By Hassan Adan
Somalia signed a landmark agreement with the United Nations on Wednesday to host the country’s first office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, marking a major diplomatic milestone as Somalia deepens efforts to shift human rights oversight from international monitoring to nationally led institutions.
The agreement was signed in Geneva by Khadiija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi, Somalia’s Minister of Family and Human Rights Development, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), formally implementing a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution that ended more than three decades of externally managed human rights oversight in Somalia.
The deal clears the way for the opening of Somalia’s first dedicated OHCHR office in Mogadishu, a move expected to strengthen technical cooperation, monitoring, reporting and capacity-building as Somalia assumes greater responsibility for its national and international human rights obligations.
“This is a historic moment for Somalia,” Al-Makhzoumi said after the signing ceremony.
“Today’s agreement reflects the confidence the international community places in Somali institutions and our readiness to lead our own human rights journey.” She told Reporters
The signing comes as Somalia accelerates a series of domestic reforms aimed at building independent human rights institutions, a process officials say demonstrates the country’s institutional maturity after decades of conflict.
Last year, Somalia’s parliament approved the country’s first-ever Independent National Human Rights Commission, nominating its inaugural commissioners in what officials described as a historic breakthrough in Somalia’s state-building process.
The commission was later formally signed into law by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Human Rights Day.
In April this year, the nine-member commission elected its first leadership, with Maryan Qasim Ahmed chosen as chairperson, alongside other senior officials tasked with leading investigations into abuses, strengthening accountability and advising state institutions on rights protections.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk welcomed Wednesday’s agreement.
“I very much welcome this agreement, which would enable us to strengthen our cooperation with Somalia to protect and promote human rights in the country,” Türk said in a statement.
Since 1993, Somalia’s human rights record had been overseen by U.N.-appointed independent experts before the Human Rights Council voted to replace that mechanism with technical cooperation under Somali leadership.
The Geneva signing comes just days before Somalia undergoes its fourth Universal Periodic Review at the U.N. Human Rights Council, where officials say the country will seek to showcase its progress in institution-building, legal reform and democratic governance as it prepares for a crucial electoral cycle at home.
