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COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CHAIRMAN APPOINTS SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS AND EXPERTS
29 July 2005
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The Chairman of the sixty-first session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Makarim Wibisono, today announced the appointment of a number of experts to occupy positions in fact-finding mechanisms of the Commission focusing on specific human rights issues or on situations in individual countries. The appointments follow consultations with the different regional groups in the Commission.
Among the positions filled, two focus on country situations, namely Sudan and Uzbekistan. The Chairman indicated he had appointed Dr. Sima Samar of Afghanistan as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan. Dr. Samar is the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Women’s Affairs in the post-Taliban Afghan government and now Chairs the country’s Independent Human Rights Commission. Michèle Picard of France has been appointed as the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Uzbekistan. Ms. Picard is also an alternate member of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, the Commission’s subsidiary body.
Rudi Muhammad Rizki of Indonesia was named as the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity. Mr. Rizki has served as an ad hoc Judge of the Indonesian Human Rights Court and is a lecturer in human rights law at Padjadjaran University.
The Chairman also appointed Martin Scheinin of Finland as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism. Mr. Scheinin has been a Professor of constitutional and International law for the past 12 years and has also been a member of the Human Rights Committee for 8 years.
Jorge A. Bustamante was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Migrants to replace Gabriela Rodríguez Pizarro (Costa Rica) who held the mandate since 1999. Mr. Bustamante is a Professor of sociology teaching International migration and human rights at the University of Notre Dame and was the Chairman/Rapporteur for the group of experts for the UN world study on International Migration and Human Rights from 1996 to 1999.
The following members were also appointed to the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of people to self-determination:
· Françoise Hampson (United Kingdom), Professor of Law, Human Rights Centre, University of Essex;
· Shaista Shameem (Fiji), Director, Fiji Human Rights Commission;
· Alexander Ivanovich Nikitin (Russian Federation), Director of the Center for Political and International Studies and of the Center for Euro-Atlantic Security, Russia;
· Najat Al-Hajjaji (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya), Chairperson of Global System of Trade Preferences among developing countries (GSTP) of the UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and former Chairperson of the fifty-ninth session of the Commission;
· Amada Benavides de Pérez (Colombia), Director of the Schools of Peace Foundation.
Special Rapporteurs and other "mandate-holders" of the Commission are independent from any government and serve in their individual capacity.
Among the positions filled, two focus on country situations, namely Sudan and Uzbekistan. The Chairman indicated he had appointed Dr. Sima Samar of Afghanistan as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan. Dr. Samar is the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Women’s Affairs in the post-Taliban Afghan government and now Chairs the country’s Independent Human Rights Commission. Michèle Picard of France has been appointed as the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Uzbekistan. Ms. Picard is also an alternate member of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, the Commission’s subsidiary body.
Rudi Muhammad Rizki of Indonesia was named as the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity. Mr. Rizki has served as an ad hoc Judge of the Indonesian Human Rights Court and is a lecturer in human rights law at Padjadjaran University.
The Chairman also appointed Martin Scheinin of Finland as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism. Mr. Scheinin has been a Professor of constitutional and International law for the past 12 years and has also been a member of the Human Rights Committee for 8 years.
Jorge A. Bustamante was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Migrants to replace Gabriela Rodríguez Pizarro (Costa Rica) who held the mandate since 1999. Mr. Bustamante is a Professor of sociology teaching International migration and human rights at the University of Notre Dame and was the Chairman/Rapporteur for the group of experts for the UN world study on International Migration and Human Rights from 1996 to 1999.
The following members were also appointed to the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of people to self-determination:
· Françoise Hampson (United Kingdom), Professor of Law, Human Rights Centre, University of Essex;
· Shaista Shameem (Fiji), Director, Fiji Human Rights Commission;
· Alexander Ivanovich Nikitin (Russian Federation), Director of the Center for Political and International Studies and of the Center for Euro-Atlantic Security, Russia;
· Najat Al-Hajjaji (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya), Chairperson of Global System of Trade Preferences among developing countries (GSTP) of the UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and former Chairperson of the fifty-ninth session of the Commission;
· Amada Benavides de Pérez (Colombia), Director of the Schools of Peace Foundation.
Special Rapporteurs and other "mandate-holders" of the Commission are independent from any government and serve in their individual capacity.