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GENEVA (13 April 2018) – The United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries will undertake its first visit to Chad from 16 to 23 April.

The delegation, comprising Patricia Arias and Saeed Mokbil, will be in the country to assess the activities of mercenaries and foreign fighters, and their impact on human rights. They will also examine the existing regulatory framework regarding private military and security companies.

The Working Group will hold meetings in the capital, N’djamena, with Government officials, members of civil society and non-governmental organizations, particularly those working on human rights and humanitarian affairs. They will also meet members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of UN agencies.

The delegation will share its preliminary observations at a news conference on Monday, 23 April at 14:00 local time at the United Nations Development Programme (conference room) in Farcha, N’djamena. Access to the news conference is strictly limited to journalists.

The Working Group will present its findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2018.

ENDS

The Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the rights of peoples to self-determination was established in July 2005 by the then Commission on Human Rights. Its mandate was further extended by the Human Rights Council in 2008. The Group is comprised of five independent expert members from various regions of the world. The Chairperson-Rapporteur is Mr. Gabor Rona (United States of America). Other members are Ms. El¿bieta Karska (Poland) Ms. Patricia Arias (Chile), Mr. Anton Katz (South Africa), and Mr. Saeed Mokbil (Yemen).

The Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page – Chad

For more information and media requests, please contact:

In N’djamena:
Toussaint Mbaitoubam (+235 66 275 033/ toussaint.mbaitoubam@undp.org) Jolene Tautakitaki, OHCHR (+41 79 444 4078) / jtautakitaki@ohchr.org) Frederique Bourque (+41 79 444 6129 / fbourque@ohchr.org)

In Geneva: Yiyao Zhang (+41 22 917 9804 / yzhang@ohchr.org) Alternatively, you can write to mercenaries@ohchr.org

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact: Jeremy Laurence – UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)

This year is the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948. The Universal Declaration – translated into a world record 500 languages – is rooted in the principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It remains relevant to everyone, every day. In honour of the 70th anniversary of this extraordinarily influential document, and to prevent its vital principles from being eroded, we are urging people everywhere to Stand Up for Human Rights: www.standup4humanrights.org.