01 March 2002

Twenty-one UN Volunteers are currently serving in Somalia, bringing a wide range of skills in air traffic control, civil engineering, human rights, livestock and agriculture, gender, ports management, rescue operations, fire fighting and food supply. They support the efforts of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The UN Volunteers, from Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Mauritius, Nepal, Rwanda, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States, support UN agencies in a range of development sectors. These include:

Civil Aviation
Under ICAO's Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority for Somalia (CACAS) project, UN Volunteers manage all activities related to air traffic control, airport maintenance, rescue and fire fighting and all relevant training, in particular for air traffic controllers and fire fighters. Based in various duty stations in north-western and north-eastern Somalia as well as Nairobi, Kenya, UNV specialists have for the past several years filled core staff positions, ensuring safe and professional control of Somalia's air space. They often work under difficult circumstances, especially while in the field where they carry out lengthy missions.

Ports Management
UN Volunteers have been working in recent years on an UNCTAD project, Port and Trade Efficiency Recovery for Somalia, which is based in the ports of Berbera and Bossaso. In 2001, a UN Volunteer was assigned to the Puntland region as officer in charge to follow up the activities at the port of Bossaso, to support local authorities and to implement educational training courses following rehabilitation of a former public school building where the classes were held.

Human Rights
A Human Right Specialist within the Human Rights Strengthening Programme (HURIST), a joint initiative of UNDP and OHCHR, carries out activities to support the UNDP policy of integrating human rights with sustainable human development. The UN Volunteers meets local authorities and other Somali citizens to raise awareness of human rights issues that are particularly critical in a post-war situation and in a country still affected by internal conflicts as well as a long-term humanitarian crisis.

Community Support and Relief
UN Volunteers have also initiated activities at the community level in efforts to reduce poverty, improve living conditions and provide care for the most vulnerable, including women and children. Using UNV funds, they provide support to minority groups in resettlement areas through manufacture of aluminium pottery and set up tailoring and cooking training courses. In Hargeisa, they built a shelter for 45 street children who are now under the care of a local non-governmental organization, Havoyoco. Among other activities, the children learn to express themselves through theatre and circus performances.

Support to Returnees through UNHCR
Currently four UN Volunteers assist UNHCR's efforts to repatriate and care for returnees, to rehabilitate schools and dispensaries, to improve water supply and sanitation as well as to support Somalia's livestock and agricultural sector.