HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL NOMINATES MUTAMA RUTEERE AS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON RACISM AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

The Human Rights Council today briefly resumed its suspended eighteenth session to nominate Mutama Ruteere (Kenya) as the new Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

Mr. Ruteere has a strong human rights background with extensive experience including as Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies and as Dean of the Kenya Human Rights Institute. He has worked for many years on issues relating to ethnic conflict, discrimination and exclusion in a range of African countries, with a particular emphasis on research into and monitoring of human rights violations.

The new Special Rapporteur holds a Ph.D. in political science, with a human rights focus and an M.A. on the theory and practice of human rights. His graduate training is in international relations and international law. He has published widely on international human rights issues and has taught at undergraduate and graduate levels on human rights.

Mr. Ruteere replaces Githu Muigai (Kenya) who recently stepped down from the position after serving as Rapporteur since August 2008.

The eighteenth session of the Human Rights Council was held from 12 to 30 September. It was suspended on 30 September to allow for the process of nominating the new Special Rapporteur. After this brief resumption, the eighteenth session is now officially closed.

For use of the information media; not an official record

HRC11/141E