UN EXPERT ON INTERNALLY DISPLACED TO VISIT THE REPUBLIC OF CHAD

2 February 2009

The Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Mr. Walter Kaelin, will visit the Republic of Chad from 3 to 9 February 2009, at the invitation of the Government.

During his visit, Mr. Kaelin plans to engage in a dialogue with senior Chadian authorities on the protection the human rights of internally displaced persons. He will also meet with United Nations agencies present on the ground, national and international human rights organizations and the donor community. Furthermore, Mr. Kaelin will meet internally displaced persons and host communities in Goz-Beida and Farchana in the East of the country.

The independent expert will present his preliminary findings to the tenth session of the Human Rights Council in March 2009 and issue a full report at a later stage.

Following his Chad mission, Mr. Kaelin intends to pay a short visit to the Central African Republic in order to follow-up with the authorities, United Nations and civil society on the implementation of his recommendations made after his official visit to the Central African Republic in March 2007.

Walter Kaelin, an independent expert and professor of law at the University of Bern (Switzerland), has been the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons since 2004.
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For use of the information media; not an official record