SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON RACISM TO VISIT BRAZIL

14 October 2005

The Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Doudou Diène, will undertake a visit to Brazil from 17 to 25 October 2005 at the invitation of the Government.

The Special Rapporteur will evaluate the progress accomplished in the implementation of recommendations made by his predecessor following a visit to the country in June 1995. Mr. Diène will also investigate manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in Brazil and the measures and policies adopted to combat them. He will in particular asses the factors of discrimination that affect the Black or afro-descendant population, who comprise 46.2 per cent of the total population; indigenous peoples; Gypsies; and foreigners, including migrant workers, refugees and asylum seekers.

In Brazil the Special Rapporteur will travel to Brasilia, Salvador de Bahia, Recife, Pesqueira, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. He is scheduled to meet with representatives of the Government, at both the national and local levels; members of the Parliament and the judiciary; non-governmental organizations and individuals dealing with issues related to his mandate; and United Nations officials.

The Special Rapporteur will submit a report on the visit to the sixty-second session of the Commission on Human Rights, in March 2006.

Mr. Diène was appointed Special Rapporteur through Commission resolution 2002/68 of 25 April 2002. In April 2005 his appointment was renewed for three years, through resolution 2005/64.