UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to review Iraq and Montenegro

GENEVA (3 September 2015) – Iraq and Montenegro are due to be reviewed by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), which is meeting in Geneva from 7 to 18 September.  

The Committee, which is composed of 10 international independent human rights experts, monitors implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Iraq and Montenegro are among the current 50 States Parties to the Convention and so are required to submit a report for review to the Committee.

The Committee will hold constructive dialogues with the respective State delegations and also hear from NGOs and national human rights institutions. The public sessions will be webcast at www.treatybodywebcast.org:
Iraq:  7 September from 15:00- 18:00 (16:00 – 19:00 in Baghdad); 8 September from   10:00 – 13:00 (11:00 – 14:00).
Montenegro: 8 September from 15:00 -18:00; 9 September from 10:00 -13:00.
Venue: Room XII, Palais des Nations, Geneva

Among the issues that may be discussed:

Iraq: Efforts to investigate acts that are tantamount to enforced disappearances reportedly committed by ISIL and associated groups; investigation of enforced disappearances allegedly committed by military personnel; allegations of enforced disappearances by militias with authorization, support or acquiescence of State officials; secret detention; compensation and/or reparation for enforced disappearances; search for mass graves; DNA databases.

Montenegro: Steps taken, results achieved to bring perpetrators of enforced disappearances to justice; measures to clarify fate and whereabouts of 61 persons reported missing in Montenegro; secret detention; procedures for seeking and obtaining compensation; measures to search for and identify children who are victims of enforced disappearance.

More information, including the reports by Iraq and Montenegro, the preliminary lists of the issues raised, and the written replies by the States parties, which form the basis of the dialogue, can be found at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=973&Lang=en. The CED will publish its concluding observations here on Friday 18 September.

A news conference to discuss the Committee’s findings is tentatively scheduled for 18 September at 13:15, Press Room 1, Palais des Nations, Geneva. 

ENDS

To find out more about the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, please visit: 
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CED/Pages/CEDIndex.aspx

For more information and media requests, please contact Ravina Shamdasani +41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org or Cecile Pouilly + 41 22 917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org

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