A/HRC/15/48 8. In Rome, the independent expert had useful talks with senior officials of the Government of Italy on the human rights and humanitarian situation in Somalia. They discussed possible new activities which could be undertaken by the international community to improve the situation. Useful discussions also took place with Italian academics and scholars on Somalia. The independent expert was invited to address the Human Rights Committee of the Italian Senate, following which address useful exchanges took place. The participation of the Italian Permanent Representative in Geneva in the meetings demonstrated the country’s abiding interest in improving the human rights situation in Somalia. 9. The independent expert also benefited enormously from his talks with the Somali Ambassador in Rome, former Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein Adde. The Ambassador had also arranged for a meeting at his office with members of the Somali diaspora living in Italy, with whom the independent expert had most useful discussions. Both the meetings were enhanced by the presence of the Somali Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Yusuf Ismail Bari–Bari. The independent expert’s understanding of the conflict in Somalia was greatly enhanced by his talks with the two ambassadors. He is immensely grateful to them. 10. The information contained in this report, particularly on the human rights and humanitarian law situation in Mogadishu and south–central Somalia, is based on the independent expert’s talks with the above–mentioned persons and reports from United Nations agencies and NGOs. The independent expert also consulted some recent publications on developments in Somalia and daily media reports. Since he was not able to visit the areas concerned, he tried to cross–check relevant information, wherever possible, with refugees and IDPs who recently arrived from the war zone. 11. The focus of this report is primarily on developments since the last report of the independent expert to the Council in March 2010. The report is structured under the following headings/chapters: the human rights and humanitarian law situation in Mogadishu and other parts of south–central Somalia; human rights in Somaliland; human rights in Puntland; some reflections on recent developments; and recommendations. II. Human rights and humanitarian law situation in Mogadishu and other parts of south–central Somalia 12. The human rights and humanitarian law situation in Somalia continued to be extremely precarious during the reporting period. The violence which has long stalked Somalia continued unabated, particularly in Mogadishu, making it perhaps the worst anthropogenic humanitarian crisis in the world today. And yet it continues to receive the least attention from the international community. 13. An effort has been made in the following paragraphs to put together selected information on the human rights and humanitarian law violations which occurred during the reporting period. It is intended to convey the scale, nature and type of violations which have been taking place though it is far from exhaustive, given the constraints on human rights monitoring due to the lack of access to the area. A. Conflict–related violations 14. At the time of writing, heavy fighting which had broken out in Mogadishu on 23 August 2010 was again taking its toll on the civilian population. ICRC reported hospitals being “swamped” with war–wounded. Among the victims was a veteran journalist killed by a stray bullet. Three students were reportedly among those who died when a roadside bomb 5