A/HRC/15/48 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 12/26 of October 2009, in which the Council expressed its deep concern at the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian conditions in Somalia and renewed the mandate of the independent expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia (independent expert) for one year. The expert was requested to submit his reports to the thirteenth and fifteenth sessions of the Council. The present report covers the period from March to August 2010. 2. The independent expert undertook his fifth mission to Somalia from 26 July to 6 August 2010. This took him to Nairobi, Hargeisa in Somaliland, Garowe in Puntland and Kampala. He was unable to visit south–central Somalia and Mogadishu for security reasons. The visit to Uganda was undertaken primarily to visit the headquarters of the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) for Somali Security Forces. The independent expert had earlier also visited Rome on 6 and 7 July 2010 to discuss the human rights situation in Somalia with the Italian authorities and academic institutionsfor reasons mentioned below. 3. In Nairobi, the independent expert met the new Special Representative of the Secretary–General for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, with whom he had extensive discussions on the situation in Somalia and possible areas of cooperation between them. The independent expert benefited from his talks with the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, who briefed him on developments in the previous six months. He received extensive briefings from other members of the United Nations country team, including from the Head of Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) who accompanied him during the whole trip. The meeting with senior officials of the African Union was extremely useful in better understanding the role of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the circumstances under which it operate. Additionally, he met with representatives of donor Governments, a senior official of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), members of the non–governmental organizations (NGO) community and Somali citizens. Ministers of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) were not available to meet the expert. 4. In Hargeisa, the independent expert was received by the new President of Somaliland, Mohamed Mahmud Silanyo. He was honoured to meet the President so soon after his formal inauguration. He benefited from the views of the President on, inter alia, the situation of Somalia as a whole. 5. In Puntland, the independent expert met with the President of Puntland, Abdirahman Farole, and certain ministers and senior officials of his administration. Discussions with them centred primarily on the prevailing security situation in the region and its impact on internally displaced persons (IDPs). The independent expert visited IDP settlements in Garowe. 6. In both Puntland and Somaliland, he had extensive discussions with members of the United Nations country team, the NGO community and some local citizens. 7. In Kampala, the independent expert met with senior officials of the Ugandan Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence who provided him with the Ugandan perspective on the situation in Somalia. He also met with members of the United Nations country team in Kampala, some civil society organizations (CSOs) and a large number of Somali nationals, refugees and diaspora residing in Uganda. An important aspect of his Uganda trip was the briefings he received from EUTM on the training provided by them to new recruits of the Somali Security Forces, including on human rights and humanitarian law. 4