Somalilandsun – The Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Somalia, Fatiha Serour, has made an official visit to Somaliland, where she attended the High Level Aid Coordination Forum in Hargeisa, and met with Somaliland’s President Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo, senior government officials, Somaliland civil society and members of the international community.
Speaking at the High Level Aid Coordination Forum, DSRSG Serour commended progress on the Somaliland Special Arrangement, a part of the New Deal Somali Compact that charts Somaliland’s long-term development goals in partnership with the international community.
“I commend the tremendous efforts by the Somaliland people to have a shared vision, a common and coherent approach to further build on the Somaliland Special Arrangement,” she said following the Forum. “A lot of progress has been made to set up the systems and mechanisms. This is key to have good results.”
During her visit, DSRSG Serour met with, among others, President Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo, Foreign Minister Mohamed Bihi Yonis, Justice Minister Hussein Ahmed Aided, Minister for the Presidency, Hersi Ali Haji Hassan and the Chair of Somaliland’s National Human Rights Commission, Fathia Hussein Ahmed. She congratulated the government on its achievements in improving Somaliland’s economic growth, and urged continued commitment to further transformation.
DSRSG expressed UNSOM’s commitment to supporting Somaliland, including through the recent deployment of a human rights presence in Hargeisa.
While in Hargeisa, she also visited a local NGO, GARSOOR, which assists disadvantaged children, and met with its director, Zamzam Mohamed and many of the children under their care. She also met Guleid Usman, the executive director of TALOWADAG, an NGO that supports people living with HIV/AIDS. DSRSG Serour noted that the commitment displayed by NGOs such as GARSOOR and TALOWADAG was a critical part of creating a compassionate society where all members of the community are valued and human rights are upheld.
Report from United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia
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