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The Embassy of Djibouti in Geneva |
Contact
Address
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Djibouti to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva
15, Chemin Camille-Vidart
1202 Geneva
Phone Number
+41 22 749 10 90
Fax Number
+41 22 749 10 91
Website
http://www.djibouti.ch
Email
mission.djibouti@djibouti.ch
mission.djibouti77@djibouti.ch
The Ambassador
H.E. Ms. Kadra Ahmed Hassan
Ms. Ahmed Hassan served at Djibouti's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York from 2007 to 2016, including as Chargée d'affaires a.i. from August 2015 to February 2016. Earlier, she was a Counsellor at the Direction of Multilateral Relations within Djibouti's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (2003–2007) and has represented Djibouti at various regional and international negotiations and conferences. She was born on 28 April 1973 in Ali Sabieh, Djibouti, and holds a Master 2 in international relations, security and defence (specializing in international/non-governmental organizations) from the University Jean Moulin Lyon III (2013–2014), along with earlier degrees in political science (University Montesquieu Bordeaux 4, 1997–1998) and languages/foreign civilizations (University Michel Montaigne Bordeaux 3, 1993–1997).
History
Djibouti, formerly the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas (and before 1967, French Somaliland), was the last French colony in Africa to gain independence. Two earlier referendums on independence, held in 1958 and 1967, went against independence amid disputed circumstances; a third referendum on 8 May 1977 produced a landslide 98.8% vote in favour of separation from France, and the Republic of Djibouti was formally proclaimed shortly thereafter, with Hassan Gouled Aptidon becoming its first president. The UN Security Council recommended Djibouti's admission by resolution 412 on 7 July 1977, and the General Assembly formally admitted the Republic of Djibouti to UN membership by resolution 32/1, adopted at its first plenary meeting on 20 September 1977 — the same year as independence. In its first year of independence, Djibouti also joined the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union) and the Arab League, and it was later among the founding members of the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in 1986.
Djibouti underwent its fourth Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council on 9 November 2023, examined by Djibouti's Minister of Justice, Ali Hassan Bahdon; at the Council's 55th session (25 March 2024), Djibouti accepted 228 of the 269 recommendations it received, including most relating to freedom of expression, press freedom, and the rights of association and peaceful assembly, while largely "noting" (rather than accepting) recommendations calling for ratification of additional international human rights treaties, including on the prohibition of discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Djibouti's National Human Rights Commission — the country's National Human Rights Institution — remains a recurring focus of Council scrutiny, including efforts to secure "A" status accreditation from the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. Djibouti has also been one of the states supported by the Human Rights Council's Trust Fund for Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, which funds government-official participation in Council sessions (including the 58th session in 2025), and Djibouti's delegation has regularly taken the floor during UPR adoption debates for other states, including at the Council's 58th and 59th sessions in 2025. Longstanding reprisal concerns tied to Djibouti's 2018 UPR cycle — notably the case of human rights defender Kadar Abdi Ibrahim, whose passport was reportedly confiscated after he engaged with the UN process — have continued to be raised by civil society organizations at subsequent Council sessions.
