Building Sustainable Forensic Capacity: A National Commitment to Justice, History, and Human Dignity
From Somaliland to the United States, a virtual connection is opening a window into one of the country’s most important and still-developing areas of justice: forensic science.
Somaliland is participating virtually in an international forensic forum hosted by Arizona State University in the United States in October 2026, bringing its experiences, challenges, professional knowledge, and future needs into a wider international academic and professional conversation.
Although Somaliland’s representatives are not physically in the United States, their participation carries significance that extends far beyond the technology connecting them.
It demonstrates that distance does not have to be a barrier to professional engagement, knowledge-sharing, or international cooperation.
Through the virtual forum, Somaliland has an opportunity to place its own realities directly before an international audience—to explain where its forensic capabilities currently stand, identify the challenges it faces, and articulate the kind of cooperation required to build sustainable national capacity.
For a country where forensic science, mass-grave investigation, exhumation, forensic anthropology, victim identification, and humanitarian forensic practice remain developing fields, such engagement represents an important step toward building expertise that can serve justice while preserving history and protecting human dignity.
A Joint Presentation Bringing Somaliland’s Experience to the World
Representing Somaliland in the forum are Guled Mohamed Hassan of the Somaliland Ministry of Justice and Lucia Elgerud, PhD, of Uppsala University in Sweden.
Together, they are delivering a presentation entitled:
“Building Sustainable Forensic Capacity: State of Community Forensics in Somaliland and Ways Forward.”
The presentation examines the current state of forensic capacity in Somaliland while looking ahead to practical ways of strengthening the field.
Its focus extends beyond individual expertise. It encompasses training, knowledge exchange, institutional development, research, equipment, international cooperation, and long-term professional partnerships.
That broader approach is particularly important.
Building a functioning forensic system is not simply about acquiring equipment or training a handful of specialists. It requires institutions, specialized knowledge, professional networks, sustained investment, research, and the ability to transfer international experience into national structures.
The virtual presentation therefore becomes more than an academic contribution. It becomes a platform through which Somaliland can explain its needs, share its experience, and engage directly with professionals working in a highly specialized field.
From Learning to National Service
For Guled Mohamed Hassan, the journey into forensic science reflects a broader path from scientific education to professional development and, increasingly, national service.
His scientific background at the University of Hargeisa provided a foundation for understanding technical and scientific issues. He later benefited from forensic-related capacity-building opportunities in Somaliland, including training provided by organizations from Latin America.
Those experiences offered exposure to the importance of forensic science and its potential role in Somaliland.
Over time, he also developed professional relationships with individuals and organizations involved in forensic science and humanitarian forensic work.
Such relationships can be particularly valuable in a field where specialized knowledge and practical experience may not yet be widely available within Somaliland or the wider Horn of Africa.
Forensic expertise cannot be developed overnight. It grows through education, training, exposure, professional exchange, research, and the gradual accumulation of experience.
Every new connection can therefore become a bridge to knowledge that can eventually be brought home and applied locally.
When Individual Commitment Becomes National Contribution
Perhaps the most significant element of this journey is the connection between professional development and public service.
The knowledge being developed is not simply an exercise in personal career advancement. Within the Somaliland Ministry of Justice, engagement with forensic issues has a direct connection to justice, historical documentation, and the dignity of victims.
This creates a powerful chain:
Professional knowledge → Government responsibility → International cooperation → National capacity.
That connection matters.
Forensic science can provide tools for establishing facts, identifying victims, documenting evidence, and helping communities confront difficult chapters of their history.
For Somaliland, developing such capacity is therefore not merely a scientific ambition. It is also part of a broader commitment to justice, historical preservation, and human dignity.
Building Capacity That Can Last
The challenge ahead is not simply to participate in international forums, but to transform participation into lasting national capacity.
International training can open doors. Professional relationships can create opportunities. Academic partnerships can transfer knowledge. But the ultimate measure of success is what remains after the conference ends and the virtual connection is closed.
Can the knowledge return to Somaliland?
Can professionals train others?
Can institutions develop stronger systems?
Can research expand?
Can equipment and technical resources be secured?
Can international partnerships evolve into sustained cooperation?
These are the questions that will determine whether emerging forensic expertise becomes a durable national capability.
Somaliland’s virtual participation in the Arizona State University forum represents one step in that longer journey.
It places Somaliland professionals in a global conversation while allowing them to speak directly about realities on the ground. More importantly, it illustrates how professional commitment can gradually become institutional knowledge—and how institutional knowledge can ultimately become a national asset.
Recognizing the Young Professionals Building Somaliland’s Future
There is also a broader national lesson in this journey.
Young Somaliland professionals who dedicate themselves to acquiring specialized knowledge, building international networks, and bringing that expertise back to serve their country represent an important national resource.
Their work may not always attract public attention, but the value of their contribution can extend far beyond their individual careers. By entering specialized fields, seeking international exposure, and connecting Somaliland with global professional communities, they are helping create knowledge and expertise that Somaliland will increasingly need.
Such commitment should not go unnoticed.
Young professionals who work tirelessly to advance Somaliland’s capabilities, represent the country internationally, and bring valuable knowledge home should be recognized, honored, and meaningfully rewarded at the national level.
Recognition should extend beyond words. It can take the form of professional opportunities, institutional support, research funding, access to specialized training, and mechanisms that enable young experts to apply and transfer the knowledge they acquire.
When a young professional invests in knowledge and uses that knowledge in service of the nation, the achievement belongs not only to the individual—it becomes part of the country’s institutional and human capital.
Supporting such people is therefore an investment in Somaliland’s future.
A Bridge from Knowledge to Justice
Somaliland’s participation in the Arizona State University forensic forum represents more than a virtual appearance at an international event.
It represents a bridge: from learning to service, from international cooperation to national capacity, and from scientific knowledge to justice, history, and human dignity.
The journey is still at an early stage. But every trained professional, every international partnership, every research opportunity, and every transfer of knowledge brings Somaliland closer to developing forensic institutions capable of serving its people and preserving its history.
The screen connecting Somaliland to an international forensic community may be virtual—but the knowledge, experience, and national potential it carries can have very real consequences.
For Somaliland, building forensic capacity is ultimately about more than science. It is about developing the expertise, institutions, and human capital needed to establish facts, protect dignity, serve justice, and preserve the nation’s history for generations to come.