Working Group on Disappearances to discuss Sri Lanka

The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is to discuss Sri Lanka at its 109th session in Geneva.

The Working Group will hold its 109th session from 9 to 18 May to examine almost 800 cases from 40 different countries.

The Group's five independent human rights experts will also meet relatives of those who have disappeared, State authorities from different countries and civil society representatives to exchange information on individual cases and the situation of this heinous crime.

The Working Group will discuss various thematic issues related to enforced disappearances, possible future visits, and adopt its annual report.

The experts will discuss the reports on their visits to Sri Lanka and Turkey. It will also discuss the follow-up reports on past visits to Congo and Pakistan. In addition the UN expert group will examine allegations received about obstacles to the implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

The Working Group's 109th session is held in private. A press statement will be issued at the end of the session, on Wednesday 18 May.

(Colombo Gazette)