UN WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION TO HOLD FIFTY-FOURTH SESSION FROM 4 TO 8 MAY

1 May 2009

GENEVA -- The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will be holding its fifty-fourth session in Geneva from 4 to 8 May 2009.

The Working Group will examine cases of alleged arbitrary detention, analyse thematic and country-related issues, and discuss cooperation with other mandate-holders of the special procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Working Group will also hold meetings with Government delegations and engage with representatives of non-governmental organizations.

The Working Group was established by the former Commission on Human Rights in 1991 to investigate instances of alleged arbitrary deprivation of liberty. Its mandate was clarified and extended by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1997/50 to cover the issue of administrative custody of asylum-seekers and immigrants. The Human Rights Council, by its resolution 6/4 adopted on 28 September 2007, confirmed the scope of the Working Group's mandate and extended it for a further three-year period.

The Working Group is composed of Ms. Manuela Carmena Castrillo (Spain) (Chairperson-Rapporteur), Mr. El Hadji Malick Sow (Senegal) (Vice-Chairperson), Mr. Roberto Garretón (Chile), Mr. Aslan Abashidze (Russian Federation), Ms. Shaheen Sardar Ali (Pakistan).


For more information about the Working Group, please consult OHCHR Fact-Sheet N° 26 or visit the following internet address:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/detention/index.htm


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