A/HRC/45/13 Annex IV Press releases and statements 1. On 4 June 2019, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release condemning attacks on reintegrated former combatants in Colombia and urging the Government of Colombia to honour the security guarantees provided through the 2016 peace process. 41 2. On 18 June 2019, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release calling for the liberation from detention of Mauritanian blogger and human rights defender Cheikh Ould Mohamed M’kheitir.42 3. On 21 August 2019, for the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release calling on States to do more to stop hate crimes and to promote interfaith initiatives.43 4. On 22 August 2019, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release calling on the Government of India to end the crackdown imposed in India-administered Kashmir on freedom of expression, access to information and peaceful protests, while expressing concern that the measures would exacerbate tensions in the region.44 5. On 27 August 2019, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release expressing serious concern at the appointment of Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva as the chief of the army of Sri Lanka, and urging the Government to advance long overdue reforms of the security sector and to investigate past abuses.45 6. On 29 August 2019, to commemorate the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Working Group, together with the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, issued a press release calling on States to act urgently to search for migrants who had been subjected to enforced disappearance, and to investigate such crimes.46 7. On 11 September 2019, the Working Group issued a press release after presenting its annual report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/42/40), urging States to stop turning a blind eye to States that orchestrate enforced disappearances. 47 8. On 24 September 2019, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release calling on China to immediately end the harassment and surveillance of prominent human rights lawyer, Jiang Tianyong. 9. On 20 November 2019, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release criticizing Egypt over the ongoing detention of lawyer and human rights defender Ibrahim Metwally, despite him having been cleared in court of all accusations against him. 10. On 20 November 2019 the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release calling on Turkey to ensure the safety and security of Lisa Smith and her infant child, both Irish nationals, who were transferred to Turkish custody from a displacement camp in the north-east of the Syrian Arab Republic. 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 50 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24673&LangID=E. See www.ohchr.org/FR/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24705&LangID=F. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24906&LangID=E. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24909&LangID=E. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24923&LangID=E. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24927&LangID=E. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24973&LangID=E.