SECRETARY-GENERAL'S REPRESENTATIVE ON INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS TO VISIT DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

first session



27 February 2004


The Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on internally displaced persons, Dr. Francis M. Deng, is scheduled to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 4 to 18 March 2004. The visit comes at the invitation of the Government.

Dr. Deng will hold meetings in the capital, Kinshasa, and will travel to a number of towns in the east of the country, where he is also scheduled to visit sites hosting internally displaced persons. It is estimated that more than 3 million persons are displaced inside the country.

The objective of the mission is to study the situation of internal displacement in the country and to conduct a dialogue with the Government, international agencies, non-governmental organizations and other relevant actors aimed at ensuring effective responses to internal displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dr. Deng has been the Representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons since 1992, at the recommendation of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.