Senior UN human rights official visits Liberia

GENEVA (31 July 2017) – UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour will visit Liberia from 1 to 3 August, seeking to mobilise support for the establishment of a UN Human Rights Office in the country following the forthcoming closure of the UN Mission in Liberia in March 2018. During his visit, Gilmour will meet with Government and civil society representatives on key human rights issues Liberia faces.

While Liberia has made significant progress since the 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and enjoyed peace and security, serious human rights challenges remain. With the upcoming presidential and legislative elections on 10 October this year, Gilmour will reinforce the call by the UN in Liberia on all stakeholders to work towards peaceful and transparent elections. He will discuss with the Government and partners the need to closely monitor the human rights situation in the pre-electoral context, and to ensure preventive steps are taken to avoid any outbreaks of violence.

During his visit, Gilmour is scheduled to meet senior Government officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Internal Affairs, as well as political leaders across the spectrum. He will also engage in discussions with representatives of the diplomatic community, civil society and the United Nations.

ENDS

The UN Human Rights Office has been present in Liberia through the Human Rights and Protection Section of UNMIL, the UN Mission in Liberia, since 2004.

For more information and media requests, please contact Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Liz Throssell (+41 22 917 9466 / ethrossell@ohchr.org)

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