UN experts on enforced disappearances to visit African Union

GENEVA (19 October 2023) – The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will conduct an official visit to the African Union organs with judicial and human rights mandates and other regional bodies from 21 to 26 October 2023.

The Working Group, represented by Aua Baldé and Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez, will engage with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ rights in the context of its 77th Ordinary Session in Arusha, Tanzania.

During their visit, the experts will meet with the Commissioners and participate in a public session.

They will meet with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the East African Court of Justice, as well as with all actors gathering around the 77th session of the Commission, including Government representatives and civil society organisations.

The experts will conduct virtual meetings with the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Economic Community of West African States – Community Court of Justice before presenting preliminary observations in November 2023.

The Working Group will present its report to the Human Rights Council in September 2024.

*The experts: Aua Baldé (Chair-Rapporteur), Gabriella Citroni (Vice-Chair), Grażyna Baranowska, Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez, Angkhana Neelapaijit, Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances.

The experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.