Arbitrary Detention: UN expert group releases its Opinions on 29 detention cases from 14 countries

GENEVA (3 March 2016) – The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released today the 18 Opinions concerning 29 individuals in detention in 14 countries. The Opinions were adopted by the expert group during its last session held in Geneva from 30 November to 4 December 2015.

The Working Group has a mandate to investigate allegations of individuals being deprived of their liberty in an arbitrary way or inconsistently with international human rights standards, and to recommend remedies such as release from detention and compensation, when appropriate.

The advance unedited version of these opinions can be found at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Detention/Pages/Opinionsadoptedin2015.aspx

The individuals deprived of liberty subject to these Opinions include:

To access all opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention since it was stablished in 1991, log on to:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Detention/Pages/OpinionsadoptedbytheWGAD.aspx

The Working Group is comprised of five independent expert members from various regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Mr. Seong-Phil Hong (Republic of Korea). Other members of the Working Group are: Mr. José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez (Vice-Chair on Communications, Mexico), Mr. Sètondji Roland Jean-Baptiste Adjovi (Vice-Chair on Follow-up, Benin), Mr. Vladimir Tochilovsky (Ukraine) and Ms. Leigh Toomey (Australia).

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 to cover the issue of administrative custody of asylum-seekers and immigrants. On 26 September 2013, the Human Rights Council extended the Working Group’s mandate for a further three-year period. Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Detention/Pages/WGADIndex.aspx

The Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

For more information and media requests please contact Christophe Peschoux (+ 41 22 917 9381 / cpeschoux@ohchr.org) or write to wgad@ohchr.org.

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)  

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