UN Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic traveled to Crimea on Friday, March 21, to lay the groundwork for a human rights monitoring mission to the region, RIA Novosti reports.

UN Secretary General Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told journalists that Simonovic and his team “met in Simferopol with [Prime Minister] Sergei Aksyonov and [Parliament Speaker] Vladimir Konstantinov, as well as representatives of the ombudsperson, civil society, journalists and regional organizations.”

Simonovic previously said he had been unable to arrive in Crimea for security concerns earlier this week, but later received an official invitation to visit regional capital Simferopol.

Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which has a special status within the region, were added as subjects of the Russian Federation following a referendum Sunday in the Black Sea region, which saw over 96 percent of voters in the region back the motion to leave Ukraine and rejoin Russia.