Durable solutions: visit to Côte d'Ivoire by UN expert on the human rights of internally displaced persons

GENEVA / ABIDJAN (20 July 2012) – UN Special Rapporteur Chaloka Beyani will visit Côte d'Ivoire from 23 to 31 July to examine internal displacement issues, including the current situation of persons internally displaced following the disputed presidential elections in 2010, which affected an estimated one million people at the height of the crisis in March 2011.

“I will also consider the degree of achievement of durable solutions by those who have returned to their place of origin, locally integrated or resettled in a different part of the country,” Mr. Beyani said, announcing the second mission to Côte d'Ivoire, since 2006, by an independent expert designated by the UN Human Rights Council to study and report on the human rights situation of internally displaced persons around the world.

Through a comprehensive approach, the Special Rapporteur will also examine aspects of prevention, as well as the assistance, protection and durable solutions needs of all internally displaced persons, whether their displacement was related to the recent post-election violence, previous cycles of political violence, or to other causes such as natural disasters.

During his nine-day visit, Mr. Beyani will meet with Government representatives, members of civil society, UN officials, and other relevant stakeholders, as well as internally displaced persons.

The Special Rapporteur will present his preliminary observations at a press conference in Abidjan on 31 July 2012. His full report will be presented to the Human Rights Council in March 2013.

Chaloka Beyani, a Zambian national and professor of international law at the London School of Economics, was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons by the Human Rights Council in September 2010. Learn more, log on to: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/idp/index.htm

OHCHR Country Page – Côte d'Ivoire: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/CIIndex.aspx

For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Abidjan (during the mission): Isatou Harris (+225 46000439 / harris8@un.org) or Kenneth Blackman - Media Focal Point (+225 06203392 / blackman@un.org)
In Geneva regarding the work of the mandate: Rosa da Costa (+41 22 917 9140 / rdacosta@ohchr.org) or write to idp@ohchr.org

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)

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