Aadel Collection

Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

          
          UNITED
          NATIONS
          Economic and Social
          GENERAL
          Council
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          28 December 1998
          Original: ENGLISH
          COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
          Fifty-fifth session
          Item 11 (b) of the provisional agenda
          CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING QUESTIONS OF:
          DISAPPEARANCES AND SUMMARY EXECUTIONS
          Report of the Workino Group on Enforced
          or Involuntary Disappearances
          E
          GE.98-05310 (E)
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 2
          Introduction .
          CONTENTS
          Paragraphs Page
          1- 8 4
          I. ACTIVITIES OF THE WORKING GROUP ON ENFORCED OR
          INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES IN 1998
          A. Meetings and missions of the Working Group .
          B. Communications . .
          C. Methods of work
          II. INFORMATION CONCERNING ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY
          DISAPPEARANCES IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES REVIEWED BY
          THE WORKING GROUP, AND THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
          Afghanistan . . .
          Algeria
          Angola
          Argentina
          Bangladesh
          Bolivia
          Bosnia and Herzegovina
          Brazil
          Burkina Faso . . . .
          Burundi
          Cambodia
          Cameroon
          Chad
          Chile
          China
          Colombia
          Croatia
          Cyprus
          Democratic Republic
          Dominican Republic
          Ecuador
          Egypt . . .
          El Salvador
          Equatorial
          Eritrea . .
          Ethiopia . .
          Greece . . .
          Guatemala .
          Guinea . . .
          Haiti . . .
          Honduras . .
          India . . .
          Indonesia .
          Iran (Islamic
          Iraq . . . .
          Israel . . .
          . 9- 15 5
          . 16 - 19 6
          . 20 - 22 7
          23 - 26 7
          27- 34 8
          35- 38 9
          39- 44 10
          45 - 47 11
          48 - 50 12
          51- 53 12
          54- 56 13
          57- 59 13
          60- 63 13
          64 - 68 14
          69 - 71 15
          72 - 74 15
          75- 78 15
          79- 81 16
          82 - 90 17
          91- 93 18
          94 19
          Congo 95 - 98 19
          99 - 101 20
          102 - 105 20
          106 - 109 21
          110 - 115 21
          116 - 118 22
          119 - 121 23
          122 - 125 23
          126 - 129 24
          130 - 133 24
          134 - 136 25
          137 - 139 25
          140 - 145 26
          146 - 154 26
          155 - 161 28
          162 - 164 30
          165 - 170 30
          171 - 173 32
          of the
          of)
          Guinea
          Republic
        
          
          CONTENTS ( continued )
          E / CN. 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 3
          Paragraphs
          Page
          Kuwait
          Lao People's Democratic
          Lebanon
          Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
          Malaysia
          Mauritania
          Mexico
          Morocco
          Mozambique
          Nepal
          Nicaragua
          Nigeria
          Pakistan
          Paraguay
          Peru
          Philippines . . . .
          Russian Federation
          Rwanda
          Saudi Arabia . . . .
          Seychelles
          South Africa . . . .
          Sri Lanka
          Sudan
          Syrian Arab Republic
          Tajikistan
          Togo
          Turkey
          Uganda
          Ukraine
          Uruguay
          Uzbekistan
          Venezuela . . . .
          Yemen . . . . .
          Palestinian Authority
          174 -
          . . . . 177 -
          . . . . 180 -
          . . . . . . 186 -
          . . . . . . . 189 -
          . . . . . 194 -
          . . 197 -
          . . . 207 -
          . . . 212 -
          . . . 215 -
          221 -
          224 -
          227 -
          232 -
          235 -
          240 -
          254 -
          258 -
          262 -
          264 -
          267 -
          270 -
          287 -
          291 -
          295 -
          298 -
          301 -
          305 -
          309 -
          312 -
          317 -
          320 -
          323 -
          326 -
          III. COUNTRIES IN WHICH ALL REPORTED CASES OF
          DISAPPEARANCE HAVE BEEN CLARIFIED
          United Arab Emirates
          IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
          V. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT
          i. Decisions on individual cases taken by the Working Group
          during 1998
          ii. Statistical summary: Cases of enforced or involuntary
          disappearances reported to the Working Group
          between 1980 and 1998
          60
          Republic
          176
          179
          185
          188
          193
          196
          206
          211
          214
          220
          223
          226
          231
          234
          239
          253
          257
          261
          263
          266
          269
          286
          290
          294
          297
          300
          304
          308
          311
          316
          319
          322
          325
          328
          32
          33
          33
          34
          35
          35
          36
          37
          38
          38
          39
          40
          40
          41
          41
          42
          45
          45
          46
          46
          47
          47
          51
          51
          52
          52
          53
          53
          54
          54
          55
          55
          56
          56
          56
          57
          59
          329
          330 - 339
          340
          Annexes
          64
        
          
          E / CN. 4/1999 / 62
          page 4
          Introduction
          1. The present report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
          Disappearances is submitted pursuant to Commission on Human Rights
          resolution 1998/40, entitled uQuestion of enforced disappearances”. 1/
          In addition to the specific tasks entrusted to the Working Group by the
          Commission in this resolution, the Group has also taken into account other
          mandates stemming from a number of resolutions adopted by the Commission 21
          entrusted to all special rapporteurs and working groups, all of which have
          been given due attention and consideration by the Working Group in the course
          of 1998.
          2. In addition to its original mandate, which is to act as a channel of
          communication between the families of disappeared persons and the Governments
          concerned, with a view to ensuring that sufficiently documented and clearly
          identified individual cases are investigated and the whereabouts of the
          disappeared persons clarified, the Working Group has been entrusted by the
          Commission with various other tasks. In particular, the Working Group is
          to monitor States' compliance with their obligations deriving from the
          Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
          (hereafter referred to as the Declaration) . The Working Group has taken the
          Declaration into account, in particular, in adopting observations on
          individual countries. As last year, these country-specific observations have
          been prepared on all countries with more than 50 alleged cases of
          disappearance, or where more than 5 cases were reported during the period
          under review.
          3. As in previous years, the Working Group has continued to apply the
          urgent action procedure in cases that allegedly occurred within the
          three months preceding the receipt by the Group of the report. This year the
          Working Group sent urgent action appeals in respect of 209 cases to the
          Governments of the following countries: Algeria, Cambodia, China, Colombia,
          Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia,
          Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Sudan,
          Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Yemen.
          4. The total number of cases transmitted by the Working Group to
          Governments since the Group's inception stands at 48,770. The total number
          of cases being kept under active consideration as they have not yet been
          clarified now stands at 45,825. The number of countries with outstanding
          cases of alleged disappearance was 69 in 1998. During the period under
          review, the Working Group received some 1,015 new cases of disappearance
          in 31 countries, 240 of which allegedly occurred in 1998.
          5. The Working Group regrets that out of the 69 countries with unclarified
          cases, the Governments of 32 countries, i.e. almost half, did not communicate
          with the Group.
          6. As in the past, the present report reflects only communications or cases
          examined before the last day of the third annual session of the Working Group,
          which was 4 December 1998. Urgent action cases which may have to be dealt
        
          
          E / CN. 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 5
          with between that date and the end of the year, as well as communications
          received from Governments and processed after 4 December 1998, will be
          reflected in the Working Group's next report.
          7. Unfortunately, owing to serious limitations in its resources, the
          Working Group has not been able to include in the present report some very
          important sections, such as comments on the draft international convention on
          the prevention and punishment of enforced disappearances and on the
          implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from
          Enforced Disappearances. Neither has it been possible to include observations
          in the country chapter.
          8. The Working Group has, because of budgetary constraints this past year,
          faced serious shortages in the staff servicing its mandate, rendering it
          difficult for the Group to complete all aspects of its mandate in a
          satisfactory manner. Nevertheless, the Working Group wishes to express its
          appreciation to its secretariat which, despite its vastly diminished size, has
          enabled the Group to carry out its mandate with regard to seeking the
          whereabouts of disappeared persons, to undertake two field missions and to
          organize and prepare its three annual sessions. Nevertheless, the Working
          Group expresses serious concern about its ability in the future, with the
          present financial and human resources, to carry out, in a satisfactory manner,
          the mandate assigned to it by the Commission on Human Rights.
          I. ACTIVITIES OF THE WORKING GROUP ON ENFORCED OR
          INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES IN 1998
          A. Meetings and missions of the Working Groun
          9. The Working Group held three sessions in 1998. The fifty-fourth session
          was held in New York from 13 to 17 July, and the fifty-fifth and
          fifty-sixth sessions were held in Geneva from 28 September to 2 October
          and from 25 November to 4 December, respectively. During its 1998 sessions,
          the Working Group met with representatives of the Governments of Angola,
          the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Yemen. The Working Group also met with
          representatives of the Mexican National Commission on Human Rights.
          10. In addition, the Working Group met with representatives of human rights
          organizations, associations of relatives of missing persons and families or
          witnesses directly concerned with reports of enforced disappearances.
          11. By letter dated 19 November 1997, the Government of Iran invited the
          Working Group to visit that country. The Working Group accepted the
          invitation and a mutually convenient date is being sought.
          12. By letter dated 17 June 1998, the Government of Sri Lanka informed the
          Working Group that it had agreed, in principle, to the proposal for a visit to
          Sri Lanka made by the Working Group on 12 December 1997. The Working Group is
          discussing with the Government a mutually convenient date.
          13. By note verbale dated 16 October 1997, the Government of the Republic of
          Yemen invited the Working Group to visit that country. The mission to the
          Republic of Yemen took place from 16 to 21 August 1998. The Working Group was
          represented by Mr. Jonas Foli and Mr. Manfred Nowak. The report on this
          mission is contained in Addendum I to the present report.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 6
          14. By letter dated 28 May 1997, the Government of Turkey informed the
          Working Group that its request, made on 21 July 1995, to visit Turkey had been
          accepted by the Government. The mission to Turkey took place from 21 to
          25 September 1998. The Working Group was represented by its Chairman,
          Mr. Ivan Tosevski, and Mr. Diego Garcia-Say n. The report on this mission is
          contained in Addendum II to the present report.
