Senior UN human rights official to visit South Sudan from 1 to 6 February

By United Nations - Office of the UN High Commissione

GENEVA, Switzerland, January 30, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Simonovic, will visit South Sudan from 1 to 6 February to assess the human rights situation in the country.

During his visit, Simonovic will seek updates on progress in investigations of human rights violations committed since the resumption of fighting in December 2013 that have resulted in the killing of thousands of civilians and internal displacement of over a million people. He will also discuss ways to prevent future violations.

Simonovic is scheduled to meet with a number of government officials as well as civil society actors in Juba, South Sudan's capital. He is also scheduled to visit Bentiu, Malakal and Rumbek.

This is Simonovic's second visit to South Sudan. He first visited in January 2014.