Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights to visit the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

GENEVA/NEW YORK (20 May 2015) – The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Mr. Ivan Simonovic, will visit the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from 21 to 22 May 2015. This will be the first visit to the country by a senior UN human rights official since 1999. Mr. Simonovic will be joined by colleagues from the UN Department of Political Affairs.

Mr. Simonovic will hold high-level discussions with authorities and other stakeholders on the current political situation as it relates to relevant human rights considerations. His interlocutors will include key Government officials, the Ombudsman, political party leaders, human rights defenders, representatives of civil society, the UN Country Team and the international community.

ENDS

Ivan Simonovic has been the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights since July 2010. He heads the New York Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Learn more, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/ASG.aspx

For more information on the work of OHCHR in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, see OHCHR website http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/ENACARegion/Pages/MKIndex.aspx

For more information and media enquiries, please contact:
In Skopje:
Sandra Ismanovski (+389 70219648 / sandra.ismanovski@undp.org)
In New York:
Andre-Michel Essoungou (+1 917 367 9995 / essoungou@un.org)
In Geneva:
Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Cécile Pouilly (+41 22 917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org).

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