A/HRC/7/2
page 91
Number of cases on which the
Government has replied
0
General allegation
Prompt intervention letter
Working Group request for a visit
Multiple replies on some cases
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Number of cases of possible clarification
by Government (6-month rule)
N/A
Government response
Government response
Government response
N/A
N/A
N/A
420. There was no activity during the period under review. A summary of the situation in the
country appears in the 2005 report (E/CN.4/2006/56).
IV. AREAS OF CONCERN, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
421. In 2007, the Working Group transmitted 629 newly reported cases of disappearance
to 29 Governments, 84 of which allegedly occurred during 2007. The Working Group used
the urgent action procedure for 65 of these cases, which allegedly occurred within the
three months preceding the receipt of the report by the Working Group. During the
reporting period, the Working Group was able to clarify 224 cases of disappearance. The
Working Group discontinued 6 cases. The Working Group is grateful for the cooperation
received from a number of Governments. Nevertheless, it remains concerned that, of the
78 States with outstanding cases, some Governments (Burundi, Guinea, Israel,
Mozambique, Namibia and Seychelles, as well as the Palestinian Authority), have never
replied to the Working Group’s communications. Some Governments provide responses
that do not contain relevant information. The Working Group urges those Governments to
fulfil their obligations under the Declaration, the resolutions of the General Assembly, the
Commission on Human Rights and its successor, the Human Rights Council. The
cooperation of Governments is indispensable to discovering the fate or whereabouts of
disappeared persons around the globe.
422. The Working Group is still very concerned about the phenomenon of underreporting.
The Working Group considers that cases of disappearances are happening in certain parts
of the world, without being reported to the Working Group. This is owing to a variety of
reasons, including that in a number of countries, particularly in those which have been
through internal armed conflict, national institutions, including the judicial system, as well
as security forces have collapsed. The underreporting phenomenon may also be due to
conditions of poverty, lack of effective civil society organizations and activities, policies
limiting the activities of NGOs, harassment of human rights defenders, prosecutors and
judges, families and victims of disappearances. The Working Group strongly urges States
to establish solid legal frameworks that guarantee NGOs to undertake their work freely.
423. In various cases, countries that have gone through or are going through a difficult
situation of internal disorder or with high rates of criminality, sometimes use the armed
forces to undertake police activities, under the excuse that the police forces are incapable of
coping with the maintenance of public order. The Working Group is convinced that the
duties of the armed forces are different from those of the police force. In a large number of
cases of reported disappearances worldwide, the armed forces themselves are reported to
be responsible for the disappearances.
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