GENEVA – While previously announced on 29 November and scheduled to take place from 2 to 12 December, the visit to Türkiye of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, was postponed on 29 November at the request of the Government "due to reasons beyond control". "Despite being disappointed in the Government"s last-minute postponement, I reiterate my willingness to continue to collaborate with the Government to find mutually acceptable dates for the visit to take place in the near future," the expert said. Marcos A. Orellana is the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. UN Human Rights country page: Türkiye For more information and media requests please contact the mandate’s Secretariat: hrc-sr-toxicshr@un.org For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org), or Seif Magango (seif.magango@un.org) Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts