New Delhi — The newly appointed United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur for Burma will embark on his first visit to the Southeast Asian nation next week, a UN statement said.
 
Tomás Ojea Quintana, the incumbent UN Special Human Rights Rapporteur for Burma took over from Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro. He will make his first trip to military-ruled Burma from August 3 to 7, the UN said on Thursday.
 
Besides meeting a number of State officials, the Special Rapporteur has requested the Burmese regime to allow meetings with representatives of ethnic groups, political parties, religious groups, civil society, NGOs and members of the Human Rights Body, the UN statement said.
 
"He has also requested for a visit to Yangon [Rangoon] and areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis and travel to Kayin [Karen] State and Rakhine [Arakan] State," the UN statement said.
 
With Quintana making his first visit, Burma will host two UN envoys in the month of August - Quintana and UN undersecretary general for political affairs Ibrahim Gambari.
 
Gambari also plans to travel to Burma as a continuation of the UN's efforts to facilitate a political dialogue between the Burmese military junta, which is ruling the country since 1962, and the major opposition party led by detained Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
 
Gambari has visited Burma thrice since its rulers resorted to bloody violence to crackdown on peaceful protesters in September 2007. He was able to facilitate talks between the Junta's Liaison Minister and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
 
Observers, however, maintain a critical stand stating that the talks failed to continue and take off and did not usher in any tangible political changes.
 
Quintana's predecessor Professor Pinheiro, who last visited Burma in November 2007 following the junta's brutal crackdown on protesters, had maintained a critical stand against the junta for its appalling human rights violations.