GENEVA (16 September 2022) – The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will hold its 128th session from 19 to 28 September 2022 to examine 696 cases from 21 countries. In the spirit of its humanitarian mandate, the Working Group will also review allegations received concerning acts tantamount to enforced disappearances perpetrated by non-state actors, and document these cases. The five independent experts will hold meetings with relatives of forcibly disappeared persons, State representatives, civil society groups and other stakeholders to exchange information on individual cases and on structural issues and challenges related to enforced disappearances. The Working Group will also hold its annual joint meeting with the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, on 21 September 2022. During the session, the experts will examine allegations received regarding obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, such as regressive legislation and practices, or systemic failures in addressing cases of enforced disappearance, notably in the areas of truth and justice. The Working Group will also discuss internal matters and future activities, such as the envisaged country visits, as well as its next reports to the Human Rights Council, including its upcoming study on new technologies and enforced disappearances. The session of the Working Group will coincide with the presentation of its annual report to the 51stsession of the Human Rights Council on 20 September 2022. The Working Group will also report to the Human Rights Council on its country visit to Cyprus and its thematic study on the 1992 Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. On Friday 23 September 2022, the Working Group will hold a public event marking the 30th anniversary of the Declaration, which is the subject of its thematic annual report. The decisions made by the Working Group during the 128th session will be reflected in its next post-sessional report. The sessions of the Working Group are held in private. The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances comprises five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Mr. Luciano Hazan (Argentina); and the Vice-Chair is Ms. Aua Baldé (Guinea- Bissau); other members are Ms. Grażyna Baranowska, Ms. Gabriella Citroni and Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit. The Working Group was established by the then UN Commission on Human Rights in 1980 to assist families in determining the fate and whereabouts of disappeared relatives. It endeavours to establish a channel of communication between the families and the Governments concerned, to ensure that individual cases are investigated, with the objective of clarifying the whereabouts of persons who, having disappeared, are placed outside the protection of the law. It also provides assistance in the implementation by States of the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organization. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work. Learn how to submit a case to the Working Group. Learn more about the work of the Working Group and on the complementarity of the mandates of the WGEID and the CED. For more information and media requests, please contact Mr. Ugo Cedrangolo: ugo.cedrangolo1@un.org or ohchr-wgeid@un.org For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact Renato Rosario De Souza (renato.rosariodesouza@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org) Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts. Concerned about the world we live in? Then STAND UP for someone’s rights today. #Standup4humanrights and visit the web page at http://www.standup4humanrights.org