A/HRC/7/26 Page 5 Introduction 1. In accordance with the mandate established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1993/86 and decision 5/1 of the Human Rights Council, the independent expert presents this report to the seventh session of the Human Rights Council. It is to be recalled that due to extreme insecurity which forestalled his planned annual mission to Somalia in early 2007, the independent expert gave a mid-term oral presentation to the fifth session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 12 June 2007. The present report covers the period from January 2007 to January 2008. 2. The independent expert wishes to express his gratitude to the Somali people whom he was able to meet in during this particular visit. He is always particularly impressed by the openness, dedication and bravery of such Somalis living and working under extremely difficult conditions. Despite some initial difficulties encountered with access to Baidoa, the independent expert expresses his appreciation to the Somali authorities for facilitating his visit to Mogadishu. He is grateful to President Abdullahi Yusuf, (then) Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and other members of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) for taking the time to meet with him to discuss the human rights challenges facing Somalia and for considering ways to address them. 3. Once again, the independent expert wishes to express his particular gratitude to the professional, committed and courageous staff of the United Nations with whom he met and who shared their information and experience. Logistical, security and public relations support was ably provided by the staff of the United Nations Country Team and the Office of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Eric Laroche. The independent expert also met with colleagues of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and the newly-appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah. 4. The independent expert also wishes to thank the representatives of the diplomatic community with whom he met in Nairobi. During various meetings, he was able to exchange views on the role and approaches of the international community with respect to Somalia. 5. Finally, the independent expert is also grateful to the representatives of the international institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Oxfam-NOVIB, who provided him with helpful briefings on the situation of human rights in Somalia. I. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 6. By early January 2007, TFG forces backed by Ethiopian troops dislodged the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) from south and central Somalia and took control of the capital city of Mogadishu. While the two-week military campaign was very swift with reports of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, ICU remnants and Somali clan militias continuously challenged the authority of the TFG to govern and the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia, and deadly clashes between them periodically took place. 7. In February 2007, in an attempt to assist in the stabilization in south and central Somalia and in support of the TFG, the United Nations Security Council in its resolution 1744 (2007) authorized the deployment of an African Union peacekeeping force (AMISOM) for a six-month operation leading to a possible United Nations peacekeeping operation. AMISOM includes a