A/HRC/14/19 having availed themselves of international procedures, for having provided legal assistance for this purpose and/or as relatives of victims of human rights violations. 1. Algeria 19. On 8 January 2009, an allegation letter was sent by the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, concerning Moussa Bourefis. Mr. Bourefis, who is a medical student and intern in obstetric gynaecology at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) in Constantine, had allegedly been the subject of intimidations following his meeting with the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in November 2008. Mr. Bourefis risked losing his internship at the hospital as a result. The pressure on the administration of the faculty and CHU in Constantine may have been designed to force him to cease his human rights activities for the families of the disappeared. 2. Colombia 20. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders visited Colombia from 7 to 18 September 2009, to assess the situation of human rights defenders in the country. She met with senior Government officials and a broad range of defenders in the capital and in four regions. 21. In her mission report, the Special Rapporteur stated that she “was notably very disturbed to learn that, in Barranquilla, just a few hours prior to the meeting she held with local defenders, threats were reportedly sent to the organizers of the meeting” (A/HRC/13/22/Add.3, para. 15). 3. Democratic Republic of the Congo 22. The Special Rapporteur on summary, arbitrary and extrajudicial executions undertook a fact-finding mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 5 to 15 October 2009. On 15 October, he sent a communication to the Government to protest against the authorities’ interference with his mission. In the communication, the Special Rapporteur indicated that when he travelled to Kisantu in Bas Congo on 13 October 2009, as part of his official mission to the country, he was prevented from speaking with witnesses who had witnessed the killings of large numbers of Bundu Dia Kongo (BDK) supporters in recent years. The Special Rapporteur further stated that this interference with his ability to carry out his official mission was apparently ordered by the Governor of the Province and carried out by the Mayor of Kisantu. The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that as soon as he left Kisantu, the person who had arranged the planned meeting for him was detained by the police. The return of the Special Rapporteur to Kisantu was required in order to secure his release. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur emphasized that he remained concerned about the security of the individual who was detained as well as that of the other witnesses. No response to this communication has been received to date. 4. Guatemala 23. Various indigenous organizations from Guatemala, including the Coordinadora Nacional de Viudas de Guatemala and the Movimiento de Jóvenes Mayas, as well as Maya Ixiles communities affected by hydroelectric plants and 12 communities affected by the cement works in San Juan Sacatepéquez, participated in the seventy-sixth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva in February 2010, during which they presented a report on the situation of the indigenous peoples and human rights defenders in Guatemala. Since this participation in the session, these organizations have GE.10-13228 7