A/HRC/45/13
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
7 August 2020
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Forty-fifth session
14 September–2 October 2020
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Enforced or involuntary disappearances
Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances*, **
Summary
The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances was established
pursuant to resolution 20 (XXXVI) of the Commission on Human Rights and its mandate
was most recently extended by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 36/6.
The mandate of the Working Group is to assist families of disappeared persons to
ascertain the fate and whereabouts of their disappeared relatives; and to assist States and
monitor their compliance with their obligations deriving from the Declaration on the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and to provide States with
assistance in the prevention and eradication of enforced disappearances.
Since its inception in 1980, the Working Group has transmitted a total of 58,606
cases to 109 States. The number of cases under active consideration that have not yet been
clarified, closed or discontinued stands at 46,271 in a total of 92 States. During the
reporting period, 205 cases were clarified.
The present report reflects the activities of and communications and cases examined
by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances from 23 May 2019 to
15 May 2020.
* Agreement was reached to publish the present report after the standard publication date owing to
circumstances beyond the submitter’s control.
** The annexes to the present report are reproduced as received, in the language of submission only.
GE.20-10543(E)
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