A/HRC/45/52 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia was established in 1993 pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/86 and was most recently extended by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 42/33 of 27 September 2019, for a period of one year, to assess, monitor and report on the situation of human rights in Somalia with a view to making recommendations on technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of human rights. In that same resolution, the Council requested the Independent Expert to report to it at its forty-fifth session and to the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session. 2. The present report is the first to be submitted by the current Independent Expert, Isha Dyfan, who officially assumed her functions on 1 May 2020. It covers the period from 1 August 2019 to 30 June 2020 and is based on information from a variety of sources, including interviews with various interlocutors from civil society organizations and United Nations funds, agencies and programmes and with representatives of the donor community. It is also based on open-source information such as government statements, publicly available official documents and news articles. 3. Due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related measures and travel restrictions, the Independent Expert was unable to undertake a mission to Somalia during the reporting period but would welcome the opportunity of doing so in the near future. II. Situating the mandate of the Independent Expert 4. The Independent Expert acknowledges the progress made by the Somali authorities in expanding State authority by establishing State institutions and political processes, improving security and demonstrating its commitment to human rights and socioeconomic development, as underscored in the Somalia National Development Plan 2020–2024.1 5. In fulfilling her mandate, the Independent Expert is guided by Human Rights Council resolution 42/33, in particular the Council’s request to propose, in cooperation with the Federal Government of Somalia, a transition plan toward deeper thematic engagement with the special procedures and other experts, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with clear steps and benchmarks to inform the appropriate follow-up actions by the Council. The Independent Expert has thus identified seven areas for the proposed transition plan (see para. 94 below). III. Engagement with the international and regional human rights systems 6. The Federal Government of Somalia has demonstrated a willingness to hold a constructive dialogue and engage with the international human rights system since its election to membership in the Human Rights Council in October 2018 and, more recently, since its candidate was elected as one of the 21 Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session. The Government has submitted reports on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 16 September and December 2019, respectively. The Independent Expert was informed that, at the time of preparing the present report, the Federal Government of Somalia was holding nationwide consultations for the submission of its reports to the Human Rights Committee and the universal periodic review (third cycle). 7. The protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and internally displaced persons has been placed at the forefront of the Federal Government’s human rights agenda. Following the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 1 See http://mop.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/NDP-9-2020-2024.pdf. 3