UNHCHR-Addis Ababa - The United Nations High-Level Mission to assess the human rights situation in Darfur decided today that it can no longer allow the continued uncertainty regarding visas from Sudan to impede the continuance of the Mission, having completed its very important and productive Darfur consultations and briefings in Addis Ababa.
Nobel Peace Laureate and Mission Leader Jody Williams said that the Mission will proceed and collect all relevant information from locations outside the country. The Mission’s report to the Human Rights Council, she said, will be presented as mandated.
The High-Level Mission was established by a decision of the Human Rights Council (S-4/101), adopted by consensus at a special session on Darfur in December 2006. It began its programme of work in Geneva on 5 February, and proceeded to Addis Ababa six days later. It has held dozens of meetings, consultations and interviews with experts, non-governmental organizations, human rights specialists, humanitarian actors, community representatives, and United Nations and African Union officials. It has also reviewed a wide range of relevant documents. The mission will continue its work in Addis and other locations and return to Geneva, as scheduled, on 21 February, after which it will prepare its report to present to the Council at its fourth regular session in March.
Headed by Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and co-founder of the Nobel Women’s Initiative established in 2006, the Mission also includes Sima Samar, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, Mart Nutt, Member of Parliament of Estonia and Member of the Council of Europe’s European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance, Professor Bertrand Ramcharan, former Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Patrice Tonda, Permanent Representative of Gabon to the International Organizations in Geneva; and Makarim Wibisono, President of the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights and Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the International Organizations in Geneva. The Mission is supported by a team of human rights specialists from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
14 February 2007