UN Human Rights Chief to make high-level official visit to Burundi 12-15 April

GENEVA/BUJUMBURA (10 April 2015)– UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Sunday begins a three-day visit to Burundi – his first official country visit as the UN’s top human rights official.

During his visit, High Commissioner Zeid will meet the President as well as a number of top officials, including the Minister for External Relations and International Cooperation and the Minister in Charge of Human Rights. He will also meet the Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Bureau of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the President of the National Assembly, the President of the National Independent Electoral Commission, the President of the National Independent Human Rights Commission, members of civil society, political parties and the diplomatic corps.

During his time in Burundi, the High Commissioner will travel to Gitega to visit the Humura Centre for victims of domestic violence. On Wednesday 15 April, High Commissioner Zeid will participate in a round table discussion on human rights and elections in Burundi.

At the end of his visit, the High Commissioner will hold a press conference at 14:00 on Wednesday 15 April in the Conference Room of the UN Electoral Observation Mission in Burundi (MENUB).

The new UN Human Rights Office in Burundi was established on 1 January 2015, and has continued the monitoring, reporting and technical cooperation activities previously conducted by the Human Rights and Justice Section of the UN Office in Burundi (BNUB), whose mandate ended in December 2014.

ENDS

For more information please contact:
In Bujumbura: Robert Kotchani: +257 76115496, kotchani@un.org and Rupert Colville (for the duration of the mission): +41 79 506 1088 or rcolville@ohchr.org
In Geneva: Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org or Cecile Pouilly: +41 22 917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org