UN WORKING GROUP ON ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES TO VISIT AND HOLD 88TH SESSION IN MOROCCO

19 June 2009

The Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances will visit Morocco from 22 to 25 June 2009. The purpose of the visit is to collect information which may lead to the clarification of outstanding cases of enforced disappearances in the country as well as to take stock the experience of the Equality and Reconciliation Commission. During the visit the experts will meet with Government officials, representatives of the national human rights institution, UN representatives and civil society actors and will visit former detention centers where a number of cases of enforced disappearance took place in the past.

Upon invitation of the Government of Morocco, the Working Group will also hold its 88th session in Rabat, from 26 to 28 June 2009. During the session it will review some 150 newly submitted cases of enforced disappearances as well as recently submitted information on previously accepted cases from 35 countries. The experts will hold meetings with Government delegations and civil society representatives to exchange views on individual cases under consideration and on the phenomenon of enforced disappearances.

The Working Group is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chairman-Rapporteur is Santiago Corcuera (Mexico) and the other Expert-Members are Darko Gottlicher (Croatia), Olivier de Frouville (France), Saied Rajaie Khorasani (Iran) and Jeremy Sarkin (South Africa).

For additional information on the mandate of the Working Group:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/disappear/index.htm

___________

For use of the information media; not an official record