SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS TO VISIT BRAZIL

2 November 2007


Geneva, 2 November 2007: The United Nations independent human rights expert on extrajudicial executions arrives in Brazil tomorrow on an eleven-day official visit. Philip Alston, an Australian national who is Professor of Law at New York University, is a Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council. His responsibilities include reporting on alleged killings and the underlying causes that might have prevented effective legal action to prosecute and punish those responsible. His mandate extends to all UN member states. He will be visiting Brazil at the invitation of the Government, and his mission is designed to enable him to meet with individuals and groups from all sectors of society.

The visit will include meetings with representatives of all three branches of government, including the Office of the President, members of the Cabinet, the Federal House of Representatives, the judiciary including the Supreme Federal Court, State Public Prosecutors, the military, the civil and military police, prison officials, Ombudsmen and State Governors. Mr. Alston will also hold meetings with victims' groups, human rights NGOs and other civil society groups. The visit will take place in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, and Brasilia.

As a result of the visit, Mr. Alston will report to the Human Rights Council on Brazil’s compliance with its human rights obligations and will make recommendations designed to promote more effective remedial and preventive measures in the future.

Mr Alston has extensive experience in the human rights field, including eight years as Chairperson of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, principal legal adviser to UNICEF in the drafting of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Special Adviser to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.