Country visits

Invitations to visit

The Special Rapporteur is mandated to conduct official visits to States. Some States have issued standing invitations to all Special Procedures mandates of the Human Rights Council, while for others the Special Rapporteur writes to the Government requesting that an invitation be extended.

The purpose of country visits

These visits provide an opportunity to examine in detail the role and situation of human rights defenders in the country, to identify any problems and to make recommendations for how these could be resolved. By the nature of the mandate, the Special Rapporteur is required to look critically at the situation of defenders in a country. The visits are intended to provide an independent and impartial assessment which will then be of use to all actors in strengthening both the contribution of defenders to human rights and also their protection.

How long are the visits?

Visits usually take place over a period of between 5 and 10 days, with the duration often depending upon the size of the country or the complexity of the issues to be addressed.

What happens during a country visit?

The Special Rapporteur most often meets with the heads of State and of Government, with relevant Government ministers, representatives of independent human rights institutions, UN agencies, the media, and human rights defenders themselves, among others. The Special Rapporteur will usually begin a visit in the capital city and then continue with visits to other cities or towns, as well as to rural areas of particular relevance to the role and situation of human rights defenders.

What sort of issues are discussed during a visit?

Some of the issues that are raised during such visits include: violations committed against defenders; the strength of the ‘environment’ within which defenders conduct their human rights work, including freedoms of association and expression, access to funding, and the compatibility of domestic legislation with the Declaration on human rights defenders; and the efforts undertaken by the authorities to protect defenders from violations.

What happens after the visit?

A few months after each country visit, the Special Rapporteur releases a report indicating, among other things, the main concerns and recommendations for action. The report is presented formally by the Special Rapporteur at the Human Rights Council

Country visits reports

To access the reports in all the official languages, please copy the relevant document code, click on "Categorized Search", and paste it in the "Symbol Number" Field or alternatively search under "Documents"

Year	Visit	Document Symbol
2013 22th session HRC	Mission to Honduras	A/HRC/22/47/Add.1
	Mission to Tunisia	A/HRC/22/47/Add.2
	Mission to Ireland	A/HRC/22/47/Add.3
2012 19th session HRC	Mission to India (January 2011)	A/HRC/19/55/Add.1
2011 16th session HRC	Mission to Armenia (June 2010)	A/HRC/16/44/Add.2
2010 13th session HRC	Mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (June 2009) Mission to Colombia (September 2009)	A/HRC/13/22/Add.2 A/HRC/13/22/Add.3
2009 10th session HRC	Mission to Togo (July 2008)	A/HRC/10/12/Add.2
2009 10th session HRC	Mission to Guatemala (February 2008)	A/HRC/10/12/Add.3
2008 7th session HRC	Follow up mission to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (September 2007)	A/HRC/7/28/Add.4
	Mission to the Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo (September 2007)	A/HRC/7/28/Add.3
	Mission to Indonesia (June 2007)	A/HRC/7/28/Add.2
2007 4th session HRC	Mission to Brazil (December 2005)	A/HRC/4/37/Add.2
2006 62nd session CHR	Mission to Brazil(December 2005)	E/CN.4/2006/95/Add.4
	Mission to Israel and the OPT (October 2005)	E/CN.4/2006/95/Add.3
	Mission to Nigeria(May 2005)	E/CN.4/2006/95/Add.2
2005 61st session CHR	Mission to Angola(August 2004)	E/CN.4/2005/101/Add.2
2005 61st session CHR	Mission to Turkey(October 2004)	E/CN.4/2005/101/Add.3
2004 60th session CHR	Mission to Thailand (May 2003)	E/CN.4/2004/94/Add.1
2003 59th session CHR	Mission to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (January 2003)	E/CN.4/2004/94/Add.2
2002 58th session CHR	Mission to Guatemala (May 2002)	E/CN.4/2003/104/Add.2
2001 57th session CHR	Mission to Kyrgyzstan (August 2001)	E/CN.4/2002/106/Add.1
2000 56th session CHR	Mission to Colombia (October 2001)	E/CN.4/2002/106/Add.2

Visits requested by the Special Rapporteur:

Azerbaijan (2013)
Bangladesh (2013)
Bahrain (2012)
Belarus (2010, 2011)
Burundi (2012)
Cambodia (2012)
Cameroon (2012)
China (2008, 2010)
Dominican Republic (2012)
Egypt (2008, 2010, 2012)
Fiji (2010, 2012)
Indonesia (2012)
Jamaica (2012)
Kazakhstan (2011, 2012)
Kyrgyzstan (2012)
Malawi (2012)
Malaysia (2010)
Mexico (2011)
Mongolia (2012)
Namibia (2011)
Nepal (2008, 2009, 2012)
Oman (2012)
Pakistan (2008, 2010)
Philippines (2008, 2010, 2012)
Republic of Korea (2012)
Saudi Arabia (2012)
Senegal (2012)
Sri Lanka (2008, 2010)
Syria (2008, 2010)
Thailand (2010, 2012)
The Russian Federation (2011)
Togo (2013)
Turkey (2012)
United Arab Emirates (2012)
Venezuela (2008, 2010)
Viet Nam (2012)
Zimbabwe (2008, 2010, 2011)