UN rights expert to visit Haiti later this week

The United Nations independent expert on the human rights situation in Haiti is set to tour the country and talk to senior officials about a range of issues, including the island nation's efforts to fight HIV/AIDS.

Louis Joinet is scheduled to visit Haiti from 23 October to 5 November to meet high-level government officials and members of the judiciary, including representatives of the Office for the Protection of Citizens and the School for Magistrates. He is also expected to meet representatives from the press, the police force and civil society, as well as officials from the UN and the Organization of American States.

Mr. Joinet, who is a French magistrate, will also discuss and learn more about how Haiti is responding in the fight against HIV/AIDS. His tour follows an invitation last April by the UN Commission on Human Rights for him to present a report on the Caribbean nation during its next session.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed an independent expert on human rights in Haiti in 1995 after a request that year from the Geneva-based Commission. Mr Joinet has been in the post since March 2002.