WUNRN
16
June 2008
UN
EXPERTS ON TORTURE AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN TO CONDUCT JOINT VISIT TO MOLDOVA
GENEVA—The
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences,
Yakin Ertürk, and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak, will undertake a visit to
Moldova from 4 to 11 July 2008, at the invitation of the Moldovan Government.
In
order to gather first-hand information in relation to the two mandates, Ms
Ertürk and Mr. Nowak will meet with Government officials, national human rights
institutions, civil society members and representatives of United Nations
agencies and international organizations. They will also meet with victims of
violence and visit places where persons are deprived of their liberty.
At
the end of the mission, following a briefing with Moldovan officials, the
experts will hold a press conference to share their preliminary findings with
representatives of the media. Based on the information obtained during the
visit, they will present a report containing their conclusions and
recommendations to the Human Rights Council.
*
* * * * * * * * * * *
Ms.
Yakın Ertürk was
appointed Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and
Consequences on 1 August 2003 by the Commission on Human Rights. As Special
Rapporteur, she is independent from any government and serves in her individual
capacity. She undertakes fact finding missions; acts on allegations regarding
violations of women’s human rights from around the world; and prepares thematic
reports in relation to her mandate. Ms. Ertürk is a Professor of Sociology at
the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. Previously she taught at the
Centre for Girls at King Saud University in Riyadh. Between 1997 and 2001 she
worked with the United Nations, serving first as Director of the International
Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic, and as Director of the Division for the
Advancement of Women (DAW) at UN Headquarters in New York. This will be the
17th country to which she will be conducting a mission as Special Rapporteur.
For further information on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, please visit
the webpage:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/women/rapporteur/index.htm
Mr.
Nowak was appointed Special Rapporteur on 1 December 2004 by the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights. As Special Rapporteur, he is independent from any
government and serves in his individual capacity. The Commission first decided
to appoint a special rapporteur to examine questions relevant to torture in
1985. The mandate, since assumed under the UN Human Rights Council, covers all
countries, whether or not they have ratified the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Mr. Nowak has
previously served as member of the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary
Disappearances; the UN expert on missing persons in the formerYugoslavia; the
UN expert on legal questions on enforced disappearances; and as a judge at the
Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is Professor of
Constitutional Law and Human Rights at the University of Vienna, and Director
of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights. This will be his 12th
country visit. For further information on the mandate of the Special
Rapporteur, please visit the website:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/torture/rapporteur/index.htm
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