Minister and UN Deputy High Commissioner discuss making OHCHR office in Somalia operational

Geneva (SONNA) - The Minister of Family and Human Rights Development of the Federal Government of Somalia, Khadija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi, has met the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Awa Dabo, in Geneva to discuss strengthening cooperation between the Federal Government and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The meeting focused on deepening support and cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights in Somalia. The two sides also discussed efforts to make the OHCHR office in Somalia operational, and the importance of the office for strengthening national institutions, supporting human rights work and building technical cooperation between Somalia and the United Nations.

The meeting followed the Minister’s address to the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, in which she called for the OHCHR office in Mogadishu to become fully operational and for support to national institutions and protection services.

Dabo, a human rights lawyer from The Gambia, was appointed Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, after serving in senior posts across the United Nations in human rights, peacebuilding, humanitarian affairs and development.

The Minister was accompanied by the Ministry’s Director General, Mohamed Bashir Omar, and senior advisers and experts from the Ministry.

The Minister thanked OHCHR for its support and continued cooperation with the Federal Government, and said the Ministry remains committed to strengthening international cooperation and to advancing the promotion and protection of human rights in Somalia.