GENEVA, Switzerland, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A day after the country swore in a new president, the United Nations said it was sending a human rights envoy to Kyrgyzstan to investigate ethnic violence.
Juan Mendez, U.N. special envoy on torture, announced Friday he was headed Monday to Kyrgyzstan for a weeklong visit to look into ethnic violence that occurred in 2010.
Mendez said the aim of his visit is to investigate circumstances surrounding the violence, promote peace and reconciliation and ensure those responsible for the violence are held accountable.
An April 2010 coup led former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee to Belarus. Following the coup, at least 470 people were killed in ethnic conflicts near Osh and Jalal Abad. The visit by Mendez comes at the invitation of the Kyrgyz government.
Kyrgyzstan had presidential elections Oct. 30. Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev secured 63 percent of the vote. Atambayev was sworn into office Thursday.
"Today we're opening a new page in the history of Kyrgyzstan," he was quoted by the BBC as saying after the inauguration. "The people expect a fair rule from us. Otherwise they will not forgive."
Human rights groups noted Bishkek has a long road ahead in healing rifts between ethnic Uzbek and Kyrgyz communities.
