KATHMANDU: Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat is leaving for Geneva of Switzerland on Saturday to participate in the High-Level Segment of the thirty-fourth session of the United Nations Human Rights Council to be held on February 27 to March 3.

The Minister is leading the Nepali delegation which comprises senior officials from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the UN in Geneva, according to a press release issued by MoFA today.

Mahat is scheduled to address the session on February 28.

Mahat would also solicit support from the member states of the UN for Nepal’s candidature to the UN Human Rights Council for the term of 2018-2020, the elections for which would be held in New York in October-November this year, mentioned the statement.

On the sidelines of the session, he would have bilateral meetings with the Foreign Minister of Switzerland, the Minister for International Development of Australia, the Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, and the Federal Minister for Law and Justice of Pakistan, among others.

While in Geneva, Mahat would also meet the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).