Somali Family Services (SFS) hosted and invited 12 NGOs based in Garowe, Puntland to partake meeting that took place at Puntland Library Resource Center (“PLRC”) which was facilitated by Fiona Adolu, a Human Rights Officer. The meeting’s main goal was to have the civil societies within Puntland region of Somalia to produce report(s) that reflect on the achievement, best practices, challenges and constraints of human rights in the region.

Universal Periodic Review is established by General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006. Adolu explained the expectations of the UPR to be a cooperative mechanism that is based on objective and reliable information, interactive dialogue with full involvement of the country concerned, and equal treatment and coverage to all States.

 Adolu expressed the importance of having Somalia to return from its hiatus on submitting reports since  1994. SFS took the initiative to lead UPR project and assured that it has the commitment to collaborate and support other NGOs to produce joint or an individual report. 

So far, about seven NGOs including SFS were listed down to report on the issues they work with on the bases of human rights.  Somali Family Service will coordinate with UNPOS and follow up with those organizations that attended and committed to write a report to have a clear understanding that no important human right issue(s) are left out.  SFS and UNPOS aims to avoid any replications since the permissible reporting pages are limited and covering the pressing issues concerning human rights are crucial and need to get the utter most   attention they desperately deserve. 

Somali Family Services has partaken a training carried out by The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP), in partnership with the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR). Twenty human rights defenders from the following countries of the region have participated the training: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia (including Somaliland), and Sudan (including South Sudan) from the 23^rd to the 27^th August 2010.