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12 May 2000




United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson will undertake an official visit to Brazil from 14 to 18 May 2000.

During the visit, the High Commissioner will meet a broad range of representatives of Government and civil society for discussions on the full spectrum of human rights in the country. On Monday, 15 May, in Brasilia Mrs. Robinson will take part in a Solemn Session of the Council for the Defense of Citizens and meet with the Ministers of Justice and of Agrarian Development and with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on the follow-up to the United Nations Social Summit of 1995.

In the afternoon of Tuesday, 16 May, the High Commissioner will meet with President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Early on Tuesday, Mrs. Robinson will hold talks with Brazilian human rights NGOs, before addressing a Solemn Session of the Commission on Human Rights of the Chamber of Deputies. She is then scheduled to meet with Brazil's Minister for Foreign Affairs and with the Public Prosecutor.

On 17 May the High Commissioner will be in Sao Paulo to discuss with corporate leaders the role of business in promoting human rights. She will also take part in a workshop of the project "Observatories on Human Rights" before meeting with NGOs focusing on such issues as the fight against racial and gender discrimination and on the rights of young offenders. In the evening she will meet Cardinal Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns.

In Rio de Janeiro on 18 May, the High Commissioner will visit the Centre for Social Development of Youth in the Mangueira district, a joint public-private initiative. She will also visit the location of a programme to counter violence and discrimination against homosexuals, "Disque Denúncia para Crimes Contra Homosexuais", and will have meetings with Rio's Governor and a wide cross-section of NGOs.

The High Commissioner will return to Geneva in the evening of 18 May.