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munity. Djibouti is also at the tions here in Geneva, but for the anti-racism agenda at Djibouti is from November to
forefront in the fight against because of its workload the the global level because we April. There are many airlines
terrorism. A joint combined Human Rights Council keeps will celebrate the convention serving Djibouti today --
task force was set up in us occupied. Djibouti has of the Tenth Anniversary of direct flights from Paris,
Djibouti after the events in been a member since the the Durban Declaration and Nairobi, Dubai and Cairo. It
New York on 9/11. Today beginning and has just been Programme of Action and the takes only six hours from
Djibouti offers a base to re-elected. What I am trying International Year of People Europe; it may seem far away
Operation Atlanta, which is to accomplish is to fulfil my of African descent. but it's not that far after all.
fighting piracy off the coast of duties and responsibilities as a We have not yet developed
Somalia. Numerous countries member of an important orga- Q: What other internatio- our full potential because
are showing interest in nization. We are currently nal organizations do you Djibouti is a fairly new coun-
Djibouti, particularly an involved in the negotiations work closely with? try. We gained our indepen-
increasing awareness from related to the review of the dence thirty-three years ago;
potential investors. work and functioning of the WHO, WIPO, ITIJ, UNHCR. before that we were a French
Human Rights Council. Djibouti has been a member colony.
Q: In terms of economy, of the Executive Committee
Finally,
what do you have to offer Q: I know that you have of UNHCR since 2009. We Q:
Mr
potential investors? held very important func- are also a member of WTO. Ambassador, if you had
tions in the Human The ILO, of course, is also a a message for the inter-
We have a strategic location. Rights Council. very important organization national community in
The ambition of Djibouti is to with which we have a strong Geneva, what would it
operate as a transportation I was the Vice-President in collaboration. be?
hub. We are also a member of 2007 -- the African group
the Common Market for nominated me for that posi- We have enough to do and, First of all, we have to streng-
Eastern and Southern Africa tion. I am now the Chairman unfortunately, we operate then dialogue and co-opera-
(COMESA), which is a regio- of the Intergovernmental with limited human resour- tion with a view to developing
nal organization representing Working Group on the ces. For this reason, we esta- a common understanding and
a potential market of 400 Durban Declaration and blish priorities depending on analysis of the causes of the
million people. We have Programme of Action. I was the calendar of events, as well problems the world is facing
invested heavily, particularly elected in October 2009 and as priorities back home. today. Many crucial issues are
in port infrastructure. We re-elected in October 2010, I being dealt with by organiza-
have security and stability -- chaired two sessions of the Q: You are also the tions based in Geneva. In
that is also an asset that we try working group dealing with Ambassador of Djibouti developing robust responses
to promote to the greatest the effective implementation to Switzerland. to the problems faced, we
extent possible. These are, in of the Durban Declaration must respect each other, share
my humble opinion, the main and Programme of Action Yes, and this is a very impor- the burden, co-ordinate and,
advantages of Djibouti. (DDPA). tant responsibility that was of course, make a results-
entrusted to me by the based analysis of whatever
Q: Returning to your Q: It must be a challenge President Mr. Ismail Omar we do. We should also culti-
work in Geneva, we as we have the impres- Gelleh. So I have to cultivate vate optimism.
relationship
know that you are very sion that xenophobia the
with
much involved in the and racism are growing Switzerland. Q: So, you are an action-
Human Rights Council. everywhere these days. oriented man?
How do you explain this Switzerland is not a destina-
passion for the field of We see dangerous trends. The tion that is very well known in Yes! Think, but with a view to
human rights? most dangerous trend in my Djibouti, so one of my ambi- acting and developing respon-
opinion is the emergence of tions is to strengthen the ties ses to particular problems. Do
Human rights have gained political platforms based between the two countries not just complain and lament
importance in world affairs, upon racism. I think we all through investments. More about what we could have
as it was created as one of the have a collective responsibili- specifically, I would like to done and what we have not
pillars of the United Nations ty to fight back. That's what encourage Swiss investors to done -- because by then it
at the same level as security we are trying to do in the wor- take an interest in Djibouti. may be too late!
and development. The king group and we are also
Human Rights Council, when trying to do something about We have tourist destinations
it was established in 2006 as it in the Human Right's that are at present little
the principal organ entrusted Council, because we have a known. We have varied sce-
with the responsibility for special rapporteur on this nery: the sea, mountains, vol-
promoting the Human Rights, issue. We also have the ad hoc canoes ... and sand! We have
generated a lot of hope and committee on racism and the Red Sea. People say that
expectation. I am not only complementary standards -- a the country is hot, but right
involved in the Human Rights mechanism of the Durban now its a very pleasant with
Council. I deal with all the Conference 1. This year, an average temperature of
other international organiza- 2011, is particularly important 28°C. The best time to visit

1 2011 Diva 21

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