UN human rights expert to assess situation of indigenous peoples in the Republic of Congo

​French

GENEVA (11 October 2019) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, will visit the Republic of Congo from 14 to 24 October 2019.

Tauli-Corpuz will assess the country’s efforts to implement a law on the promotion of indigenous peoples which was adopted in 2011 following a visit to the country by her predecessor in 2010. She will also consider the impact of other laws, policies and practices on the rights of indigenous peoples.

“I look forward to meeting indigenous communities and to hearing first-hand from them about the impact of conservation and climate change measures and how they use their traditional knowledge to adapt,” Tauli-Corpuz said.

“Global commitments recognise the importance of indigenous traditional knowledge but challenges commonly remain in integrating these into relevant socioeconomic and environmental policies and actions.”

The Special Rapporteur will hold meetings in Brazzaville as well as several other localities in the Sangha department. She will meet with national and local governmental authorities, the National Human Rights Institution, representatives of UN agencies, civil society organisations, and with indigenous peoples’ communities.

At the end of the visit, Tauli-Corpuz will share her preliminary conclusions and recommendations at a press conference on Thursday, 14 October at 14:00 local time. It will be held at the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s meeting room. Access will be strictly limited to accredited journalists.

The UN expert will submit a report to the Human Rights Council in September 2020 on the findings of her visit.

ENDS

MsVictoria Tauli Corpuz (Philippines) was appointed Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoplesin 2014 by the UN Human Rights Council, for an initial period of three years. As a Special Rapporteur, she is independent from any government or organisation and serves in her individual capacity. She is an indigenous leader from the Kankana-ey Igorot people of the Cordillera Region in the Philippines and the former Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (2005-2010). She was actively engaged in drafting and adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Proceduresof the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights country page — Republic of Congo

For more information and media requests, please contact: Ms Claire Morclette (+41 22 928 9437 / +41 79-752 0486/ cmorclette@ohchr.org )

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact: Mr. Jeremy Laurence (+41 22 917 9383 /jlaurence@ohchr.org)

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