UN experts on arbitrary detention to visit Mexico

GENEVA (14 September 2023) – The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will conduct an official visit to Mexico, from 18 to 29 September 2023, to assess the situation of deprivation of liberty in the country.

During the visit, the Working Group will visit various parts of the country including Mexico City, Nuevo León and Chiapas. They will meet Government representatives, human rights commissions, civil society organizations and other stakeholders. The expert delegation is composed of Matthew Gillett, Ganna Yudkivska and Miriam Estrada-Castillo.

The delegation will visit places of deprivation of liberty, including prisons, police stations and institutions for juveniles, migrants and people with psychosocial disabilities.

The experts will hold a press conference on 29 September at 13:00 local time in the Prebisch Conference Room of ECLAC México, located at the MCS Corporate Office, Blv. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra #193 floor 14, 11520 Mexico City, Mexico. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

The Working Group will present its report to the Human Rights Council in September 2024.

ENDS

For more information or press requests, contact: Ms. Tania García Galván (tania.garciagalvan@un.org/ +52 55 5438 1729). Press registration and details to attend the conference will be sent on September 19.

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 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. In September 2019, the Human Rights Council confirmed the scope of the Working Group's mandate and extended it for a further three-year period. The Working Group is comprised of five independent expert members from various regions of the world: Ms. Priya Gopalan (Chair-Rapporteur, Malaysia); Mr. Matthew Gillett (Vice Chair on Communications, New Zealand); Ms. Ganna Yudkivska (Vice-Chair on Follow-Up, Ukraine); Ms. Miriam Estrada-Castillo (Ecuador) and Mr. Mumba Malila (Zambia).

Database of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

The Working Group is 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.

UN Human Rights, Country Page — Mexico