UN human rights expert visiting

A UN-appointed independent expert on human rights for Somalia, Dr Ghanim Alnajjar, arrived in the region this week on an 11-day mission.

He was due to meet "a variety of diplomats, local authorities, civil society representatives, and international organisations in [the Kenyan capital] Nairobi and different regions of Somalia as time and security permit", a press statement from the UN Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office for Somalia said.

Alnajjar, who was appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in June last year, is making his second visit to Somalia. At the time of his last visit a year ago, Alnajjar told IRIN that he would write to Annan and the UN Security Council urging them to appoint an independent committee of experts to investigate human rights abuses in Somalia.

During his current visit, from 28 August to 2 September, Alnajjar's three member team "will look into a variety of issues related to human rights, including the state of the judicial system, law enforcement and prison conditions, the challenges of demobilisation and child soldiers, economic and social rights, the status of women, human rights education, difficulties faced by tens of thousands of internally displaced persons, and related matters", the statement said.

"I am concerned that, since my last visit one year ago, there has been an escalation of violence in parts of Somalia and a deterioration in security, which is having an impact on the human rights of thousands of ordinary people. It is vital that peace and human rights are respected and protected," the statement quoted Alnajjar as saying.

He is due to address a press conference in Nairobi on 4 September.

[The visit will result in a follow-up report to his initial findings from last year, published as E/CN.4/2002/119 and available at http://www.unhchr.ch or http://www.unsomalia.org.]