          15. To date the Working Group has received no reply from the Government of
          Iraq to its letter dated 21 July 1995 requesting a visit.
          B. Communications
          16. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 1,015 new
          cases of enforced or involuntary disappearance to the Governments of Algeria,
          Burundi, Cambodia, China, Colombia, the Congo (Democratic Republic of) ,
          Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic
          Republic of) , Iraq, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria,
          Pakistan, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Turkey, Uganda and
          Yemen; 201 of these cases were sent under the urgent action procedure. Of the
          newly reported cases, 240 allegedly occurred in 1998 and relate to Algeria,
          Cambodia, China, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt,
          Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal,
          Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda
          and Yemen. During the same period, the Working Group clarified 129 cases, in
          Algeria, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia,
          Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka,
          Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
          17. Many of the other cases received by the Working Group were referred back
          to the sources as they lacked one or more elements required by the Working
          Group for their transmission, or because it was not clear whether they fell
          within the Working Group's mandate. Some cases were considered inadmissible
          within the context of that mandate.
          18. As in previous years, the Working Group received reports and expressions
          of concern from non-governmental organizations, associations of relatives of
          disappeared persons, and individuals about the safety of persons actively
          engaged in the search for missing persons, in reporting cases of disappearance
          or in the investigation of cases. In some countries, the mere fact of
          reporting a disappearance entailed a serious risk to the life or security of
          the person making the report or to his or her family members. In addition,
          individuals, relatives of missing persons and members of human rights
          organizations were frequently harassed and threatened with death for reporting
          cases of human rights violations or investigating such cases.
          19. Taking into account the ever-increasing number of United Nations field
          operations with human rights components, and the field offices of the High
          Commissioner for Human Rights, the Working Group has continued this year to
          address itself to these offices in an effort to take advantage of their unique
          position on the ground in order to improve its information flow with regard to
          disappearances. Information in this respect is reflected in the appropriate
          country sections.
        
          
          E / CN. 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 7
          C. Methods of work
          20. During its fifty-fifth session, at the request of several
          non-governmental organizations, the Working Group met with their
          representatives to discuss its methods of work. A number of representatives
          underlined the importance of the work carried out by the Working Group in
          seeking the whereabouts of disappeared persons and, in particular, the
          effectiveness of its urgent action procedure. However, they expressed concern
          about the decision taken by the Working Group in 1997 to discontinue
          consideration of cases where it considered that it can no longer play any
          useful role in trying to elucidate them, in particular, if the source is no
          longer in existence, or in cases in which the families no longer have an
          interest in pursuing the matter. In this connection, a number of
          representatives pointed out that, in many cases, the reasons why a source or
          family members might not respond to a query from the Working Group, or might
          not wish to pursue investigation, might not be voluntary and that threats and
          intimidation might be involved. In such cases, they were of the view that the
          Working Group, before considering a case clarified, should make every effort
          to investigate the reasons behind such action or non-action by the source or
          the family concerned.
          21. With regard to compensation in cases where a person reported to have
          disappeared is found to have been killed, many representatives were of the
          view that it was part of the humanitarian mandate of the Working Group to
          ensure that the family was informed, the body restituted to the family and
          compensation paid.
          22. Many representatives of non-governmental organizations expressed concern
          about inadequate communication between the source and the Working Group on
          action taken by the Group in individual cases, including decisions with regard
          to admissibility and information on follow-up and results of cases transmitted
          under the urgent action procedure.
          II. INFORMATION CONCERNING ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARI/NCES
          IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES REVIEWED BY THE WORKING GROUP, ND THE
          PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
          Afghanistan
          23. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Afghanistan.
          24. The two outstanding cases concern a Jordanian journalist who reportedly
          disappeared in Jalalabad, province of Nangarhar, in 1989 while on assignment,
          and an American citizen of Afghan origin who allegedly disappeared in 1993
          when he was on a visit to Afghanistan.
          25. Although the Working Group is aware that many more cases of
          disappearance could have occurred in Afghanistan, individual cases that would
          allow it to take action, in accordance with its methods of work, have not been
          brought to the Working Group's attention.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 8
          26. In the past, the Government has provided information on the two
          outstanding cases, stating that in one case the person concerned had never
          been arrested and in the second case, following a lengthy investigation by the
          security forces, as well as efforts by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the
          subject's name had not been found in the register of any prison. During the
          period under review, no new information was received from the Government of
          Afghanistan which would allow the Working Group to clarify the fate and
          whereabouts of the persons reported as missing.
          Algeria
          27. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 578 newly
          reported cases of disappearance to the Government of Algeria, 12 of which
          reportedly occurred in 1998; 11 were sent under the urgent action procedure.
          During the same period, the Working Group clarified four cases on the basis of
          information provided by the source. In two cases, the persons had been
          released from detention and, in another case, the person had been transferred
          to a recognized place of detention, but was unable to communicate with his
          family. A fourth person was reportedly leading a normal life in Tunis. At
          the same time, the Working Group retransmitted to the Government 80 cases
          updated with new information from the source. With regard to the newly
          reported cases transmitted by the Working Group on 15 December 1998, in
          accordance with its methods of work, it must be understood that the Government
          could not respond prior to the adoption of the present report.
          28. The majority of the 731 reported cases of disappearance occurred
          between 1993 and 1997. The security forces were allegedly responsible for
          most of the arrests and subsequent disappearances, which reportedly occurred
          throughout the country, although mainly in Algiers. Most of the victims had
          no particular political activity. However, a number of the disappeared
          persons are reported to have been members or sympathizers of the Islamic
          Salvation Front (FIS) . The victims were from a variety of professions.
          29. The majority of the newly reported cases of disappearances occurred
          between 1994 and 1998, most of them between 1994 and 1996, and concerned
          mainly middle class men, with the average age of 30 years, from various
          professional backgrounds, including employees, traders, technicians, students,
          executives and the liberal professions. Many of the persons concerned were
          from the public sector or the State administration, including teachers,
          doctors, or employees of the judiciary. Most of the disappearances are
          reported to have occurred following arrest at home or at work in the presence
          of witnesses, such as family members, neighbours, colleagues at work or
          pedestrians. In cases where persons are reported to have been arrested at
          their residence, the time of arrest is said to be between midnight and 3 a.m.
          One third of the victims are said to have been seen after the date of arrest,
          either at the police station, or in prisons such as El Harrach or Ch teauneuf.
          The forces allegedly responsible for these disappearances include the
          military, the police, the Gendarmerie and the security forces, sometimes
          several of them acting together. It is also reported that the security forces
          often act together with civilians or militia (self-defence groups legitimized
          by the Government) .
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 9
          30. During the period under review, the Working Group received information
          from non-governmental organizations concerning non-compliance by the
          Government of Algeria with provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of
          All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
          31. It is alleged that when family members seek information on their
          detained relatives from the police or the Gendarmerie, all knowledge of the
          missing person is denied, allegedly in breach of article 10 of the Declaration
          relating to the provision of accurate information on the detention of persons
          deprived of liberty to their family members. It is further alleged that, when
          carrying out investigations, police officers act in complicity with those
          responsible for the disappearance. Families of missing persons are often
          reported to have appealed to institutions established by the Government to
          deal with human rights issues, such as the Observatoire des Droits de l'Homme
          and the M diateur de la R publique. Reportedly, 3,100 complaints from
          families of missing persons have been compiled by these institutions.
          However, it is alleged that these institutions do not function effectively and
          that the authority of the Observatoire des Droits de 1'Homme does not go
          beyond the gathering of information.
          32. Finally, it is alleged that the perpetrators of enforced disappearances
          act in total impunity anywhere and at any time and that the Algerian
          authorities are unable to bring those perpetrators to justice, as provided for
          in article 14 of the Declaration.
          33. The Government informed the Working Group of its decision to set up,
          on 30 August 1998, offices in each wilava (constituency) for the purpose of
          receiving persons seeking explanations about their missing relatives. The
          concerned persons were invited to the headquarters of those institutions to
          explain their grievances and to provide all the files which might be relevant
          to the authority to help search for their relatives.
          34. During the period under review, the Government also provided information
          on 10 individual cases. In two cases, the Government stated that the persons
          concerned had never been subjected to questioning or arrest by the
          authorities. In one case, the Government indicated that the person had been
          questioned by the Gendarmerie Nationale in relation to a terrorist crime, but
          had subsequently been released. In six cases, the Government reported that
          the investigations carried out were to no avail, and in one case, the
          Government stated that the person concerned had joined the terrorist groups
          and that a search warrant had been issued.
          Anco 1 a
          35. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Angola.
          36. The four cases which remain pending on the Working Group's books concern
          four men who were allegedly arrested in 1977 by the Angolan security forces,
          in particular by the Angolan information and security directorate (DISA) . Two
          of them were reportedly arrested because they were suspected of supporting the
          National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) .
        
          
          E / CN. 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 10
          37. During the period under review, the Government replied to the Working
          Group concerning the four outstanding cases. It stated that it had taken all
          possible steps to provide the Working Group with a response. However, it
          reported, the situation in Angola had deteriorated since the last elections,
          resulting in massive emigration and the weakening of legal institutions, which
          had been unable to extend their administration to the whole territory. As a
          result, no documentation was available on a number of Angolans who had died or
          disappeared.
          38. Representatives of the Government met with the Working Group at its
          fifty-fifth session and reported that their country had been at war for
          30 years and continued at war. Concerning the four outstanding cases, they
          stated that much time had elapsed since the disappearances and that thousands
          of citizens had disappeared during the war. They further stated that any
          investigation or explanation to resolve those cases was impeded by the fact
          that parts of the country remained out of reach of the central Government.
