51st Session of the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

 

ID WITH THE WG ON ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES

 

Geneva 20th September 2022

 

Statement by Portugal

 

90segundos

 

 

Mr. President,

Members of the Working Group

Portugal aligns with the EU statement.

Portugal thanks the WG for its Report, reiterates its support for its Mandate and pledges to continue to collaborate with the Working Group. We thank its members for their commitment.

2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Since its adoption, the Declaration has been regularly quoted in the case law of some of the main international human rights mechanisms, such as the European Court of Human Rights or the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Yet, we are worried that - according to the information provided in the WG’s Report for this Session of the Council - there is a high and growing number of enforced or involuntary disappearances worldwide and that 46,751 cases have not yet been solved.

While we recognize that new technologies are important in documenting and investigating human rights violations, we are also concerned about their use against human rights defenders, as referred in the WG’s Add.3 to the Report 51/31. We look forward for the results of the study on these matters, to be published by September 2023.

We call upon all States to collaborate with the Working Group and we urge those that have not yet signed or ratified the International Convention e to do so as a matter of urgency.

Thank you.   

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