As part of their official duties, UN Special Rapporteurs send “communications” to national governments when allegations of serious human rights abuses arise. Communications are classified as urgent appeals (UA), allegation letters (AL), joint urgent appeals (JUA) and joint allegation letters (JAL).
These communications raise concerns about a specific human rights issue, lay out the information that the UN has received concerning the issue, and request further information from the State. Communications are often signed by multiple Special Rapporteurs or UN experts, depending on the subject of the allegation(s).
States are invited to respond to the communication. This document contains a list of all communications – with links to the communications themselves – sent by Maina Kiai’s office between March 1, 2014, and February 28, 2015. Country replies are also referenced and available via links. The report also contains Mr. Kiai’s observations on the communications and responses received from States.
The document contains portions in English, French and Spanish, depending on the Member State involved.
It is available via the links below.