Outrage Over State-Enabled Human Trafficking and Visa Fraud Disguised as Delegation to the 113th ILO Conference

by: Press Release | 21 May 2025 01:11

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Outrage Over State-Enabled Human Trafficking and Visa Fraud Disguised as Delegation to the 113th ILO Conference

Ref: GSH/XX/CXA/SZAM_1 Date: 19/05/2025

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Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (right) and his closest ally Ali Omar (right) are among top corrupt officials in the country.

Ref: GSH/XX/CXA/SZAM_1 Date: 19/05/2025

To: Switzerland Embassy - Somalia

To: EU Embassy - Somalia

To: Canada Embassy - Somalia

To: UK Embassy - Somalia

To: US Embassy - Somalia

To: All Other Embassies - Somalia

Cc: Foreign Affairs Committee – House of People

Cc: Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Labor

I am writing as member of the foreign affairs committee of the House of People of the Federal Republic of Somalia to express my absolute outrage and disgust at the ongoing scam being orchestrated at the highest levels of the Federal Government of Somalia, under the fraudulent pretense of attending the 113th Session of the International Labor Conference (ILC) scheduled for June 2–13, 2025, in Geneva.

A seventeen-member "delegation”, led by the Minister of Labor and his Director General, is being dispatched to this conference. Let us be honest - this is not a delegation. This is a criminal trafficking operation, dressed in official suits, parading as legitimate government business. The themes of the conference bear no meaningful connection to Somalia’s collapsing labor sector. This trip serves one purpose only: to launder access to Western visas for cash. Donor governments fund over 70% of Somalia’s national budget. This is how that goodwill is being repaid - by selling your visas to fake delegates for $25,000 a head.

Through credible sources within Villa Somalia, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Labor, and the Immigration Department, I have confirmed that this operation is part of an expanding visa-for-sale criminal syndicate. The vast majority of "delegates” are not civil servants. They are politically connected imposters, paying bribes to secure fake documents to enter Europe. This has been happening for years. It has now escalated as we near Somalia’s next election cycle - when corrupt elites seek cash at any cost.

The Minister of Labor, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Head of Villa Somalia Protocol, and his Director General - who happens to be the first cousin of the Speaker of the House of the People - are the ringleaders of this scam. This position was handed to the Speaker’s relative as a political reward for loyalty to the President’s agenda, and he now operates with total impunity under the Speaker’s protection.

What is more alarming is that this fraudulent operation - documented in a Letter dated May 13th, 2025, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - could not have moved an inch without full knowledge of the State Minister of Foreign Affairs. This same individual was previously involved in the Cuba Visa Scheme, a blatant case of human trafficking of Somalis to Mexico, en route to the U.S. border. To make matters worse, the Head of the Villa Somalia Protocol Office helped fast-track this sham delegation. This is not just internal corruption - it’s a catastrophic breach of trust. Every single letter that now comes from Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs - or any government ministry requesting visas - must be considered suspect.

And yet, I am forced to ask:

o How long will the EU, UK, Canada, and the U.S. continue to look the other way?

o You have intelligence. You have the visa records. You have the diplomatic cables. You know this is happening.

o If your governments are serious about human rights, anti-corruption, and international law, then where are the sanctions?

o Where are the visa bans for these officials?

o Where is the criminal investigation?

These Somali officials have violated numerous international and domestic legal standards, including:

o UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Palermo Protocol) – Articles 3(a), 5.

o UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) – Articles 8, 9, and 13.

o ILO Conventions No. 29 and 105 – Misused to mask trafficking as labor cooperation.

o EU and Schengen Visa Code – Document fraud and misuse of diplomatic privilege.

o Somalia Penal Code (1962) – Articles 452, 459, and 497.

This is not bureaucratic failure - it is organized crime within a state structure, abusing international institutions and donor relationships.

If the EU, UK, Canada, and the U.S. governments do not take swift action against the specific officials involved, then I will have no choice but to escalate this matter through formal complaints to:

o The UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee,

o The EU Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights,

o The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and

o The Canadian Parliament’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.

These complaints will be submitted with documentation, names, roles, and evidence - and I will do so within days, not weeks.

Somalia cannot afford to be represented abroad by traffickers, fraudsters, and political cronies who are actively selling access to your embassies, your visas, and your trust. If you continue to ignore this cancer, the stain will not be Somalia’s alone - it will be on those who funded, legitimized, and enabled it.

I am prepared to testify, share evidence, and go public. I will not allow this to pass in silence. Our people are not commodities. Our government is not a black-market travel agency. Enough is enough.

Sincerely,

Dr. Abdillahi Hashi Abib - BA, MA, MASc, Ph.D

Member of Foreign Affairs Committee

Federal Republic of Somalia the House of People

Mogadishu, Somalia

MP- HOP #201 Awdal Region and Gebileh District

Leader of the Accountability and Transparency Caucus of the House of People

E: [email protected]

W: + 1-571-436-7586 M: + 252-6108-22469