SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN SUDAN TO VISIT COUNTRY FROM 2 TO 14 FEBRUARY 1999

HR/99/5
1 February 1999


The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Leonardo Franco, will undertake his first visit to the country from 2 to 14 February 1999 at the invitation of the Government. He will also visit Nairobi, Kenya, to meet with, among others, United Nations officials from Operation Lifeline Sudan, representatives of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and representatives of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

In Sudan, the Special Rapporteur intends to travel to the cities of Khartoum, Wau and possibly Juba. He is scheduled to meet with numerous Government officials, including the Minister for Justice, the State Minister for External Relations, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Rapporteur of the Advisory Council for Human Rights. The Special Rapporteur will also meet with non-governmental organizations and private individuals. He plans to visit prisons and other places of detention, as well as camps for internally displaced persons.

After the visit, the Special Rapporteur will prepare a report with conclusions and recommendations for the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on Human Rights, which will be held in Geneva from 22 March to 30 April 1999.

Mr. Franco was appointed Special Rapporteur in August 1998 by the Chairman of the Commission. His predecessor, Gáspár Bíró, resigned last year.

Mr. Franco, a human rights lawyer, is currently the Director of the Centre for Human Rights and a Professor of Law at the Universidad Nacional de Lanus, Argentina. He previously directed the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA) and also held various posts in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.