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IDLO States Support for Somalia at Human Rights Council

STAND-ALONE HIGH-LEVEL INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE ON ASSISTANCE TO SOMALIA IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN RIGHTS UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ITEM 10: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY-BUILDING
Geneva
Delivered by John Burley, Chargé d’affaires

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In thanking you Mr. President for this opportunity, I also wish to thank the Deputy High Commissioner, the Prime Minister, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and the other panelists for their important contributions. I would like to make four remarks, to register the International Development Law Organization’s (IDLO) increasingly active role in supporting the Federal Government of Somalia on judicial strengthening and constitution drafting, both vital for human rights.

First, Irene Khan, the Director-General of, has asked me to thank the President of Somalia most warmly for his remarks – when they met in Rome last week - in which he encouraged IDLO to continue to contribute to the peace-building work in his country through strengthening of the justice sector.

Second, Somalia is a country of special interest to IDLO, precisely because the drafting of a new constitution and support for all possible measures to strengthen judicial systems is so important, for reasons that all of us are fully aware.

Third, IDLO’s work to date includes technical support in the drafting of the Provisional Constitution, and organizing public consultations thereon. We are assisting in the preparation of the Justice Sector Action Plan 2013-2015 presented by the Federal Government to the London Conference in May this year. We are also finalizing our technical input into the Judicial Service Commission Bill and Constitutional Court Bill, which are to be submitted to the Federal Ministry of Justice by the end of September. We look forward to using IDLO’s considerable experience in supporting judicial reform in post-conflict situations, including in Afghanistan and in South Sudan, so as to facilitate the rebuilding of Somali judicial institutions and the re-establishment of the rule of law through a legal reform support program encompassing both formal and traditional systems of justice.

And fourth, all this work requires the closest possible co-operation among all the agencies working in the area of human rights, judicial strengthening and legislative reform. This is the only way to ensure a concentration of resources and skills on the most important issues in a mutually-agreed list of priorities in a time-bound program. I pledge IDLO to this endeavor and to work closely with all stakeholders and partners under the overall supervision of the Somalia authorities.

I thank you Mr. President.