SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS TO VISIT INDONESIA

4 June 2007


The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of Human Rights Defenders, Ms Hina Jilani, will visit the Republic of Indonesia from 5 to 13 June 2007 at the invitation of the Government.

The purpose of the visit is to assess the situation of human rights defenders, and to examine the legal framework as well as the environment in which they function for the protection and promotion of human rights. After the visit, a report containing the Special Representative's findings and recommendations will be published and presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The Special Representative is scheduled to meet, among other Indonesian officials, with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Defense, the Minister for Home Affairs, the Minister for Law and Human Rights, the Director-General for Human Rights, the Director-General for Corrections, the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, the Deputy Chief Justice on Judiciary Matters, the Attorney General on General Crimes, the Chief of Military Armed Forces, the Chief of the National Police, the Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights, the Chairperson of the National Commission on Women, and the Ombudsman.

She will also meet with a wide ranging segment of civil society and the press, and with representatives of the United Nations. The Special Representative is scheduled to visit Jakarta, Aceh, and West Papua where she has also requested to meet with relevant actors within the local authorities and civil society. Ms. Jilani will give a press conference in Jakarta at the end of the mission on 12 June 2007, at which she will present her preliminary findings.

Ms. Jilani, an advocate at the Supreme Court of Pakistan, was appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General in August 2000.

For more information about the mandate of the Special Representative and copies of available reports, please consult the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/defenders/index.htm