          They pointed out that even the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola
          (UNOMA) was unable to move freely and that the location and clarification of
          the four outstanding cases would only be possible in conditions of peace and
          the free movement of persons. They also stated that the exact identities of
          the missing persons and the circumstances of their disappearances were unknown
          to the Government. The representatives of the Government informed the Working
          Group of the existence of legal institutions which could, upon request by
          family members, deliver a declaration of temporary absence and, a few years
          later, a declaration of definitive absence. They also informed the Working
          Group that an ad hoc committee composed of representatives of the Government,
          [ JNITA and UNOMA had been established to investigate political disappearances.
          Furthermore, despite the fact that the Ministry for Social Reinsertion was in
          charge of investigating disappearances and had contacts with families of
          disappeared persons, the family members of the four persons reported to be
          missing had not submitted a claim to this competent authority.
          Argentina
          39. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Argentina.
          40. The vast majority of the 3,453 reported cases of disappearance in
          Argentina occurred between 1975 and 1978 under the military dictatorship, in
          the context of its so-called war against subversion.
          41. As in the past, a number of non-governmental organizations have
          continued to address themselves to the Working Group with regard to their
          ongoing quest to have the fate of the persons who disappeared in Argentina
          brought to light. In this connection, it was reported that legal redress for
          victims of human rights violations committed during the military dictatorship
          (1976-1983) had been exhausted with the amnesty laws, Ley de Punto Final (Full
          Stop Law) (Act 23,492) of 1986 and Ley de Obediencia Debida (Law of Due
          Obedience) (Act 23,521) of 1987, as well as with the indultos (presidential
          pardons) , of 1989 and 1990, thus contributing to a climate of impunity.
          However, it was reported that new evidence had emerged since 1995, through
          revelations by former members of the security forces, regarding the systematic
          involvement of the armed forces in human rights violations. Former
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 11
          Captain Aif redo Astiz had admitted having participated in operations by units
          of the Escuela Mec nica de la Armada (ESMA) (Navy mechanics school) aimed at
          abducting, disappearing or killing people. New information had also come to
          light from neighbouring countries regarding past collaboration between their
          security forces and the Argentine military government.
          42. It was reported that the Cdmara Federal (Federal Court) of Buenos Aires
          had opened an inquiry into the cases of people who disappeared after being
          taken to ESMA. Investigations into the cases of three foreign nationals were
          reopened. New criminal proceedings were initiated against senior members of
          the military regime on complaints relating to the offence of abduction of
          minors. Amnestied members of the armed forces had thus been charged with an
          offence not covered by the amnesty laws or presidential pardons.
          43. The Working Group was informed that a trial in Italy pertaining to
          Italian citizens who disappeared in Argentina was continuing. In addition, it
          was reported that the Argentine authorities had rejected a request from a
          senior judge of Central Examining Court No. 5 of the Supreme Court of Spain
          for a former Argentine President to be summoned to appear in an investigation
          opened in Spain into the disappearance of 266 Spaniards or Argentine citizens
          of Spanish origin or descent. The request was rejected on the grounds that
          the alleged events took place in Argentina and that the case could only be
          tried by Argentine local authorities in the exercise of their sovereign power.
          Lastly, it was alleged that, although the authorities agreed to pay
          compensation to the families of some disappeared persons, investigations into
          the fate of the victims were not being conducted.
          44. During the period under review, the Government of Argentina replied to
          the allegations of non-compliance with provisions of the Declaration made by
          non-governmental organizations. It advised the Working Group that laws 23,492
          and 23,521 had been abrogated. It also clarified some allegations transmitted
          by the Working Group regarding recent judicial decisions of the Buenos Aires
          Federal Court and submitted information on the case of the disappearance of
          Dagmar Hagelin, the so-called Lapac6 case, as well as information on the state
          of the investigation on disappeared children.
          Bangladesh
          45. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted to the Government of Bangladesh.
          46. The one outstanding case, which reportedly occurred in 1996, concerns
          the organizing secretary of the Hill Women's Federation (an organization which
          reportedly campaigns for the rights of the indigenous people in the Chittagong
          Hill Tracts) , who is said to have been forcibly taken from her home in the
          Chittaqong Hill Tracts by security personnel before the general elections of
          12 June 1996. It is believed that her abduction may have been linked to her
          support of a parliamentary candidate representing the interests of indigenous
          people.
          47. During the period under review, the Government provided information on
          this case, stating that it had been thoroughly investigated by the Government
          Inquiry Commission and separately by human rights activist groups, prior to
        
          
          E / CN. 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 12
          and following the peace accord in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and that
          relevant findings suggested that there was no evidence of any forced
          abduction. On the contrary, it was possible that she had left home with a
          friend, of her own volition.
          Bolivia
          48. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Bolivia.
          49. The majority of the 48 cases of disappearance reported to the
          Working Group occurred between 1980 and 1982 in the context of measures taken
          by the authorities following two military coups d' tat . Twenty of these cases
          have been clarified.
          50. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the outstanding cases. The Working Group is,
          therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the persons
          concerned.
          Bosnia and Herzeqovina
          51. Between 1992 and 1995, some 20,000 persons disappeared in Bosnia and
          Herzegovina. As the Working Group's mandate does not cover international
          armed conflicts, the Commission on Human Rights established a special process
          on missing persons in the territory of the former Yugoslavia
          (resolutions 1994/72, 1995/35 and 1996/71) . A member of the Working Group,
          Mr. Manfred Nowak, was entrusted with carrying out this task; his reports are
          contained in documents E/CN.4/1995/37, E/CN.4/l96/36 and E/CN.4/l997/55.
          After his resignation on 26 March 1997, the Commission on Human Rights, in its
          resolution 1997/57, requested the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
          rights in the territory of the former Yugoslavia to act on behalf of the
          United Nations in dealing with the question of the missing.
          52. Consequently, the Working Group decided, in May 1997, that, for the time
          being, cases of disappearance which had occurred in the Republic of Croatia
          and in Bosnia and Herzegovina until the date of entry into force of the Dayton
          Peace Agreement on 14 December 1995 would not be dealt with by the Working
          Group and, consequently, it would not report to the Commission on Human Rights
          on those cases. With respect to cases in other successor States of the former
          Yugoslavia and cases which occurred in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
          after 14 December 1995, the Working Group decided that it would examine those
          cases in accordance with its methods of work.
          53. The Working Group has not received any newly reported cases of
          disappearance pertaining to the period after the entry into force of the
          Dayton Peace Agreement. With respect to the clarification of cases that
          occurred before 14 December 1995, the Working Group refers to the report of
          the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and
          Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
          (E/CN.4/1999/42) .
        
          
          E/CN .4/1999/62
          page 13
          Brazil
          54. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Brazil.
          55. Most of the 56 cases of disappearance transmitted to the Government by
          the Group occurred between 1969 and 1975 under the military government, in
          particular during the guerrilla warfare in the Aerugo region. The majority of
          those cases were clarified by the Working Group in 1996.
          56. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the outstanding cases. The Working Group is,
          therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the persons
          concerned.
          Burkina Faso
          57. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Burkina Faso.
          58. The three outstanding cases of disappearance reported to the
          Working Group concerned two soldiers and a university professor, all of whom
          were reportedly arrested in 1989, together with 27 other persons, on charges
          of having participated in an alleged conspiracy against the Government.
          59. Despite a number of reminders, no information has ever been received by
          the Working Group from the Government regarding these cases. The Working
          Group is, therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the
          disappeared persons.
          Burundi
          60. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted two newly
          reported cases of disappearance to the Government of Burundi.
          61. The majority of the 51 cases of disappearance reported to the Working
          Group are said to have occurred in Bujumbura between November and
          December 1991, following attacks against the Government in the capital and the
          north-western provinces of Cibitoke and Bubanza, as well as in September 1994
          in Kamenge and Cibitoke, suburbs of Bujumbura. Thirty-one cases concern
          persons of Hutu origin who were reportedly arrested by members of the security
          forces, mainly composed of the Tutsi minority. Most of them were later held
          at Mura and at paratroopers' barracks in Bujumbura, while others allegedly
          disappeared while in custody at the headquarters of the Gendarmerie's Special
          Investigations Brigade in Bujumbura. Other cases of disappearance allegedly
          concern Hutus, most of whom had reportedly been assembled and held by members
          of the security forces on the playing field of the Ecole technique sup rieure
          in Bujumbura, Kamenge suburb. These persons, reportedly suspected of
          possessing arms, were said to have been arrested and taken away to an unknown
          destination. Two other cases of disappearance in 1995 allegedly concern
          persons arrested by gendarmes; one at a checkpoint in Bujumbura, and the other
          during an identity check on the outskirts of the capital. One case concerns a
          colonel responsible for military schools and the training centre of the
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62 .
          page 14
          Burundian army, who was reportedly abducted prior to his departure for a
          seminar abroad. Two cases reportedly occurred in August 1997 in Makambo
          province, near the Tanzanian border, and concerned a parliamentarian and his
          driver who were reportedly arrested by members of the military on their way to
          the United Republic of Tanzania.
          62. One of the two newly-reported cases of disappearance, both of which
          occurred in 1997, concerned an engineer and a former secretary-general of the
          Burundian People Union, an opposition political party; the other concerned a
          person who had been allegedly arrested by military forces from the military
          post of Kwipera.
          63. Despite several reminders, no information has ever been received by the
          Working Group from the Government with regard to these cases. The Working
          Group is, therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the
          disappeared persons.
          Cambodia
          64. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted, for the
          first time, two cases of alleged disappearances to the Government of Cambodia,
          which reportedly occurred in 1998 and were sent under the urgent action
          procedure.
          65. In both cases, the persons are reported to have disappeared on
          9 September 1998 when police are said to have shot at 60 monks during a peace
          march. The incident is said to have occurred in the context of growing
          political tension and violence since September 1998 involving opposition
          politicians and their supporters, who are said to have engaged in protests
          against alleged electoral fraud, following the 26 July 1998 general elections,
          of which the ruling Cambodian People's Party was declared the winner.
