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22 October 1999
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HR/99/100
22 October 1999
UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP ON ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES TO VISIT SRI LANKA
The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will visit Sri Lanka next week to evaluate progress made in the implementation of recommendations submitted to the Government following earlier visits to the country. The panel of experts also intends to examine the overall situation regarding the phenomenon of enforced disappearances
After visiting Sri Lanka in 1991 and 1992, the Working Group recommended, among other things, that the Government should establish a mechanism to clarify the fate and whereabouts of the more than 12000 outstanding cases of disappearance reported to the panel.
The experts also asked the Government to pursue the clarification of disappearances even more vigorously and to prosecute more rigorously those responsible for such acts.
During the visit, set to last from 24 to 29 October, the Working Group will meet with, among other Government officials, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Minister of Justice, the Secretary of Defence, the Attorney General, the Commanders of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, the Chairperson of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry and the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission. The Working Group will also meet with various non-governmental organizations and with private individuals.
The Working Group was established by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1980 to assist the relatives of disappeared persons in ascertaining their fate and whereabouts and to act as a channel for communication between the families and the governments concerned.
The panel also monitors the compliance of States with their obligations under the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 1992.
The Working Group has previously carried out fact-finding missions to Guatemala, Peru, thePhilippines,Turkey and Yemen.
22 October 1999
UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP ON ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES TO VISIT SRI LANKA
The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will visit Sri Lanka next week to evaluate progress made in the implementation of recommendations submitted to the Government following earlier visits to the country. The panel of experts also intends to examine the overall situation regarding the phenomenon of enforced disappearances
After visiting Sri Lanka in 1991 and 1992, the Working Group recommended, among other things, that the Government should establish a mechanism to clarify the fate and whereabouts of the more than 12000 outstanding cases of disappearance reported to the panel.
The experts also asked the Government to pursue the clarification of disappearances even more vigorously and to prosecute more rigorously those responsible for such acts.
During the visit, set to last from 24 to 29 October, the Working Group will meet with, among other Government officials, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Minister of Justice, the Secretary of Defence, the Attorney General, the Commanders of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, the Chairperson of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry and the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission. The Working Group will also meet with various non-governmental organizations and with private individuals.
The Working Group was established by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1980 to assist the relatives of disappeared persons in ascertaining their fate and whereabouts and to act as a channel for communication between the families and the governments concerned.
The panel also monitors the compliance of States with their obligations under the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 1992.
The Working Group has previously carried out fact-finding missions to Guatemala, Peru, thePhilippines,Turkey and Yemen.