Côte d’Ivoire: UN rights expert in follow-up mission before legislative elections

GENEVA / ABIDJAN (6 December 2011) – United Nations Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire, Doudou Diène, will undertake his second visit to the country from 7-13 December, aimed at ensuring that human rights are taken into consideration in the context of the coming legislative elections scheduled on 11 December 2011.

The upcoming elections in Côte d’Ivoire are the first since the post-electoral crisis erupted in December 2010, following the second round of the presidential elections between former President Laurent Gbagbo and Mr. Alassane Ouattara.

During his seven-day visit, the Independent Expert intends to follow up on his last mission to Côte d’Ivoire by holding bilateral talks with high-level officials and other actors involved in the reconciliation process. These meetings will include Prime Minister Guillaume Soro; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Daniel Kablan Duncan; leaders from political parties; and Mr. Charles Konan Banny, the President of the Dialogue Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

At the end of his mission, Mr. Diène will hold a press conference on 13 December at 15:00 at UNOCI Headquarters in Abidjan. Interviews can be arranged upon requests (see media contacts below).

The Independent Expert is due to present a report on his findings to the Human Rights Council in March 2012.

The mandate of the Independent Expert was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011 for a period of one year to assist the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and relevant actors in the follow-up of the recommendations of the International Commission of Inquiry on Côte d’Ivoire and the Human Rights Council, including the ones addressed to the international community. As Independent Expert, Mr. Doudou Diène acts independently from any Government or organization. He was previously the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in 2002-08.

OHCHR Country page – Cote d’Ivoire: http://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/cote-divoire

For additional information and media requests, please contact Guillaume Nguefa (+255 620 33 32 / ngefa@un.org) or Martin Seutcheu (+41 22 928 9618 / mseutcheu@ohchr.org).

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)

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