens in Somalia are protected. His personal involvement in ensuring that Somalia participated in the universal periodic review of the human rights situation in his country by other States and that the recommendations from this process were translated into a Human Rights Roadmap for Somalia is testament to his commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights in Somalia.

During the last nine months, as the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, I got to know the late Ambassador Bari Bari, a humble, dedicated and hardworking diplomat, very much committed to the cause of peace, reconciliation and human rights in Somalia.

Ambassador Bari Bari had worked very hard with my predecessor, Shamsul Bari, towards the development and the adoption of the Human Rights Road Map, which is now under implementation in Somalia.

In the course of our interaction, I found the late Ambassador Bari Bari to be very dedicated to the cause of protection of persons living with albinism in Tanzania and throughout Africa. We have also lost a great advocate for people living with albinism. I wish to echo the sentiments expressed by the President of the Human Rights Council in remembering him.

At this difficult time, I would like to offer my deep sympathy and heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured during the attack as well as to the people and Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia. I would also like to wish a speedy recovery to those injured.

I also call on the Government of Somalia to work towards ensuring that the perpetrators of this brutal attack are brought to justice and to the international community to continue supporting Somalia to improve the security situation and stabilise the country for the citizens to be able to fully enjoy their human rights.”

The current Independent Expert Mr Bahame Tom Mukirya Nyanduga (Tanzania) was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2014 with a mandate to support the Federal Government of Somalia with capacity development and technical assistance in the field of human rights.

The Independent Experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights Country Page – Somalia: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/SOIndex.aspx

For more information and media requests, please contact Fiona Adolu (+41 22 928 9261 / fadolu@ohchr.org) or write to ie-somalia@ohchr.org

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)

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