Monday, July 09, 2012 -
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights arrived in Central Asia on Sunday and will be visiting Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan until Thursday.
UN Human Rights Chief Nina Pillay began her visit in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, where she met with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev to discuss the current human rights situation in the country as well as Kyrgyzstan’s relations with the UN body.
“It’s important that people living in Kyrgyzstan, regardless of nationality, have equal rights,” Atambayev said.
Pillay is also scheduled to meet with the country’s Prosecutor-General Aida Salyanova, Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbayev, Interior Minister Zarylbek Rysaliev, and Ombudsman Tursunbek Akun, as well as members of non-governmental organizations and human rights advocates.
The UNHCR head will then travel to southern city Osh on Tuesday to see the progress made after the 2010 ethnic riots in the southern provinces. She will also visit with individuals who were most affected by the violence, and will meet Osh May Melis Merzakmatov.
Pillay will then travel to Almaty on Wednesday to meet with Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov and human rights activists. She will then travel north to the Kazakh capital Astana to meet with Interior Minister Kalmukhanbet Kassymov as well as the prosecutor-general and ombudsman.
It will be Pillay’s first visit to the massive Central Asian country.