UN Human Rights Chief to visit DR Congo from 23 - 27 January

GENEVA (19 January 2020) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is to undertake a five-day official visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at the invitation of the Government.

The High Commissioner will arrive in Bunia, in the north-eastern province of Ituri, on Thursday 23 January. While in Bunia, she will visit a camp holding people displaced by the ongoing violence involving the Lendu and Hema groups, as well as holding discussions with representatives from both groups. She will also meet with victims of torture and sexual violence, and with senior local government officials.

On 24 January, Bachelet will fly to the capital Kinshasa, where she will have three days of discussion, culminating in a meeting with President Tshisekedi on Monday 27 January. While in Kinshasa, the High Commissioner will also meet with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Justice, as well as with the Ministers of Human Rights, Children and Families and other senior Government officials and authorities.

Bachelet will also hold discussions with National Human Rights Commission and with civil society organizations, as well as with heads of UN agencies in the DRC and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Leila Zerrougui, and other senior MONUSCO officials.

The High Commissioner will issue a statement at the end of the visit.

ENDS

* The UN Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC published a report on 10 January on the violence in Ituri

For more information and media requests, please contact:

Travelling with High Commissioner: Rupert Colville (+41 79 506 1088 / rcolville@ohchr.org)

In Kinshasa:  Mathias Gillmann +243 997 069 920

In Geneva:  Renato Rosario de Souza (+ 41 22 928 9855 / rrosariodesouza@ohchr.org) 

or Jeremy Laurence (+ 41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org ); Liz Throssell (+ 41 22 917 9296 / ethrossell@ohchr.org ); or Marta Hurtado (+ 41 22 917 9466 / mhurtado@ohchr.org )

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