Media advisories Special Procedures

Central African Republic: UN expert to visit for human rights assessment

08 August 2023

GENEVA (8 August 2023) – The UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic (CAR), Yao Agbetse, will conduct an official visit to the country from 8-18 August 2023.

The visit is in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 51/37, mandating the expert to assess, monitor and report on the situation in the CAR and make recommendations relating to technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of human rights.

During his mission, Agbetse will meet Government officials, representatives of UN entities, the National Human Rights Commission and other institutions and civil society to strengthen engagement with UN human rights mechanisms, promote human rights and facilitate capacity-building activities.

Agbetse will visit a detention facility to assess conditions of detention. He will also visit the countryside to assess the human rights and humanitarian situation with respect to internally displaced persons, refugees and returnees. 

The expert will share his preliminary observations from the visit at a press conference on 18 August 2023 in the Main Conference Room at MINUSCA Headquarters, at 15:30 local time. Access will be strictly limited to journalists. To register for the press conference please contact: Vladimir Monteiro, MINUSCA Spokesperson, at monteiro6@un.org. 

Agbetse’s observations from the visit will be discussed at the Human Rights Council in September 2023. He will also present his findings to the UN General Assembly in October 2023.

ENDS

Mr. Yao Agbetse (Togo), Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic, is a human rights lawyer, researcher and teacher who has devoted the last 25 years of his life to justice and human rights, including the rights of the child. He has implemented human rights programs at the national level and has provided legal and technical advice for the development and monitoring of national human rights laws and policies, particularly in Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Togo. He has created a space and tools for dialogue and joint efforts by state actors and CSOs. In the DRC, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali, it has implemented DDR programs, trained army and police chiefs, and provided support to mandate-holders and United Nations operations, including participating in the interactive dialogue under item 10 during sessions of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. He provided first-hand and factual information to UN experts to help them assess human rights challenges in different countries and made specific and workable recommendations to ensure accountability and access to Justice. The mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic was established by the Human Rights Council on 27 September 2013.

Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page: Central African Republic

For media enquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)

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