Jakarta – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour began her five-day visit to Indonesia during which she is expected to visit Aceh and meet with the President.

A statement from the United Nations Office of the Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in Indonesia made available to The Jakarta Post said the visit was aimed at encouraging the government's efforts to promote and protect human rights at the national, regional and international levels.

The five-day visit will be the first for Arbour after she received an invitation from the government.

During her visit, Arbour is expected to hold talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalatta and other officials as well as civil society patrons.

On the first day of her visit Arbour will open the 14th annual workshop on the framework of regional cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights, in Bali. The workshop, which runs from Tuesday until Thursday, was jointly organized by the Foreign Ministry and the UN high commissioner for human rights.

After the workshop, Arbour is scheduled to conduct a field trip to Aceh, where she will collect first-hand data on the development of the peace process there and examine post-tsunami recovery efforts.

She will be involved in discussions with Yudhoyono during the last days of her visit.

Arbour is the second UN official to visit the country this year to inquire about the country's human rights condition. Early in June, Hina Jilani, the special representative of the UN secretary general on human rights defenders traveled to Indonesia.

During her visit, Jilani met with Indonesian human rights activists and officials to hear reports on the country's progress in improving its human rights protection. Jilani also raised concerns about the unsolved murder of prominent rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib.

Jilani is expected to report the results of her visit at a 2008 UN Human Rights Council meeting. She said that Indonesia had made improvements in human rights as indicated by the establishment of democratic institutions.