UN Committee to livecast tribute to victims of enforced disappearances in virtual session

GENEVA (29 April 2020) - The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances will hold its upcoming session online in what will be the first complete virtual session conducted by a UN treaty body. The virtual session is an extraordinary measure to enable the Committee to continue its work during the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor the human right records of States parties.

The 18th session will begin on 4 May at 2pm Geneva time, and will be addressed, for the first time in the Committee’s history, directly by a victim of enforced disappearance. The woman, joining from Colombia, will pay tribute to all victims of enforced disappearances and share her views about the impact of the Committee’s work in her case. The opening and the victim’s testimony will be webcast at http://webtv.un.org/.

After that, Committee members will discuss in a closed meeting preparing for future reviews of Brazil and Panama, through the adoption of Lists of Issues.

The above countries are among 62 States parties to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. They are required to undergo regular reviews by the Committee of 10 independent international experts on how they are implementing it.

The meeting schedule and more information about the 18th session, including the Lists of Issues, are available online. For media accreditation, please click here.

ENDS

For media inquiries, please contact Vivian Kwok at +41 (0) 22 917 9362 / vkwok@ohchr.org or the UN Human Rights Office Media Section at +41 (0) 22 928 9855 / media@ohchr.org 
Background
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances monitors States parties’ adherence to the Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The Committee is made up of 10 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. 
Learn more with our animations on the Treaty Body system and on the Committee on Enforced Disappearances!