Working Group on Use of Mercenaries: the Increasing Number of Private Military and Security Companies Operating in the Humanitarian Space Exacerbates the Risk of Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law
Council Concludes Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order
The Human Rights Council this morning held an interactive dialogue with the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, started an interactive dialogue with the Working Group on the use of mercenaries, and concluded its dialogue with the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order.
Henrikas Mickevicius, Vice-Chair of the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, said that the atrocious crime of enforced or involuntary disappearance continued to exist. Like COVID-19, when one variant of the virus seemed to be neutralised, another one appeared. In the same way, enforced disappearances continued to happen, taking new shapes and forms. He presented the thematic section of the report focused on enforced disappearances in the context of transnational transfers. The Working Group also presented as an addendum the follow-up to the recommendations made by the Working Group following its visit to the Gambia, from 12 to 19 June 2017 and Albania, from 5 to 12 December 2016.
In the discussion on enforced disappearances, speakers said that unfortunately enforced or involuntary disappearances continued to be a phenomenon that occurred in all regions of the world. They reaffirmed their commitment to prevent such practices and to support the victims and their families in their search for truth, justice and reparations. Some speakers said that the Working Group’s conclusions had proven to be unsubstantiated and urged the Working Group to verify the credibility of the sources, as required by the Code of Conduct of the Special Procedures.
Speaking in the discussion were: Lithuania on behalf of a group of countries, Egypt on behalf of a group of countries, Argentina on behalf of a group of countries, European Union, Greece, Liechtenstein, Japan, Armenia, Iraq, France, Egypt, Albania, Venezuela, Kenya, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, United States, Russian Federation, Morocco, Peru, Nepal, Namibia, Belgium, China, Cyprus, Croatia, Portugal, Libya, Pakistan, Sudan, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Serbia, Yemen, United Kingdom, Azerbaijan, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Tanzania, Lesotho, Colombia, Belarus, Tunisia, Gambia, Ethiopia, Organization of American States, Indonesia and Argentina.