          66. During the period under review, information concerning developments in
          Cambodia having an influence on the phenomenon of disappearances and the
          implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from
          Enforced Disappearance were received from non-governmental organizations.
          67. Allegations were received by the Working Group about the arrest of
          scores of people, possibly as many as 200, that have occurred in the context
          described above. It is said that the authorities have acknowledged only 22
          arrests and have claimed that 19 of those persons were released. It is also
          believed that at least 20 people, and possibly many more, were killed in the
          two weeks following the crackdown on opposition protests. It is feared that
          the unacknowledged prisoners may be among the dead. There are also fears for
          the safety of all detainees, based on eyewitness accounts of the arrest of
          Buddhist monks, students and others, and separate eyewitness reports of dead
          bodies in Phnom Penh and the surrounding area, combined with denial by the
          Cambodian authorities that any of those killed were protestors.
          68. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the two cases. The Working Group is, therefore,
          unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared persons.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 15
          Cameroon
          69. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Cameroon.
          70. All six cases reported to the Working Group occurred in 1992. They
          concerned five young people aged 13 to 17, including three brothers, who were
          reportedly taken into police custody in Bamenda in February 1992 at the time
          of the arrest of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Movement and over 40
          peasants following a peaceful demonstration. The father of the three brothers
          also disappeared, after making inquiries as to the whereabouts of his
          children.
          71. The Working Group has requested the Government to provide it with the
          court judgement concerning the person who alleged those disappearances and who
          was reportedly charged with making false claims and with the false use of a
          birth certificate.
          Chad
          72. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Chad.
          73. Of the 12 cases of disappearance reported to the Working Group, one
          occurred in 1983, five in 1991 and six in 1996. One case concerned a member
          of the Democratic National Union who was reportedly taken prisoner in
          July 1983 in the context of clashes between government troops and opposition
          forces which took place at Faya-Largeau. Five cases concerned members of the
          Hadjerai ethnic group who were reportedly arrested on 13 October 1991 by the
          Chadian security forces. They are said to have been detained following an
          announcement by the authorities that an attempt by a section of the Chadian
          armed forces to overthrow President Idriss Deby had been thwarted. Six other
          cases concerned members of armed opposition groups allegedly arrested by the
          Sudanese security forces in 1996 at El Geneina, Sudan, near the Chadian
          border, and handed over to the Chadian security forces. They are alleged to
          have then been transferred to N'Djamena by members of the Agence nationale de
          s curit .
          74. Despite several reminders, no information has ever been received by the
          Working Group from the Government concerning these cases. The Working Group
          is, therefore, unable to report on the fate of the disappeared persons.
          Chile
          75. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Chile.
          76. The vast majority of the 912 reported cases of disappearance in Chile
          occurred between 1973 and 1976 under the military government, and concerned
          political opponents of the military dictatorship from various social strata,
          most of them activists in Chilean left-wing parties. Those responsible for
          the disappearances were members of the army, the air force, the Carabineros
          and persons acting with the acquiescence of the authorities.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 16
          77. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government of Chile.
          78. During its fifty-sixth session, the Working Group received a number of
          communications to the effect that the arrest in the United Kingdom of the
          former Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, under whose military
          government, allegedly, hundreds of cases of enforced or involuntary
          disappearance occurred, opened the possibility of prosecuting and punishing
          highly placed officials responsible for enforced or involuntary
          disappearances, confirming the emerging international consensus against
          impunity.
          China
          79. During the period under review, 14 new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of China, two of which
          occurred in 1998 and were sent under the urgent action procedure. During the
          same period, the Working Group clarified four cases on the basis of
          information previously received from the Government to which no objection was
          received from the source; in all four cases, the persons concerned had been
          detained and subsequently released. The Working Group also clarified three
          cases on the basis of information provided by the source. In one case, the
          person had been released after several days in detention; in two other cases,
          the persons were in detention. At the same time, the Group retransmitted to
          the Government two cases, updated with new information from the source.
          80. Most of the 87 cases of disappearance reported to have occurred in China
          took place between /988 and 1990, but several cases are said to have occurred
          in 1995 and 1996. The majority of these cases concerned Tibetans. Allegedly,
          some of them disappeared after being arrested for writing or singing national
          poems or songs. Nineteen of these cases concerned a group of Tibetan monks
          who had reportedly been arrested in Nepal, interrogated by Chinese officials
          while in detention and, allegedly, turned over to the Chinese authorities at
          the Jatopani border. One of the disappeared persons is said to have been
          arrested for having participated in a religious ceremony in which a prayer was
          offered for the long life of the Dalai Lama, and several others were
          reportedly arrested in Lhasa in 1995 and 1996 for having distributed leaflets
          containing political messages. Four monks who reportedly disappeared in 1996
          were allegedly accused of having produced pro-independence posters and
          leaflets containing prayers for the health and safety of the child who was
          recognized by the Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995 as the reincarnation of the late
          Panchen Lama, and who was reported to have disappeared. Several other persons
          are reported to have disappeared following celebrations to mark the thirtieth
          anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Other persons who
          reportedly disappeared were human rights activists involved in pro-democracy
          activities. One other case is said to have occurred in 1995 in Beijing and
          concerns a writer who was reportedly arrested two days after signing a
          petition entitled Greeting the United Nations Yearof Tolerance, we appeal
          for the realization of tolerance in China”, on the occasion of the sixth
          anniversary of the 1989 Tianamin Square incident. Three of the reported cases
          concerned persons who disappeared after the incidents in Beijing in 1989.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 17
          81. During the period under review, the Government provided information on
          six individual cases of reported disappearance. With regard to four cases,
          the Government replied that the persons had been detained and released in one
          other case, the Government replied that the person was currently in a
          re education thrOugh-laboUr facility. In the case of the mother of the boy,
          Gedhun Nyima, who was reportedly recognized as the reincarnation of the tenth
          Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama in 1995, the Government replied that she was
          also known under another name and was currently serving a prison sentence.
          Colombia
          82. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 54 newly
          reported cases to the Government of Colombia, 50 of which reportedly occurred
          in 1998. Fifty of these cases were transmitted under the urgent action
          procedure. During the same period, the Group clarified three cases on the
          basis of information provided by the Government on which the sources did not
          make any observations during the six-month period. In two cases, the
          Government had reported that the persons had been found alive, or had been
          killed and the corpses found. In the other case, the person was being held in
          the prison of the Judicial Circuit of Turbo in the department of Antioquia.
          With regard to the newly reported cases transmitted by the Working Group on
          15 December 1998, in accordance with its methods of work, it must be
          understood that the Government could not respond prior to the adoption of the
          present report.
          83. The majority of the 1,060 reported cases of disappearance in Colombia
          have occurred since 1981. The cases include those of persons belonging to
          civic, social and human rights groups who had denounced human rights
          violations and abuses by members of the security forces or paramilitary
          groups.
          84. The newly reported cases transmitted in 1998 occurred mainly in the
          municipalities of Apartado and Bello in the department of Antioquia; in the
          municipality of El Carmen del Atrato in the department of Choco; in the
          municipality of Santa Elena del Opon and in Barrancabermeja City in the
          department of Santander and in the capital of the country, Santa F de Bogota.
          Most of the abductions and detentions leading to disappearances were carried
          out by members of paramilitary groups whose actions were believed to be
          undertaken in complicity with, or to be overlooked by, members of the security
          forces, very often in areas of heavy military presence. In a few cases, the
          army was allegedly responsible for the detention.
          85. During the period under review, the Government transmitted information
          on 93 outstanding cases. Most of the replies contained details of legal
          proceedings carried out by various authorities dealing with the cases. The
          Government also submitted information on measures it had taken to protect
          members of the human rights non-governmental organization, Association of
          Relatives of Disappeared Detainees (ASFADDES) , who had been the subject of
          several acts of intimidation, harassment and threats, as well as a bomb
          explosion in its offices in Medellin in June 1997. Several persons were
          injured and the Association's files were destroyed.
        
          
          E / CN. 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 18
          86. The Government of Colombia also reported that it had submitted to the
          Congress a bill which defined the crime of enforced disappearance and
          established severe penalties.
          87. The Working Group received reports from non-governmental organizations
          suggesting that the main recommendations made by the Group following its visit
          to Colombia in 1988 had not been implemented. It was alleged that enforced
          disappearances of civilians by paramilitary organizations allied to the
          security forces and declared illegal by the Government in 1989 had escalated
          dramatically in several departments of the country, including Antioquia,
          Choco, Cesar, Santander and Sucre. It was reported that such groups
          frequently acted with the acquiescence of the armed forces. The Government's
          failure to take action to halt paramilitary crimes was illustrated by recent
          events in the department of Santander and in the Urab region of Antioquia
          department. Civilians suspected of being guerrilla sympathizers continued to
          be the principal victims of enforced disappearance. It was alleged that human
          rights defenders and members of non-governmental organizations continued to be
          subjected to a violent campaign of harassment, intimidation and attacks.
          88. It was reported that families of victims of enforced disappearance and
          non-governmental organizations acting on their behalf were continuing to call
          for a thorough and impartial investigation into cases of enforced
          disappearance, in accordance with article 13 of the Declaration. It was said
          that although official investigations had been initiated, the fate of most of
          the disappeared persons remained unknown and only a few people had been
          brought to justice. It was alleged that judicial investigations have
          stagnated, enabling those responsible to benefit from impunity.
          89. It was also alleged that in spite of formal denunciation of
          disappearances by the families, authorities showed little interest in the
          cases and make no immediate attempt to investigate them. It was said that, in
          many cases, the authorities to whom applications were made, had either denied
          competency in the case or had recommended that the relatives apply to another
          authority. It was said that the relatives of the missing persons are forced
          into a bureaucratic nightmare, seemingly designed to guarantee the impunity of
          those responsible.
