Guleid Ahmed Jama

I am a licensed lawyer, researcher, and human rights advocate affiliated with Maastricht University in the Netherlands, where I hold a PhD in International Law. My academic work focuses on international law, children's rights, and the legal and political challenges facing unrecognised and conflict-affected territories — in particular, the rights of children in de facto states and areas affected by armed conflict.

For more than a decade, I have worked as a practising advocate and public interest lawyer in Somaliland, focusing on constitutional law, human rights, access to justice, and democratic governance. I am the Managing Director of Xaqdoon Law Firm, a regional law firm based in Hargeisa. I am also the founder and former director of Human Rights Centre Somaliland, and have served on the Advisory Board of the Knowledge Platform for Security and Rule of Law in The Hague (2019–2020). I currently serve on the boards of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA), Human Rights Centre Somaliland, and the Children's Legal Defense Center.

My legal and advocacy work has included defending freedom of expression, documenting human rights violations, and promoting judicial reform in Somaliland. International human rights organisations — including Front Line Defenders and the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) — have documented cases relating to reprisals against me for this work.

I am a 2017 Mandela Washington Fellow (Rutgers University) and a 2019 Makwanyane Fellow (Cornell Law School). I am widely recognised for my public commentary and scholarly writing on Somaliland's constitutional order, democratisation, elections, and the international legal status of de facto states.