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Visit of UN SR Violence Against Women to South Africa Cancelled Due to Lack of Dates Confirmation
GENEVA (11 May 2015) – The United
Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences,
Rashida Manjoo, today announced the cancelation of her planned official visit
to South Africa for lack of confirmation of dates by the Government for the
information-gathering mission.
“It is unfortunate that I will
miss the opportunity to engage with all stakeholders dealing with violence
against women in the country,” the human rights expert said. Ms. Manjoo has
been trying to secure a visit to South Africa since 2012.
The Special Rapporteur was
originally scheduled to visit the country at the invitation of the South
African Government from 24 February to 6 March 2015 to obtain first-hand
understanding of issues related to violence against women. However, the mission
was postponed at the request of the government. The authorities proposed that
the visit be conducted at the end of March 2015, which the expert could not
accommodate due to previous commitments.
“Since end of February, the
Government has repeatedly failed to confirm the new dates proposed for the
visit to South Africa, i.e. end of May 2015,” she said. “Despite many
reminders, I have not received any official confirmation that the visit could
be conducted from 27 May to 5 June.”
“I find myself compelled to take
the lead in cancelling this visit,” Ms. Manjoo stated. “Due to the imminence of
the dates proposed, it would be impossible to resume adequate preparations for
the visit at such a short notice, even if I finally receive a confirmation.”
The Special Rapporteur expressed
her gratitude to all those involved in supporting the organization of this
visit, in particular the representatives of civil society organizations, the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Country
Team in South Africa.
“I hope that the next mandate
holder, who will assume office on 1st August 2015, will continue the discussion
with the Government of South Africa, with the view to visit the country in the
near future,” the expert concluded.
ENDS
Ms. Rashida
Manjoo (South Africa) was appointed Special Rapporteur on Violence against
women, its causes and consequences in June 2009 by the UN Human Rights Council.
Ms. Manjoo is a Professor in the Department of Public Law of the University of
Cape Town. Learn more, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/SRWomen/Pages/SRWomenIndex.aspx
The Special
Rapporteurs 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 independent fact-finding
and monitoring mechanisms of the Human Rights Council 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 – South Africa: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/ZAIndex.aspx
For more
information, please contact Nathalie Stadelmann (+41 22 917 9104 / nstadelmann@ohchr.org) and Karin
Hechenleitner (+41 22 917 9635 / khechenleitner@ohchr.org) or write to vaw@ohchr.org.
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN
Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)