          90. Lastly, it was reported that, in recent years, paramilitary
          organizations had increasingly practised selective disappearance of civic
          leaders perceived as real or potential guerrilla supporters. It was said that
          paramilitary groups often used black lists” to identify community leaders,
          before abducting them. It was further stated that these disappearances were
          often aimed at subjugating communities.
          Croatia
          91. As the Working Group's mandate does not cover international armed
          conflicts, the Commission on Human Rights established a special process
          on missing persons in the territory of the former Yugoslavia
          (resolutions 1994/72, 1995/35 and 1996/71) . A member of the Working Group,
          Mr. Manfred Nowak, was entrusted with catrying out this task; his reports are
          contained in documents E/CN.4/1995/37, E/CN.4/196/36 and E/CN.4/1997/55.
          After his resignation on 26 March 1997, the Commission on Human Rights, in
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 19
          resolution 1997/57, requested the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
          rights in the territory of the former Yugoslavia to act on behalf of the
          United Nations in dealing with the question of the missing.
          92. Consequently, the Working Group decided in May 1997 that, for the time
          being, cases of disappearance which had occurred in the Republic of Croatia
          and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, until the date of entry into force of the
          Dayton Peace Agreement on 14 December 1995 would not be dealt with by the
          Working Group and, consequently, the Group would not report to the Commission
          on Human Rights on those cases. With respect to cases in other successor
          States of the former Yugoslavia and cases which occurred in Croatia and Bosnia
          and Herzegovina after 14 December 1995, the Working Group decided that it
          would examine those cases in accordance with its methods of work.
          93. The Working Group's secretariat has not received any newly reported
          cases of disappearance pertaining to the period after the entry into force of
          the Dayton Peace Agreement. With respect to the clarification of cases that
          occurred before 14 December 1995, the Working Group refers to the report of
          the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and
          Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
          (E/CN.4/1999/42) .
          Cyprus
          94. As in the past, the Working Group continued to remain available to
          assist the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus. The Working Group noted
          that in 1998 the overall situation relating to that Committee's work had
          remained as indicated in its previous report (E/CN.4/1998/43, paras. 148-151) .
          Democratic Republic of the Conco
          95. During the period under review, 18 new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of the Democratic Republic
          of the Congo, all of which occurred in 1998 and were sent under the urgent
          action procedure.
          96. The majority of the 39 reported cases of disappearance concerned, on the
          one hand, persons suspected either of being members of the guerrilla group,
          Parti de la r vo1ution populaire, or political activists who disappeared
          between 1975 and 1985, and, on the other hand, Rwandan refugees who
          disappeared in 1998. One other case concerned a journalist who was allegedly
          abducted from his home in 1993 by members of the Division sp cia1e
          pr sidentie1le and the civil guard, and interrogated on the premises of the
          State radio station, Voix du ZaIre, and four men who were allegedly arrested
          in Likasi in 1994 by soldiers and detained for almost two months before being
          transferred to Kinshasa; since then their whereabouts have remained unknown.
          Two cases concerned villagers from Kitshanga who were reportedly arrested by
          members of the Zairian Armed Forces in September 1996 on their way to Goma,
          the capital of North Kivi.i. Another case concerned a man said to have been
          arrested, also in September 1996, by members of the Service d'actions et de
          renseignements militaires (Service for Action and Military Intelligence) .
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 20
          97. The 18 newly reported cases concern Rwandan refugees who have allegedly
          been abducted by the Tutsis military in Kisangani, the majority of whom are
          women and their children, abducted together with their parents. One case
          concerned a professor who was allegedly arrested by members of the Rwandan
          Patriotic Army in the presence of students and other professors. Another case
          concerns the minister of the church of Mvuka Ma Bundu who was allegedly taken
          to the military camp of Kokolo.
          98. During the period under review, no information was received from the
          Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Working Group is,
          therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared
          persons.
          Dominican Republic
          99. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of the Dominican Republic.
          100. Of the two outstanding cases, one concerns a person who was arrested in
          June 1984 in Santo Domingo and who subsequently disappeared. The other
          concerns a university lecturer, who was also a journalist and political
          activist, and who was reportedly detained in May 1994 by members of the army
          and subsequently taken to a military base.
          101. During the period under review, the Government of the Dominican Republic
          provided information on one of the cases, in which it referred to information
          it had submitted in the past and stated that the person concerned had a
          criminal record for crimes which included rape and leaving the country
          illegally, and therefore it was not unlikely that he was out of the country.
          Ecuador
          102. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted to the
          Government of Ecuador one newly-reported case of disappearance, which
          allegedly occurred in 1997.
          103. The majority of the 21 cases of disappearance reported in the past
          occurred between 1985 and 1992 and concerned persons who were reportedly
          arrested by members of the Criminal Investigation Service of the National
          Police. The disappearances occurred in Quito, Guayaquil and Esmeraldas. In
          three cases the victims were children.
          104. The newly-reported case concerns a Colombian citizen who is said to have
          been detained by members of the army, in Portoviejo City, under an arrest
          warrant on charges of arms-trafficking, and to have subsequently disappeared.
          105. During the period under review, the Government of Ecuador provided
          information to the Working Group on the investigations carried out by the
          Government into another case of a Colombian citizen who disappeared in Quito
          in June 1997. According to the Government, its investigations had revealed
          that the missing person did not have a criminal record and had not left or
          entered the country between 1992 and 1997; however, his whereabouts were still
          unknown and the Government was continuing its investigations.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 21
          Egyot
          106. During the period under review, one new case of disappearance, which
          occurred in 1998, was transmitted to the Government of Egypt under the urgent
          action procedure. This case was subsequently clarified when the source
          reported that the person concerned had been released from detention. During
          the same period, the Working Group retransmitted one case to the Government,
          updated with new information from the source.
          107. Of the 20 cases of disappearance reported to the Working Group, eight
          have been clarified. Of the 12 outstanding cases, the majority allegedly
          occurred between 1988 and 1994. The victims included alleged sympathizers of
          Islamic militant groups, students, a trader, a doctor and three citizens of
          the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The renewal of the state of emergency during this
          period, which reportedly gave free rein to the security forces, without
          supervision or accountability, is said to have been an aggravating factor in
          the disappearances. Two other reported cases concern Egyptian citizens
          arrested in 1995 and 1996, respectively, by me erS of the State Security
          Investigation Department. One of the persons concerned was reportedly
          arrested at his home in Abu Qeraas, south of Cairo, and the second at his shop
          in Bani Sueif, south of Cairo.
          108. The newly-reported case concerned a farmer who was arrested in Mallawi
          together with a lawyer. He was allegedly detained at the police station in
          Mallawi before being transferred to another detention centre.
          109. During the period under review, the Government provided information to
          the Group on 13 cases of disappearance. In one case, it confirmed information
          provided by the source that the person had been released. In two other cases,
          it stated that further endeavours to trace the persons had failed and that no
          additional information was available, but that the authorities are continuing
          their investigations. In 10 other cases, involving three Libyan nationals,
          the Government reported that the security authorities had made every endeavour
          to trace the missing persons and had sent circulars to the air and sea ports
          and land border posts. The Government further indicated that neither security
          nor legal measures had been taken against those persons. Finally, the
          Government assured the Group that no efforts would be spared to find the
          missing persons and that the Government would keep the Group informed of any
          new information.
          El Salvador
          110. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of El Salvador.
          111. The majority of the 2,661 reported cases occurred between 1980 and 1983,
          in the context of the armed conflict between the Government of El Salvador and
          the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) . Many victims
          disappeared following arrest by uniformed soldiers or uniformed police, or
          abduction in death squad-style operations carried out by armed men in civilian
          clothing, reportedly linked to the army or to the security forces. Abductions
          by armed men in civilian clothing were, in some cases, subsequently recognized
          as detentions, which raised allegations of links with the security forces.
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 22
          112. A number of non-governmental organizations continued to address
          themselves to the Working Group with regard to their ongoing quest to have the
          fate of the persons who disappeared in El Salvador brought to light. In this
          connection, it was reported that little had been done to clarify outstanding
          cases of disappearance in accordance with the Salvadoran State's international
          obligation to have complaints investigated thoroughly and impartially, in
          accordance with article 13 of the Declaration. Concern was expressed
          regarding the pending cases of enforced disappearance. Reference was made to
          the Amnesty Law adopted in 1993, only five days after the publication of the
          report of the Truth Commission, and the interruption of all investigations of
          the cases thereafter by the tribunals. Two legal recourses on the
          unconstitutionality of the Amnesty Law had not had any positive results so
          far.
          113. It was also said that the efforts of a Salvadoran NGO to find the
          whereabouts of 520 missing children, some of whom were on the Working Group's
          list of disappeared, had encountered non-cooperation from the armed forces and
          other State institutions, a lack of political will on the part of the
          Government to resolve problems relating to the identity of children who had
          been found and a delay in justice in cases submitted to the tribunals. In
          spite of that, 98 children had been found by this private organization and
          reunited with their families in 10 different countries. The Working Group
          continued to receive allegations concerning the deficiencies of the criminal
          investigation system.
          114. During the period under review, the Government of El Salvador replied to
          the allegations of non-compliance with provisions of the Declaration made by
          non-governmental organizations. It reported that the crime of the enforced
          disappearance of persons had been included in the new Salvadoran Penal Code,
          in articles 364 to 366, under the chapter entitled Crimes against humanity”.
          The amendment of the penal law, as well as the creation of the National Civil
          Police and the establishment of the National Council for Human Rights, had
          been carried out within the framework of the Peace Agreement signed in 1992
          between the Government of El Salvador and the FMLN.
          115. The Government also informed the Working Group that it had reactivated
          the investigation into the outstanding cases of disappearance, beginning with
          those that occurred between 1980 and 1983. Lastly, the Government reiterated
          its willingness to cooperate with the investigations being carried out by the
          NGO Asociaci6n Pro-EGsqueda de NiCios y Nifias Desaparecidos into the
          disappearance of children.
