Somalia: UN human rights expert to conduct first visit

GENEVA (28 March 2022) – The UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, Isha Dyfan, will conduct her first official visit to the country from 28 March to 2 April 2022.

Dyfan’s visit follows her appointment by the Human Rights Council in 2020 as an independent expert to assess, monitor and report on the situation of human rights in Somalia, with a view to making recommendations regarding technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of human rights.

During the visit, the UN expert will meet State authorities, including the Minister of Women and Human Rights Development, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Youth and Sports and members of parliament. She will also meet representatives from the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), UN agencies, representatives of civil society and international non-governmental organisations.

While in Somalia, the Independent Expert will visit the capital, Mogadishu, and undertake a field mission to a Federal Member State, where she will meet local officials and civil society actors working to protect and promote human rights. She will monitor and assess the human rights situation, and focus her visit on economic, social and cultural rights.

Dyfan will share her preliminary observations at a media conference later in the week at the UN Compound in Mogadishu. Details will be shared in due course. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

The Independent Expert will present a final report with her findings and recommendations to the Human Rights Council session in September 2022.

ENDS

Ms. Isha Dyfan (Sierra Leone) was appointed as the Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Somalia by the Human Rights Council in May 2020. Prior to her appointment, she was the Director of International Advocacy at Amnesty International. Before joining Amnesty International in April 2018, she was the Chief of the Human Rights Section in the UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur, Sudan (UNAMID) where she served for four and a half years before retiring at the level of director. She is a Barrister-at-Law and educated in Sierra Leone and the UK where she studied History and Law respectively.

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 either 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.

OHCHR country page: Somalia