United Nations Human Rights Chief to visit Guatemala from 11 to 15 March 2012

8 March 2012

GENEVA – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay will on Sunday, 11 March begin an official visit to Guatemala to discuss rights issues with State authorities and civil society.

During her visit, Ms. Pillay will meet President Otto Pérez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Defence and other senior officers from the executive branch. The High Commissioner will also meet members of Congress, the Supreme Court of Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Attorney General and the Human Rights Ombudsman. She will hold meetings with human rights defenders, representatives of indigenous and civil society organizations, members of the international community and the United Nations System.

High Commissioner Pillay, who is visiting the country at the invitation of the Government, will travel to Totonicapán, where she will meet indigenous authorities. She also plans to discuss a wide range of issues with the authorities and civil society actors, including security, justice, indigenous peoples’ rights, discrimination, women’s rights and the situation of human rights defenders.

At the end of her visit, the High Commissioner will hold a press conference to share the preliminary conclusions of her visit.

For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Guatemala:
Estela Morales: (502) 5632-2261 / emorales@ohchr.org.gt
In Geneva:
Xabier Celaya: +41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org
Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9310 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org

Learn more about the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/HighCommissioner.aspx

OHCHR in Guatemala: http://www.ohchr.org.gt/

Human rights in Guatemala: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/LACRegion/Pages/GTIndex.aspx

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For use of the information media; not an official record