28 July 2016
Note by the Secretariat
The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances was established by resolution 20 (XXXVI) of 29 February 1980 of the Commission on Human Rights. The mandate was most recently extended by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 27/1 of 25 September 2014.
The mandate of the Working Group is to assist families of disappeared persons to ascertain the fate and whereabouts of their disappeared relatives, to assist and monitor
States’ 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 55,273 cases to 107 States. The number of cases under active consideration stands at 44,159 in a total of 91 States. During the reporting period, 161 cases were clarified.
The present report reflects the activities of and communications and cases examined by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances covering the period 16 May 2015 to 18 May 2016. It also includes a section with preliminary observations on the issue of enforced disappearances in the context of migration.
