A/HRC/39/72 Unions and ensure that the elected leaders exercise their mandate freely, until otherwise determined by the members themselves. 40. The question that remains is whether the order of the Supreme Court, that a general meeting take place and be supervised by the head of the regional appeals court, has been satisfied. ILO made a specific recommendation concerning the need to abide by the Supreme Court decision. The Independent Expert holds the same view, that the Government abide by the Supreme Court decision and the ILO recommendations. However, he has found in neither the ILO ruling nor any other source any record of a general meeting at which Mr. Osman was elected, subsequent to the general meeting of 13 February 2016, which was disrupted. That disruption constituted government interference, hence the rebuke by ILO. Since no proper election has taken place subsequently, it is correct to state that there have been no elections as directed by the Supreme Court. Mr. Osman’s position emanates from the elections of 14–15 March 2011, prior to the Supreme Court decision. It is for that reason that the Independent Expert is of the view that, in order to resolve the problem of the existence of two factions, new elections supervised by the Court should be held without government interference. That part of the Supreme Court directive remains unimplemented. G. Rights of persons with disabilities 41. During his meeting with civil society organizations, one of the key issues that emerged was the absence of a legal framework for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, who in Somalia suffer multiple cases of discrimination and marginalization, such as access to employment opportunities. Somalia has not yet acceded to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, nor has it adopted legislation to provide for the rights and protection of such persons. The issue was brought to the attention of the Federal Minister for Human Rights, who stated that the Government was in the process of drafting such legislation and would in due course ratify the Convention. IV. Humanitarian situation: internal displacement, drought and the impact of floods and humanitarian responses 42. During his mission, the Independent Expert followed up on the dire humanitarian situation affecting the civilian population — and internally displaced persons in particular — caused by conflict, drought and floods due to excessive rains. The human rights of the displaced remains very precarious, hence the need for durable and lasting solutions. 43. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 10 as many as 6.7 million people — more than half the population — were affected by the drought. About 926,000 people seeking relief from drought-hit areas were displaced between November 2016 and September 2017. Consequently, the number of internally displaced persons reported doubled in 2017 from 1.1 million to an estimated 2.1 million. The preparedness of the international community enabled a humanitarian response that averted famine and a massive death toll through innovative measures, such as the use of electronic money transfers and a voucher system instead of goods delivery, which enabled the affected population to receive timely assistance. The measures boosted the local economy, cut out gatekeepers and eliminated corruption. Unless long-term measures are taken, famine remains a looming risk in the coming years. The Independent Expert commends the international humanitarian community for their life-saving efforts during the 2017 drought. In that regard, the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan highlights the need to sustain humanitarian life-saving efforts at levels similar to 2017. 10 See OCHA and Humanitarian Country Team, Humanitarian Response Plan: January–December 2018 (2017). Available at www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/ files/documents/files/20180206_somalia_humanitarian_response_plan.pdf. 11