VZCZCXRO8581
PP RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #0270/01 0421419
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111419Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8459
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 000270 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E 
ALSO FOR IO/RHS - Amy Ostermeier and Gayatri Patel 
DRL/MLGA - Chris Sibilla 
IO/PSC - Deborah Odell 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - UN FIELD COVERAGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
REF: State 2023 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY.  This cable is in response to reftel request for 
information on the efficacy of the field offices of the UN High 
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).  As noted in reftel, OHCHR 
maintains involvement in Somalia through human rights advisors to 
the United Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and the UN Country 
Team.  At present, there is no country office located in Somalia. 
After a gap of several months, the UNPOS human rights unit is now 
led by a senior-level human rights advisor and should have a total 
staff of four by the end of March.  Its work is hampered by 
insecurity and complete lack of access into the country.  Despite 
this limitation, the unit is engaging with the Transitional Federal 
Government (TFG) and the committees central to the Djibouti process, 
reinforcing the importance of the respect for human rights in all of 
the transitional security, justice, and democratic issues the new 
unity government is now facing.  End Summary. 
 
Structure and Activities 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) As noted in reftel, between 2006 to 2007, OHCHR maintained 
involvement in Somalia through human rights advisors to the United 
Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and the UN Country 
Team.  From January to May 2008, there were no advisors acting in 
this capacity.  In May 2008, an OHCHR officer was once again 
deployed to UNPOS, in a position that had been moved from the OHCHR 
Burundi office.  In November 2008, Sandra Beidas, a senior human 
rights officer began with UNPOS, deployed by the UN Department of 
Political Affairs (DPA).  The unit expects to gain another mid-level 
position, funded through DPA, and a locally-engaged administrative 
assistant.  Beidas expects the unit to be fully staffed with four 
persons by March. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Although the UNPOS human rights unit is just becoming 
operational, the officers have provided useful technical assistance. 
 For example, the unit supported the Joint Security Committee (JSC), 
established through the Djibouti peace process, during a 
team-building workshop in South Africa.  During the workshop, the 
OHCHR officer presented human rights awareness activities and 
addressed the issues of impunity and accountability for security 
forces.  The officer also introduced relevant aspects of 
international criminal law. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) During the November 2008 meeting of the High Level 
Committee (HLC) established through the Djibouti process, the human 
rights unit organized a two-day workshop with experts from Geneva to 
address transitional justice issues.  The unit is committed to 
helping the HLC work with civil society to develop a framework for 
accountability, exploring how a UN task force or a commission of 
inquiry might work.  They established a working group with civil 
society mandated to prepare a major conference in 2009 on 
transitional justice in Somalia. 
 
Challenges 
---------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The high level of insecurity in Somalia makes it 
practically impossible for members of the human rights unit to 
regularly travel in country.  The unit would like to strengthen its 
ability to monitor and report on human rights, yet it is constrained 
by the travel restrictions.  Instead, Beidas told us information is 
collected from other sources, "second hand and by remote control" 
while the human rights unit is still in the process of building 
networks with field-based NGO partners.  However, the sensitivity of 
the information sought and the lack of funds for supporting human 
rights monitoring make it difficult to recruit partners.  This is 
exacerbated by direct targeting of human rights defenders, 
especially in South-Central Somalia. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Another challenge is the difficulty in establishing 
credibility of sources because of no on-the-ground presence.  Beidas 
cited an example of reports where clan disputes were being presented 
as human rights violations.  She told us that in Somalia, there are 
no clear opposing sides so it is even more challenging to identify 
perpetrators of human rights violations. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) An additional administrative challenge is that through 
2007, the human rights advisor deployed to UNPOS and the advisor 
deployed to the UN Country Team were not coordinated.  Each had a 
separate chain of command, and they rarely interacted.  In 2008, an 
effort was made to have all staff report through UNPOS.  However, we 
understand that there remains a political and administrative 
disconnect between OHCHR and UNPOS and a dual reporting line to the 
UN Special Representative for Somalia and to the OHCHR headquarters. 
 Beidas told us that with a full staff, the unit will liaise more 
 
NAIROBI 00000270  002 OF 002 
 
 
regularly with the UN Country Team. 
 
Relationship with the TFG 
------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The relationship between the Transitional Federal 
Government (TFG) and UNPOS is extremely strong.  However, when we 
asked TFG officials specifically about the human rights unit, most 
were unaware of it and could not cite any instances of 
collaboration.  With the election of a new president in January and 
the appointment of a prime minister and cabinet, the unit has an 
opportunity to reach out and develop more productive relationships 
with the government.  The director plans to do this by accompanying 
assessment missions into Somalia and working with UN offices on the 
ground in the country to engage with judicial, parliamentary, and 
local authorities.  With additional resources, the human rights unit 
would like to establish a Mogadishu-based filed office with human 
rights monitoring and institution-building capacity. 
Was this report useful?  Send comments and questions to 
SomaliaWatchers@state.sgov.gov. 
 
 
RANNEBERGER