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UN human rights chief to visit Brazil

5 November 2009

GENEVA (5 November 2009) -- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay is to pay her first visit to Brazil, where she will visit three major cities, from 7-13 November.

She will arrive in the northern city of Salvador on Saturday 7 November, and visit an Afro-Brazilian community located close to Salvador, before proceeding to Rio de Janeiro on Monday, where she will visit one of the city’s impoverished districts, known as favelas.

On Wednesday 11 November, the High Commissioner will begin a three-day visit to the capital Brasília, where she will attend the opening of Brazil’s Human Rights Defenders Conference, and sign an agreement that will expand cooperation between the Government of Brazil and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The agreement includes a ground-breaking framework for establishing three-way partnerships between Brazil, OHCHR, and other countries that request help in improving human rights protection, including by implementing recommendations made by the various UN human rights mechanisms.

During her visits to all three cities, the High Commissioner will hold meetings with top federal and state officials, members of civil society and other interlocutors to discuss a range of human rights issues.

The High Commissioner will hold a press conference at 11:00 am on Friday 13 November at the UNDP office in Brasília.