UN WORKING GROUP ON ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES CONCLUDES 85TH SESSION

26 July 2008


The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances concluded its 85th session, held from 24 to 26 July 2008 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Working Group was initially created to address the legacy of disappearances arising from authoritarian rule in Latin America. Today, almost 30 years after its creation, the Working Group held its session in Argentina, as an acknowledgment of the tireless efforts by civil society for truth and justice and to honour the memory of the thousands of people who disappeared in Argentina.

The Working Group examined 38 reported cases under its urgent action procedure. The members of the Working Group expressed deep concern that 30 of the new urgent action cases refer to alleged disappearances in Sri Lanka.

The Working Group also reviewed 290 newly-submitted cases of enforced disappearances and information on previously accepted cases from 31 countries, including Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Colombia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Yemen.

In addition, the Working Group reviewed seven general allegations, based on information from non-governmental organizations concerning reported obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in Bolivia, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Sudan and Thailand.

Meetings were held with NGOs and family members of the disappeared, as well as with representatives of the Government of Japan to exchange views on the phenomenon of enforced disappearances.

The Working Group was established by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1980 to assist families in determining the fate and whereabouts of disappeared relatives. The Working Group endeavours to establish a channel of communication between the families and the Governments concerned, to ensure that individual cases are investigated, with the objective of clarifying the whereabouts of persons who, having disappeared, are placed outside the protection of the law. In view of the Working Group's humanitarian mandate, clarification occurs when the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person is clearly established. The Working Group continues to address cases of disappearances until they are resolved.

The Working Group is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chairman-Rapporteur is Mr. Santiago Corcuera, and the other Expert-Members are Mr. Darko Gottlicher, Mr. Saied Rajaie Khorasani, Mr. Jeremy J. Sarkin and Mr. Stephen J. Toope.

For more information on the WGEID, please refer to the web site: http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/disappear/index.htm