Media advisories Special Procedures

Enforced disappearances: UN expert group to review 337 cases from 23 countries

05 May 2023

GENEVA (5 May 2023) – The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will hold its 130thsession from 8 to 12 May 2023 to examine 337 cases in 23 countries. Cases tantamount to disappearances perpetrated by non-State actors exercising Government-like functions or de facto control over a territory and population will also be discussed during the session.

The five independent experts will hold meetings with relatives of forcibly disappeared persons, State representatives, civil society groups and other stakeholders to exchange information on individual cases and structural issues and challenges related to enforced disappearances.

The experts will also examine allegations received regarding obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (‘the Declaration’), such as regressive legislation and practices, or systemic failures in addressing cases of enforced disappearance, notably in the areas of truth, justice, memory and reparation.

The Working Group will also discuss internal matters and future activities and its thematic focus for 2024 on enforced disappearances in the context of elections.

The appointment of Ms. Ana Lorena Delgadillo Perez as a new member of the Working Group, effective 1 May 2023, represents a historic moment for the mandate as it is the first time in more than 40 years that the mechanism counts on five women as experts.

The decisions made by the Working Group during the 130thsession will be reflected in its next post-sessional report.

The sessions of the Working Group are held in private.

The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearancesis comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Ms. Aua Baldé (Guinea-Bissau)and the Vice-Chair is Ms. Gabriella Citroni (Italy); other members are Ms. Grażyna Baranowska (Poland);Ms. Ana Lorena Delgadillo Perez (Mexico); and Ms. 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.

Learn how to submit a case to the Working Group.

Learn more about the work of the Working Group.

See the new revised Fact Sheet on enforced disappearances

For more information and media requests, please contact Mr. Ugo Cedrangolo: ugo.cedrangolo1@un.org or hrc-wg-eid@un.org

For media enquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) and Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org).

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.

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