UN High Commissioner Louise Arbour is expected to address conditions in Brazil's prison system and the Brazilian government's effort of lack of it to promote and protect human rights during her first visit to the country next week.
Yvon Edoumou of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights told reporters in Geneva Friday that examining prison conditions for inmates is on agenda of Ms. Arbour's December 3 to 5 visit, which will take her to Brazilian capital Brasília, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The Office was aware of the case of two young women who were put into cells with male inmates and were repeatedly raped with the complicity of the police, he said, adding that Arbour would use that case as an example of a wider issue that plagued the penitentiary system in Brazil.
Also during the visit, the High Commissioner is expected to meet with Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and a number of other senior Brazilian government officials, as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and members of the UN family.
In São Paulo, Arbour will visit the São Paulo Stock Exchange, including "The Environmental and Social Investment Exchange," an innovative program initiative by the private sector aimed at supporting social responsibility and human rights projects.
While in Rio de Janeiro, she will attend the opening of the South American Human Rights Film Festival and will give a lecture on poverty and human rights at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
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