UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to review Serbia, Gambia, Central African Republic, Belgium and Malta

GENEVA  - The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) will hold its upcoming session from 17 March – 4 April, during which it will review Serbia, Gambia, Central African Republic, Belgium and Malta.

The session will begin with a public meeting, including a space of tribute to victims of enforced disappearance, featuring the testimony of Mr Dabbagh, whose brother and nephew disappeared in Syria in 2013, and whose fight for justice allowed the activation of the principle of international jurisdiction before French courts.

The above five countries are among the 77 States parties to the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. They are required to undergo periodic reviews of their reports by the Committee of 10 independent international experts on how they are implementing the Convention.

The Committee, which has received respective country reports and other submissions from non-governmental organisations, will discuss a range of issues with the five State delegations through public dialogues on the following dates at Geneva time:

Serbia
18 March 10:00 - 13:00

Gambia
18 March 15:00 – 18:00
19 March 10:00 – 13:00

Central African Republic
19 March 15:00 – 18:00
20 March 10:00 – 13:00

Belgium
24 March 10:00 - 13:00

Malta
24 March 15:00 – 18:00
25 March 10:00 – 13:00

In addition, it will review the replies to stand-alone requests for information that the Committee transmitted to Argentina and Peru about developments of concern related to the search for disappeared people and the investigation of enforced disappearances.

The Committee will also review its periodic report on urgent actions. As of 12 March, the Committee has registered a total of 2,000 cases under its urgent action procedure.

The Committee will also hold its first ever hearing on an individual complaint against Mexico. The hearing will be held closed door. It will also consider and adopt the report for its visit to Colombia in November 2024.

The above public dialogues on country reviews will be held in the First Floor Conference Room, Palais Wilson, Geneva. All public meetings are open to accredited press and livecast on UN Web TV. More information about the session, including reports submitted by the States and the full schedule of meetings, is available on the session page.