          Equatorial Guinea
          116. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Equatorial Guinea.
          117. The three previously reported cases of disappearance concern members of
          political opposition parties who were reportedly arrested in Malabo on 9
          and 10 August 1993. The police authorities, however, reportedly refused to
          disclose any information on their whereabouts.
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 23
          118. Despite several reminders, no information has ever been received by the
          Working Group from the Government on the three outstanding cases. The Working
          Group is, therefore, still unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the
          disappeared persons.
          Entree
          119. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted, for the
          first time, 34 cases of disappearance, which occurred in 1998 and were sent
          under the urgent action procedure.
          120. The cases, which allegedly occurred on 23 August 1998, concern
          34 Ethiopian nationals who were reported to have been arrested by the Eritrean
          police in front of the Ethiopian embassy in Asmara.
          121. During the period under review, no information has been received by the
          Working Group from the Government concerning the cases. The Working Group is,
          therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared
          persons.
          . Ethiopia
          122. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted five
          newly-reported cases of disappearance to the Government of Ethiopia, two of
          which allegedly occurred in 1998 and were sent under the urgent action
          procedure. During the same period, the Working Group retransmitted
          three cases updated with new information from the source.
          123. The majority of the 110 cases of disappearance reported to the Working
          Group occurred between 1991 and 1996 under the transitional Government, and
          concerned members of the Oromo ethnic group suspected of participating in the
          Oromo Liberation Front who were arrested in Addis Ababa or disappeared from
          the Huso military detention camp in western Ethiopia. Other cases concerned
          members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (a political party) who
          disappeared in Region Five in eastern Ethiopia, also known as the Ogaden, an
          area reportedly inhabited by ethnic Somalis and in which there were reports of
          cases which occurred between 1974 and 1992 after the military Government took
          power and concerned mainly, although not exclusively, high-ranking officials
          of Emperor Haile Selassie'S Government and members of the Oromo ethnic group,
          in particular those believed to be involved with the Oromo Liberation Front,
          or persons accused of involvement with opposition political groups, including
          the Ethiopian Socialist Movement. One case, which occurred in 1996, concerned
          an Ethiopian refugee in Djibouti who was reportedly arrested at a refugee camp
          in Djibouti by members of the Djibouti police and handed over to the Ethiopian
          authorities.
          124. Of the five newly-reported cases, which allegedly occurred between 1996
          and 1998, one concerned a former politician during the reign of
          Emperor Haile Selassie. Two other cases concerned persons who were active in
          the OLF, during its legal participation in the transitional Government. One
          other case concerned a person who had been allegedly arrested at the train
          station in Dire Dawa and then taken to Dire Dawa prison.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 24
          125. During the period under review, the Government provided information on a
          case reported previously to the Working Group and subsequently clarified. The
          Government reported that the person concerned was currently detained in
          Addis Ababa for alleged incitement to crime.
          Greece
          126. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Greece.
          127. Two of the outstanding cases were transmitted to the Government in 1993
          and concern Albanian cousins who were reportedly taken by the police in Zagora
          the same year. The third case concerns a Swiss citizen who was reportedly
          travelling from Greece to Italy in 1995 on a Greek ship and who was denied
          entry into Italy and returned to Greece on the same ship.
          128. In the past, the Government provided information to the Working Group on
          all three of the outstanding cases. With regard to the two Albanian cousins,
          the Government reported that, on the night of their disappearance, they were
          at a hostel together with other illegal immigrants. The Government provided
          details of its investigation, which it said was continuing. In connection
          with the case of the Swiss citizen, the Government reported that in the past,
          the subject had twice been denied entry into Greece and had been expelled from
          the country on several occasions for involvement in international criminal
          activity. The Government stated that the Italian authorities had returned him
          to Greece on the Greek ferry, but that no official exit of the subject from
          the ship had been recorded and that he might have gone ashore before a
          passenger disembarkation control took place. The Government further reported
          that the competent authorities were conducting an investigation and any
          results of their search would be communicated to the source and the subject's
          family.
          129. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the outstanding cases. The Group is, therefore,
          still unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared persons.
          Guatemala
          130. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Guatemala.
          131. Concerned about the number of disappearances in Guatemala, the Working
          Group undertook a visit to that country in 1987. The report on that mission
          (E/CN.4/1988/19/Add.1) included a recommendation that efforts should be made
          to improve the functioning of habeas corpus procedures, to protect the life of
          witnesses, as well as of individuals and members of organizations reporting
          cases, and to adopt effective measures to prevent and clarify disappearances.
          132. The majority of the 3,151 reported cases of disappearance in Guatemala
          occurred between 1979 and 1986, mainly under the military regime and in the
          context of the Government's fight against the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional
          Guatemalteca (URNG) . The cases have been described in detail in the Group's
          previous reports. On 29 December 1996, the Government of Guatemala and the
        
          
          E/CN .4/1999/62
          page 25
          URNG signed, in Guatemala City, the Agreement on a Firm and Lasting Peace,
          thus completing the negotiating process between the two parties. Following
          the signing of the Agreement, there has been a trend towards greater respect
          for human rights. However, the ratification by the Congress of the Republic,
          on 12 December 1996, of the National Reconciliation Act was criticized by some
          as an amnesty for perpetrators of serious human rights violations, including
          disappearances.
          133. During the period under review, the Government provided information on
          39 individual cases; in 24 cases it reported that the missing persons had died
          and submitted copies of their death certificates or certificates of
          presumption of death, and in 14 cases that the persons concerned had been
          found living at liberty, some of them after having been released from
          detention. One of the 39 cases continued under investigation by the
          Government.
          Guinea
          134. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Guinea.
          135. The majority of the 28 reported cases in Guinea occurred in 1984
          and 1985 in the context of a coup d' tat . The Working Group has received no
          reports of disappearances occurring in Guinea after 1985.
          136. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with respect to the outstanding cases. The Working Group is,
          therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared
          persons.
          Haiti
          137. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Haiti.
          138. The majority of the 48 reported cases of disappearance occurred in
          three waves during the periods 1981-1985, 1986-1990 and 1991-1993. Most of
          the cases which occurred during the first period concerned members or
          supporters of the Haitian Christian Democrat Party who were allegedly arrested
          by members of the armed forces or by the Tonton Macoutes. The cases that
          occurred during the second period concerned persons who were reportedly
          arrested by armed men in civilian clothes, members of the Anti-Gang and
          Investigation Service, and by the police. The last wave of cases took place
          in the aftermath of the coup d' tat which ousted elected President Aristide.
          139. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with respect to the outstanding cases. The Working Group is,
          therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared
          persons.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 26
          Honduras
          140. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted a
          newly-reported case of disappearance to the Government of Honduras. It
          concerns a Jesuit priest who was allegedly captured by the army in 1983 after
          entering the country from Nicaragua with a guerrilla column.
          141. The majority of the 198 cases of enforced disappearance reported to the
          Working Group occurred between 1981 and 1984, a period during which members of
          Battalion 3-16 of the armed forces and heavily armed plain-clothes men seized
          people perceived as ideological enemies, at their homes or on the street, and
          took them to clandestine detention centres. The systematic practice of
          disappearance ended in 1984, although sporadic cases continued to occur.
          142. The Working Group called to the Government's attention the harassment to
          which leaders of the non-governmental organizations, the Committee of
          Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH) and the Committee for the
          Defence of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH), were being subjected,
          particularly Ms. Liduvina Hern ndez, Ms. Bertha Olivia de Nativi and
          Mr. Ram6n Custodio. According to information received, the harassment was
          linked to their intervention in cases of enforced disappearance.
          143. During the period under review, the Working Group received information
          from non-governmental organizations concerning the implementation in Honduras
          of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
          Disappearance. The Working Group was informed that, although efforts have
          been made to prosecute some military officers responsible for past cases of
          disappearance, until now only one of them was summoned by a court of justice
          to answer for the fate of disappeared persons. However, on 22 February 1998,
          the First Criminal Court in Tequcigalpa ruled in favour of applying amnesty
          laws to these persons. It was said that the issue of impunity is manifested
          in the failure to bring to justice members of the armed forces charged with
          past disappearances, despite the issuing of arrest warrants against them. It
          was added that amnesty laws approved between 1987 and 1991 are being
          interpreted as precluding the possibility of charging those responsible.
          144. It was also pointed out that the authorities are thus failing to fulfil
          their obligations under article 13 of the Declaration to conduct thorough and
          impartial investigations into all cases of enforced disappearance. Lastly,
          concerns were expressed for the security of human rights defenders who were
          the target of attacks and threats as a result of their work on behalf of
          victims of human rights violations. It was also reported that applications
          for habeas corpus have not been dealt with as promptly as required by the
          Constitution and unfailingly have produced no results whatsoever.
          145. During the period under review, no information was received from the
          Government of Honduras.
          India
          146. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 33
          newly-reported cases of disappearance to the Government of India, 14 of which
          reportedly occurred in 1998. Five cases were sent under the urgent action
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 27
          procedure. During the same period, the Working Group clarified three cases on
          the basis of information previously received from the Government, on which no
          objection was received from the source; in all three cases, the persons
          concerned had been arrested or summoned for interrogation and released on
          bail. Regarding the newly-reported cases transmitted by the Working Group on
          15 December 1998, in accordance with its methods of work, it must be
          understood that the Government could not respond prior to the adoption of the
          present report.
          147. The majority of the 305 cases transmitted to the Government of India
          occurred between 1983 and 1995, in the context of ethnic and religious
          disturbances in the Punjab and Kashmir regions. The disappearances in both
          regions were primarily attributable to the police authorities, the army and
          paramilitary groups acting in conjunction with, or with the acquiescence of,
          the armed forces. In Kashmir, numerous persons are said to have disappeared
          after armed encounters with security forces. The disappearances were alleged
          to have been the result of a number of factors related to the wide powers
          granted to the security forces under emergency legislation, in particular the
          Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act and the Public Security Act. In
          addition to allowing preventive detention, these laws reportedly allowed
          prolonged detention without the many other normal safeguards available under
          the criminal codes. The victims have included shopkeepers, a lawyer who was
          reportedly well known for defending Sikhs detained in Punjab, journalists,
          human rights activists, students and others.
