GENEVA (2 March 2017) – Senegal, Cuba and Ecuador are due to be reviewed for the first time by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), which is meeting in Geneva from 6 to 17 March.

The Committee, which is composed of 10 international independent human rights experts, monitors implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Cuba, Ecuador and Senegal are among the current 56 States that have ratified the Convention and so are required to submit a report for review to the Committee.

The public sessions, which will be webcast at http: //webtv.un.org/, will take place on the following dates and times :

Cuba : 15:00 - 18:00 on 6 March ; 10:00 - 13:00 on 7 March

Senegal : 15:00 to 18:00 on 7 March ; 10:00 to 13:00 on 8 March

Ecuador : 15:00 to 18:00 on 8 March ; from 10:00 to 13:00 on 9 March

Location : Palais Wilson, 1st floor/ Conference Room.

Committee members will discuss a range of issues relating to the implementation of the Convention with the respective State delegations, and also hear from NGOs and national human rights institutions. More information, including the reports by Cuba, Ecuador and Senegal, can be found here.

The CED will publish its findings, known as concluding observations, here on 17 March.

ENDS

For media requests please contact :
Nicoleta Panta, +41(0) 22 9179310/npanta@ohchr.org

Media accreditation – click here.

Background

What is CED and why it matters ?

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations intended to prevent enforced disappearance. The text was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 December 2006 and came into force on 23 December 2010. As of December 2016, 56 States have ratified the Convention.

The ratification of the Convention by a State expresses its political will to end enforced disappearance and to protect its own citizens from this heinous practice.

If the principles of the Convention are fully implemented, the practice of enforced disappearance can be eradicated and people can be effectively protected from enforced disappearance all over the world.

This protection is essential for the citizens of those States which experienced the tragedy of disappearance in the past and/or continue to experience it in the present. The same protection is fundamental for the citizens of those States which did not experience enforced disappearance in their recent history as a preventive measure, as political regimes change and also democracy may turn in an oppressive regime.

The Convention matters for people in every country, as it defends the rights of the disappeared and their families, combats impunity and prevents new cases of enforced disappearance from occurring.

To find out more about the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, please go here.

 For the original publication of this news, please go to : http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21262&LangID=E#sthash.oW68bVoN.dpuf

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