A/HRC/45/13 B. Meetings 20. During the period under review, representatives of Governments attended sessions of the Working Group – specifically, the Governments of Croatia (120th session), Israel (119th session), Japan (119th and 120th sessions, and during the remote meeting in May 2020), Libya (119th session), Morocco (119th session), Pakistan (120th session), the Philippines (119th session), Portugal (119th and 120th sessions) and Turkmenistan (120th session). A number of informal meetings were also held with representatives from various States. The Working Group expresses its appreciation to those Governments for the meetings, and emphasizes the importance of cooperation and dialogue. C. Communications 21. During the reporting period, the Working Group transmitted 699 new cases of enforced disappearance to 26 States. 22. The Working Group transmitted 105 of the above-mentioned cases under the urgent action procedure to 14 States. 23. In September 2019, the Working Group announced that it would start documenting violations tantamount to enforced disappearance perpetrated by non-State actors (A/HRC/42/40, para. 94). 24. During the reporting period, the Working Group transmitted 21 cases tantamount to enforced disappearance, namely to the Libyan National Army – Libya (4 cases); to the selfproclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” – Ukraine (8 cases); to the de facto authorities in Sana’a – Yemen (5 cases); and to Hamas – State of Palestine (4 cases).2, 3 25. The Working Group clarified 205 cases in 16 States. Of the 205 cases, 141 were clarified on the basis of information provided by Governments and 64 on the basis of information provided by sources. 26. The Working Group transmitted six prompt intervention communications addressing allegations of harassment of and/or threats to human rights defenders and relatives of disappeared persons in Algeria (1), Belarus (1), Mexico (1), Pakistan (2) and the Philippines (1). 27. It transmitted 28 urgent appeals concerning persons who had been arrested, detained, abducted or otherwise deprived of their liberty or who had been forcibly disappeared or were at risk of disappearance in Albania (1), Bangladesh (1), China (6), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (1), Egypt (2), France (1), India (1), the Islamic Republic of Iran (3), Iraq (1), Ireland (1), the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (1), Myanmar (1), the Philippines (1), Saudi Arabia (1), Singapore (1), Thailand (1), Turkey (2), the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (1) and Viet Nam (1). 28. The Working Group transmitted 42 joint allegation letters, with other special procedure mandate holders, concerning Algeria (1), Bahrain (2), Belarus (1), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1), Brazil (1), Burkina Faso (1), Cameroon (1), Chile (1), China (3), Colombia (1), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (1), Egypt (2), the Islamic Republic of Iran (2), Iraq (1), Jordan (1), Lebanon (1), Libya (1), Mexico (3), Nepal (1), Paraguay (1), the Republic of Korea (1), Saudi Arabia (1), Sri Lanka (1), Thailand (1), Tunisia (1), Turkey (3), Turkmenistan (1), the United Republic of Tanzania (1), the United States of America (1) and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (1). Three letters were 2 3 The reported acts tantamount to enforced disappearance allegedly took place in the Gaza Strip, part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In doing so, the Working Group acts pursuant to its humanitarian mandate to address a growing protection gap affecting disappeared individuals and their relatives who have been denied information on the fate and the whereabouts of their loved ones. In implementing this practice, the Working Group underscores that the cases transmitted to non-State actors do not in any way imply the expression of any opinion concerning the legal status of any territory, city or area, or of its authorities. 5