          148. The majority of the newly-reported cases of disappearance occurred in
          Kashmir; 13 occurred in the province of Assam. Two new cases were reported
          from Manipur, one of which relates to a 15-year-old schoolboy who is alleged
          to have been arrested at his home by personnel of the 17th Rajputana Rifles.
          149. During the period under review, information concerning developments in
          India having an influence on the phenomenon of disappearance and the
          implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from
          Enforced Disappearances were received from non-governmental organizations.
          150. Serious concern was expressed to the Group about a new and alarming
          trend accompanying recent cases of disappearance following arrests or
          abductions occurring in areas of armed conflict in India. Reportedly, the
          abduction on 6 September 1995 of the human rights activist, Jaswant Singh
          Khalra, in Amritsar, and his subsequent disappearance, is typical of the
          practice of Indian security forces, whereby lawyers, journalists and human
          rights activists have been made to disappear to instill fear among the people.
          151. Information was also received on laws issued throughout the l980s,
          which, in addition to the cash bounty system”, are said to give security
          forces shoot—to—kill powers, broad detention powers and immunity from
          prosecution. Particular concern has been expressed with regard to the
          Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), which, it is said, continues
          to be applied, despite the announcement by the Government of India, in
          May 1995, that it had not been renewed.
          152. It has also been alleged that the National Human Rights commission
          (NHRC), established by the Government, has no power to investigate human
        
          
          E / CN . 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 28
          rights violations directly, no jurisdiction over violations committed by the
          security and military forces, and no power to prosecute violators or
          compensate victims. Moreover, it is said that NHRC is only allowed to handle
          those killings that allegedly occurred within the year.
          153. In Manipur, a state in the north—eastern region of India, it has been
          alleged that there is routine denial of a range of human rights, particularly
          those of a growing number of children in the context of armed conflict, where
          impunity is said to prevail. Grave concern has been expressed about
          attempts by the armed forces to prevent judicial inquiries ordered by the
          State government into the disappearance of a 15—year-old schoolboy,
          Yumlembam Sanamacha, who was reportedly arrested by members of the
          17th Rajaputana Rifles on 12 February 1998. Allegedly, in many cases of
          disappearance, the army has taken shelter behind the Armed Forces (Assam and
          Manipur) Special Powers Act of 1958, which, it is said, confers on the armed
          forces broadly defined shoot—to—kill powers and provides them with virtual
          immunity from prosecution.
          154. During the period under review, the Government also provided information
          on eight individual cases of reported disappearance, mostly from Jammu and
          Kashmir and Assam. With regard to four cases, the Government replied that the
          persons had been arrested or summoned for interrogation and subsequently
          released or held in judicial custody. In two other cases, the Government
          replied that the persons were residing at home and that one of them had never
          been apprehended. In a further case, the Government replied that, following a
          stay of arrest ordered by the High Court, the person had been granted
          anticipatory bail. In one other case, the Government replied that a habeas
          corpus petition was at present pending before the Guwahati High Court. In the
          case of the disappearance of the 15-year-old schoolboy from Manipur, the
          Government replied that he had been apprehended by the security forces during
          a search operation on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization, the
          United National Liberation Front, and had managed to escape when the security
          forces, who were taking him to be handed over to the police, had been attacked
          by members of Meira Peibis”, a women's organization, seeking to effect the
          release of the persons apprehended. The Government also stated that a case
          had been filed with the Imphal Bench of Guwahati High Court regarding the
          alleged disappearance and that a counter affidavit had been filed by the Army
          Court.
          Indonesia
          155. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 65
          newly-reported cases of disappearance, 61 of which occurred in 1998, to the
          Government of Indonesia; 34 cases were sent under the urgent action procedure.
          During the same period, the Working Group clarified two cases on the basis of
          information previously received from the Government on which no objection was
          received from the source; in both cases the Government stated that the persons
          concerned had been arrested following an armed confrontation and were being
          detained while awaiting due process of law. One other case was clarified on
          the basis of previous information submitted by the Government, in which it was
          reported that the person was currently detained; the information was
          subsequently confirmed by the source. Six other cases were clarified on the
          basis of information submitted by the source in which it was reported that the
        
          
          E/CN .4/1999/62
          page 29
          persons concerned had either been located, released or were detained in
          prison. At the same time, the Group retransmitted to the Government
          six cases, updated with new information from the source. Regarding the
          newly-reported cases transmitted by the Working Group on 15 December 1998, in
          accordance with its methods of work, it must be understood that the Government
          could not respond prior to the adoption of the present report.
          156. The majority of the 550 cases of reported disappearance occurred in 1992
          following the incident at Santa Cruz cemetery in Diii, East Timor, where, on
          12 November 1991, security forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrators during
          a memorial service for two youths who had been killed in a clash with the
          police. Over 200 persons are alleged to have disappeared on or shortly
          after 12 November 1991.
          157. The majority of the newly-reported cases of disappearance concerned
          students involved in anti-government demonstrations in East Timor, Jakarta and
          Sumatra, among them the leader of the Indonesian Students' Solidarity for
          Democracy. Many of the cases of disappearance occurred in East Timor and in
          Jakarta. Nine cases of disappearance reportedly occurred following the
          violent break-up by the military of a flag-raising ceremony in Biak on
          6 July 1998 or during student confrontations with the Indonesian security
          forces at the University of East Timor. Twenty-eight cases of disappearance
          were allegedly linked to a number of arrests made between January and May 1998
          and are thought to be part of counter-insurgency operations by the Indonesian
          Special Forces (KOPASSUS) against Aceh 1erdeka, the armed separatist movement
          in Aceh. Some of the other reported cases of disappearance concerned members
          of the Komite Nasional Penyelamat Demokrasi (KNPD), the People's Democratic
          Party (PRD) , including the head of the Nest Sumatra Indonesian Democratic
          Party (PDI) and the Deputy Secretary-General of the Indonesian Democratic
          Party (PDI-Struggle) . The Director of the Legal Aid Institute (Lembaga
          Bantuan Hukum) in Jakarta is also reported to have disappeared. Eight cases
          concerned political prisoners who are reported to have disappeared from Baucau
          prison at Diii.
          158. During the period under review, information concerning developments in
          Indonesia having an influence on the phenomenon of disappearance and the
          implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from
          Enforced Disappearances were received from non-governmental organizations.
          159. According to recent reports received from non—governmental organizations
          on disappearances in Aceh and East Timor, 34 people from Aceh are alleged to
          have disappeared following their arrest between January and May 1998,
          reportedly by Satuan Tugas Strategis dan Taktis Kopassus, a unit of the
          Indonesian Special Forces (KOPASSUS) in the area of Pidle. The arrests are,
          allegedly, linked to the Indonesian Armed Forces counter—insurgency operations
          against Aceh Merdeka, the armed separatist movement in Aceh.
          160. It is alleged that government—imposed restrictions on access for human
          rights monitors to certain areas in Indonesia and East Timor and to places of
          detention in general, have resulted in difficulties in obtaining and verifying
          information. Allegations were also received about the holding of detainees,
          especially those outside Jakarta or other major cities, incommunicado,
          without access to independent human rights lawyers or to their families.
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 30
          161. During the period under review, the Government also provided information
          on 31 individual cases of reported disappearance. It also provided the
          Working Group with a list of persons currently held in the Baulau and Becora
          prisons, as well as of persons held at the Becora prison during the period
          June-July 1997. In 14 of the cases, the Government replied that the persons
          concerned were not on the list of those currently held in prison. In two
          other cases, the Government informed the Working Group that the individuals
          had been arrested and were currently under detention. In another two cases,
          the Government replied that the authorities concerned had attested that there
          was no record of arrest of the persons alleged to have disappeared and that
          there were no data confirming that they had lived at any time or were living
          at present in the district. Based on these findings, the Government contends
          that it is now confirmed that the allegations of the arrest of the two persons
          is merely a fabrication, as indeed could be their very existence.
          Furthermore, in the list provided to the Group by the Government of persons
          held in Becora prison during the period June-July 1997, two names were similar
          to cases of disappearance reported to the Working Group in 1997. One other
          name indicated on the list corresponded to the first name of four cases of
          disappearance reported to have occurred in 1990 and 1991.
          Iran (Islamic Reoublic of )
          162. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted two
          newly-reported cases of disappearance to the Government of the Islamic
          Republic of Iran. During the same period, the Working Group clarified
          one case on the basis of information previously provided by the Government
          that the person had been arrested on charges of fraud and released after the
          plaintiff withdrew the complaint, and on which no observations were received
          from the source within a period of six months.
          163. The majority of the 512 cases of reported disappearance occurred
          between 1981 and 1989. Some of the missing persons were reportedly arrested
          and imprisoned for their alleged membership in armed opposition groups. The
          newly-reported case concerned an Iranian writer who was detained at
          Mehrabad Airport in Tehran as he was leaving the country to visit his family
          abroad. He is said to be an outspoken critic of the Government.
          164. During the period under review, the Government provided information on
          two individual cases of reported disappearance. With regard to one of the
          cases reported to have occurred in 1989, the Government replied that the
          person concerned had been arrested in 1984, tried by a competent court with
          due process of law, sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and released in 1990
          after being pardoned. In the other case, the Government replied that the
          person concerned had died as a result of a brain stroke caused by an accident
          and that his body had been delivered to his family for burial.
          I rag
          165. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted
          18 newly-reported cases of disappearance to the Government of Iraq. With
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 31
          regard to the newly-reported cases transmitted by the Working Group on
          15 December 1998, in accordance with its methods of work, it must be
          understood that the Government could not respond prior to the adoption of the
          present report.
