[2] His family originally hailed from Garowe, the administrative capital of the northeastern Puntland regional state of Somalia.

Through his work with civil society groups, he is credited with having helped to establish the council's Independent Expert on Albinism, a global panel that was formed in 2015.

[4] On 27 March 2015, Ismail sustained injuries during an attack on Hotel Makka al-Mukarama in Mogadishu by the Al-Shabaab militant group.

[8] The United Nations Human Rights Council also observed a minute of silence in honour of Ismail.

President of the Council Ambassador Joachim Rücker described Ismail as a widely admired and respected leadership figure, whose commitment to global human rights left a tangible impact.