Skip to main content

Press releases Special Procedures

UN EXPERT ON RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERENCE VISITS GERMANY

22 June 2009


22 June 2009


The United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Githu Muigai will undertake a country visit to the Federal Republic of Germany from 22 June to 1 July 2009, at the invitation of the Government.

During the mission, the Special Rapporteur will gather first-hand information on the main challenges as well as positive experiences on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in order to make constructive recommendations to the authorities.

The Special Rapporteur will visit the cities of Berlin, Cologne, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Leipzig, Rostock and Hamburg. He is scheduled to hold meetings with representatives of the Government, both at the Federal and local levels, and with members of the legislative and judicial branches. Discussions will also be held with non-governmental organizations, community members, academics and other organizations and individuals working in the field of racism and discrimination.

A final report on the visit will be submitted to the Human Rights Council at a forthcoming session in 2010.

The Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference on 1 July 2009 at 11:45 a.m. in the Hilton Hotel, Berlin.

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on racism was established in 1993 by the Commission on Human Rights to examine incidents of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, as well as governmental measures to overcome them. It was further extended by the Human Rights Council in its resolutions 5/1 and 7/34.

Mr. Githu Muigai, a Kenyan national, commenced his mandate as Special Rapporteur on 1 August 2008 after being appointed by the Human Rights Council. He is a lawyer specialized in international human rights law.

Contact: racism@ohchr.org

For more information regarding the Special Rapporteur, please visit
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/racism/rapporteur/index.htm