UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION TO VISIT MEXICO FROM 27 OCTOBER TO 10 NOVEMBER 2002

25 October 2002





The United Nations Working Group on arbitrary detention will visit Mexico from 27 October to 10 November 2002 at the invitation of the Government.
During the field mission, the Group will visit several detention centres in the states of Mexico and Oaxaca, as well as in Acapulco, Chilpancingo and Iguala (state of Guerrero), Guadalajara (state of Jalisco), and Mexico City (Federal District). The delegation will be headed by Louis Joinet, the Working Group's Chairman/Rapporteur, and will include member Soledad Villagra de Biedermann, as well as support staff.
The Working Group will meet with Federal and State authorities, including members of the Secretariats for Foreign Affairs, the Interior, the Federal Attorney-General's Office, the Military Attorney-General's Office, the National Human Rights Commission, the National Indigenous Institute on Human Rights and members of the human rights committees of both chambers of the Mexican Congress. Its members will also hold discussions with representatives of non-governmental organizations, the Mexican Bar Association, witnesses and family members of persons in detention.
The findings of the visit will be published as part of the Working Group's report to the fifty-ninth session of the Commission on Human Rights to be held starting next March.
The Working Group was established in 1991 to investigate allegations of arbitrary deprivation of liberty. Its mandate was extended by the Commission in 1997 to cover the issue of administrative custody of asylum-seekers and immigrants. It has carried out fact-finding missions to Bahrain, Bhutan, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Peru and Viet Nam. Concerning the issue of immigrants and asylum seekers, the Working Group recently visited Australia and, previously, Romania and the United Kingdom.
The Working Group is composed of five independent experts appointed according to criteria governing equitable geographical distribution. In addition to Mr. Joinet (France), Chairman/Rapporteur, and Mrs. Villagra de Biedermann (Paraguay), its members are Leïla Zerroügui (Algeria), Vice-Chairperson; Tamás Bán (Hungary), and Seyyed Mohammad Hashemi (Iran).
For further information on the Working Group's mandate, please consult Fact Sheet No. 26 The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs26.htm



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