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UN experts on enforced disappearances to visit Uruguay
06 July 2022
GENEVA/MONTEVIDEO (6 July 2022) – The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will conduct an official visit to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay from 7 to 14 July 2022.
The Working Group's delegation, which visits Uruguay at the invitation of the Government, will travel to Montevideo and meet state officials, the National Human Rights Institution, relatives and victims of enforced disappearance, their legal representatives, civil society organisations and individuals working on enforced disappearances.
The experts will visit excavation sites and pay tribute to the “Memorial in Remembrance of the Disappeared” at the Cerro of Montevideo.
The delegation – comprising human rights experts Mr. Luciano Hazan (Chair-Rapporteur), Ms. Aua Baldé (Vice-Chair) and Ms. Gabriella Citroni, will examine matters related to the Working Group’s mandate, particularly the rights of victims to truth, justice and reparation in the context of enforced disappearances; efforts towards the preservation of memory; and measures aimed at preventing enforced disappearances.
The experts will share their preliminary observations at a press conference on Thursday 14 July 2022 at 12:00PM local time at the Ibis Montevideo Rambla Hotel, La Cumparsita 1473, Montevideo 11217 Uruguay. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.
The Working Group will present a final report containing its findings and recommendations at the 54th session of the Human Rights Council in September 2023.
ENDS
The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Mr. Luciano Hazan (Argentina); and the Vice-Chair is Ms. Aua Balde (Guinea- Bissau); other members are Ms. Gabriella Citroni (Italy); Mr. Henrikas Mickevicius (Lithuania); and Mr. Angkhana Neelapaijit (Thailand).
The Working Group was established by the then UN Commission on Human Rights in 1980 to assist families in determining the fate and whereabouts of disappeared relatives. It 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. It also provides assistance in the implementation by States of the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
The Working Groups 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. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organization. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.
UN human rights, country page: Uruguay
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