HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS TO VISIT TAJIKISTAN

Geneva/Dushanbe, 25 April: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour will visit Tajikistan from 25 to 29 April 2007, the second leg of a four-country visit to Central Asia.

During her visit, the High Commissioner will meet with the President the Republic of Tajikistan, Mr.Emomali Rakhmon, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Interior, and other key officials including the Chairperson of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General, and the Head of the Department of the Constitutional guarantees of citizens? rights. She will also meet with the Representative of the UN Secretary General and acting interim UN Resident Coordinator.

The High Commissioner will also interact with a broader range of key actors, including the United Nations Country Team, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, civil society representatives and the diplomatic community to assess the human rights situation in the country.

This is the first visit of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to Central Asia, which started with the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Other countries also included in the visit are Kazakhstan (30 April-2 May) and Turkmenistan (3-5 May).