The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will open an office in Burkina Faso, to contribute to the promotion of human rights “in the context of a complex security situation in the Sahel region.
The agreement was signed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and African Integration, Alpha Barry, during a ceremony at the Office’s headquarters in Geneva, according to a statement issued Wednesday.
This national office should also “facilitate the implementation of Burkina Faso’s commitments” in the field of human rights.
“This is an important step in Burkina Faso’s commitment to international human rights standards. This new office will allow us to provide enhanced and tailored support to Burkina Faso to help it overcome the many challenges it faces,” said Ms. Bachelet.
The office’s work is understood in the broad sense of human rights: economic, social and cultural, as well as civil and political rights, the statement said. With the opening of the national office in Ouagadougou, the five member states of the G5 Sahel (Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso) will have “a permanent and solid presence of the United Nations in the field of human rights,” the High Commission adds.