VIII Annexure a) Press Statement at the beginning of the Mission PRESS STATEMENT The Secretariat of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights informs the general public that the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa, Commissioner Dr. Vera Chirwa has been invited by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to inspect prisons and other places of detention in the country. The Special Rapporteur is a prison monitoring mechanism of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights established in 1996 to among other things, promote and protect the rights of persons deprived of their liberty, inspect prisons and other places of detention and advise states on appropriate means to improve their penal systems. Since 1996, the Special Rapporteur has undertaken visits to eleven African countries and made pertinent recommendations to the relevant state authorities on how to effectively protect the rights of persons deprived of their liberty. The visit to Ethiopia is scheduled to take place from 15 – 29 March 2004. During the visit the Special Rapporteur plans to hold talks with high ranking government officials and decision makers, especially those dealing with penal and penitentiary reforms in the country. The Special Rapporteur will also meet with local NGOs and other relevant individuals and institutions working in the country in the area of human rights in general and prisons in particular. A very important part of the Special Rapporteurs mission will be visits to prisons and places of detention in the country, which will include meetings with detainees and prisoners and discussions with junior prison officials. The Special Rapporteur invites journalists to a Press Conference to be held at the end of the mission on 29 March 2004 beginning from 10:00am at a venue to be announced later. For further information, please contact Mr. Moussa Gandega Press and Information Officer ACHPR PO Box 673 Banjul, The Gambia Tel: 220 392 962 Fax: 220 390 764 E-mail: press.officer@achpr.org Done in Banjul, The Gambia on 15 March 2004 49 Report of the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia 15 – 29 March 2004