          166. The great majority of the 16,514 cases of disappearance reported to have
          occurred in Iraq concern persons of the Kurdish ethnic group who allegedly
          disappeared in 1988, in the course of the so-called operation Anfal”, when
          the Government of Iraq reportedly implemented a programme of destruction of
          villages and towns throughout Iraqi Kurdistan. A significant number of other
          cases concern Shi'a Muslims who are reported to have disappeared in the late
          1970s and early l980s in the course of the expulsion of their families to the
          Islamic Republic of Iran on the allegation that they were of Persian
          ancestry'. Other cases occurred following the March 1991 uprising by Arab
          Shi'a Muslims in the south and by Kurds in the north. Earlier cases took
          place in 1983, when Iraqi forces arrested a large number of Kurds from the
          Barzani clan, near Arbil. Some 30 cases which reportedly occurred in 1996
          concern members of the Yazidi community who were allegedly arrested during a
          wave of mass arrests in Mosul by members of the security forces. Other cases
          concerned Shi'a Muslims who were reportedly detained in Karbala in 1996 as
          they were going on a pilgrimage. Victims of disappearance in Iraq include
          suspected political opponents, or those arrested because of a family tie to a
          political opponent, or those held hostage in order to force relatives sought
          by the authorities for their political opposition to surrender, and those
          arrested because of their ethnic origin.
          167. Of the 18 newly-reported cases, most of which are said to have occurred
          between 1991 and 1996, seven concern persons who are allegedly members or
          related to members of religious parties. Three other cases concern persons
          who had activities within government-related institutions such as the army,
          the Baath party or the Intelligence. In two cases, the persons concerned had
          allegedly taken part in the March 1991 uprisings. One case of a person who
          disappeared in 1980 concerned a Shiite Muslim member of a religious party.
          168. During the period under review, information concerning developments
          in Iraq having an influence on the phenomenon of disappearance and the
          implementation of the Declaration were received from non-governmental
          organizations.
          169. It is alleged that disappearances continue to occur in Iraq, especially
          involving members of minority groups, and that the Government has failed to
          address conditions which still allow such disappearances to take place.
          Detainees reportedly have no access to their families or lawyers, and trials,
          when held, are reportedly conducted in secret. Particular concern was
          expressed about the vast number of disappearances which remain unresolved, and
          the total impunity with which the perpetrators reportedly continue to act, in
          violation of articles 3 and 14 of the Declaration. It is alleged that, in
          violation of article 19 of the Declaration, no redress is available to the
          victims or their families.
          170. During the period under review, the Government of Iraq provided
          information to the Working Group on 17 cases. In 14 cases, it replied that
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 32
          the persons concerned had fled to Germany during the disturbances in 1991. In
          three cases, the Government replied that he persons concerned, who were of
          Iranian origin, had been deported to Iran in 1981.
          Israel
          171. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Israel.
          172. Of the two cases which remain pending, one reportedly occurred in 1992
          in Jerusalem and concerns a man who allegedly did not return home from work.
          He is believed to be detained in a prison in Tel Aviv. The other case
          concerns a Palestinian who was reportedly arrested in 1971 on the day a bomb
          had exploded in Gaza. Although he was allegedly seen in detention, his
          whereabouts remain unknown.
          173. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government of Israel with respect to either of these cases. The Working Group
          is, therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared
          persons.
          Kuwait
          174. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Kuwait. During the same
          period, the Working Group retransmitted to the Government one case, updated
          with new information from the source.
          175. The one outstanding case, which was submitted in 1993 by a relative of
          the victim, concerns a so-called bedouin” of Palestinian origin with a
          Jordanian passport. After the retreat of the Iraqi forces from Kuwait in
          1991, the subject was allegedly arrested and is believed to be detained by the
          Kuwaiti secret police.
          176. During the period under review, the Government stated that the case
          occurred when the situation in Kuwait was not fully under the control of the
          legitimate authorities and reiterated its willingness to cooperate in the
          manner the Working Group deemed appropriate. The family requested the Working
          Group to continue its efforts in order to clarify the case. The Government
          later indicated that a Committee composed of senior officials representing the
          Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the
          Interior and the Department of Public Prosecutions had been established with a
          view to resolving this case. This Committee reportedly had held two meetings
          to examine all possible ways and means of bringing the case to a satisfactory
          conclusion and was continuing its investigations into the case. The
          Government further stated that this case had also received the attention of
          the National Assembly's Commission for the Defence of Human Rights. Finally,
          the Government expressed its wish to invite a member of the family of the
          missing person to visit Kuwait in order to resolve this outstanding case.
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 33
          Lao People's Democratic Republic
          177. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of the Lao People's
          Democratic Republic.
          178. The one outstanding case, which reportedly occurred in 1993, concerns
          the leader of the repatriation groups returning to the Lao People's Democratic
          Republic who reportedly left his residence with an official from the
          Department of the Interior to go to the Department of the Interior to discuss
          the future home for the returning repatriation groups. Since then his
          whereabouts have remained unknown.
          179. During the same period, the Government again replied to the Working
          Group concerning the one outstanding case of disappearance, advancing several
          possible explanations for the subject's disappearance. In the past, the
          Government reported that a thorough investigation into the circumstances of
          the disappearance of the person concerned had been undertaken. However, his
          whereabouts remain unknown.
          Lebanon
          180. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted one
          newly-reported case of disappearance to the Government of Lebanon, which
          reportedly occurred in 1998, and was sent under the urgent action procedure.
          During the same period, the Working Group clarified this one case when the
          source reported that the person concerned had been released from detention.
          181. The majority of the 288 cases of disappearance reported to the Working
          Group in the past occurred in 1982 and 1983 in the context of the Lebanese
          civil war. Those responsible for the disappearances are said to have belonged
          to the Phalangist Militia, the Lebanese Army or its security forces; in some
          cases, the Israeli Army was also reportedly involved in the arrest, together
          with one of the other forces mentioned. Most of the detentions occurred in
          Beirut and its suburbs. Certain reports indicated that the arrests were made
          by armed men in civilian clothes operating from vehicles. In a number of
          cases, the missing person was reportedly arrested and taken away from the
          Sabra and Chatila camps in September 1982. In some cases which reportedly
          occurred in 1984, 1985 and 1987, the arrested persons were foreign nationals
          who were abducted in Beirut. In some of these cases, religious groups such as
          the Islamic Holy War” later claimed responsibility for the abductions. In a
          few cases, including two cases which occurred in 1990, the missing persons
          were reportedly arrested by members of the Syrian army or security services at
          checkpoints, before being transferred to and detained in the Syrian Arab
          Republic. One case which allegedly occurred in June 1997, in Akkar, north
          Lebanon concerned a medical doctor who was reportedly abducted by members of
          the Syrian military intelligence. His arrest is thought to relate to his
          alleged membership in an illegal political party.
          182. The newly-reported case concerns a supplier of agricultural material who
          was reportedly abducted by members of the Syrian military intelligence in
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 34
          Hammana and later released from detention. In accordance with its methods of
          work, a copy of this case was also sent to the Government of the Syrian Arab
          Republic.
          183. As in the past, concern was expressed to the Working Group that the fate
          of those who have disappeared in Lebanon has still not been determined nor the
          perpetrators brought to justice. It was further alleged that both Lebanese
          citizens and stateless Palestinians continue to disappear in Lebanon, taken
          into custody there by Syrian security forces and then transferred to and
          detained in the Syrian Arab Republic. Allegedly, the Government of Lebanon
          not only acquiesces in such activities by the Government of Syria, but
          sometimes also collaborates with Syrian forces in carrying out disappearances,
          in violation of article 2 (1) of the Declaration.
          184. There are said to be no effective official government mechanisms in
          Lebanon for families to learn of the whereabouts of their relatives and to
          seek legal remedy. Reportedly, family members and lawyers are unable to
          obtain any form of official acknowledgment from the Lebanese authorities of
          the arrest, detention or abduction, or the whereabouts of the individuals who
          reportedly disappeared, thus placing these persons outside the protection of
          the law, in violation of article 10 of the Declaration. Families of the
          disappeared are said to be afraid to report the disappearance, for fear of
          worsening the situation of their loved ones or putting themselves at risk of
          harassment or reprisal.
          185. During the period under review, the Government of Lebanon provided
          information on one case of disappearance. It replied that the medical
          association of north Lebanon did not know any doctor by that name and was
          unaware of the detention or disappearance of any doctor in north Lebanon.
          During the same period, the Government of Syria provided information on one
          case in which the Syrian Military Intelligence was reportedly implicated,
          stating that the person concerned had been released.
          Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
          186. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of the Libyan Arab
          Jamahiriya.
          187. Of the three reported cases of disappearance, one concerning a
          Palestinian national who was arrested at the Palestinian camp near Salloum has
          been clarified. Of the two outstanding cases, one concerns a Palestinian who
          was reportedly arrested in Tubruk on suspicion of having links with a
          religious opposition movement, and the other case, transmitted in 1994,
          concerns a Sudanese translator at the International Centre of Research of the
          Green Book in Tripoli, who reportedly disappeared in 1993.
          188. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the two outstanding cases. The Working Group is,
          therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared
          persons.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 35
          Malaysia
          189. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted, for the
          first time, two cases of disappearance to the Government of Malaysia, both of
          which occurred in 1998 and were sent under the urgent action procedure. These
          cases of disappearance concerned Achehnese activists of Indonesian nationality
          with permanent residential status in Malaysia. One of the cases was
          subsequently clarified by the Working Group on the basis of information
          received from the source that the person is being held in detention.
          190. During the period under review, information concerning developments in
          Malaysia having an influence on the phenomenon of disappearance and the
          implementation of the Declaration were received from non-governmental
          organizations.
          191. According to information received by the Working Group, current
          political tensions in Malaysia have resulted in the arrest of a number of
          prominent political opponents, who are being held in incommunicado detention
          under the Internal Security Act for the peaceful expression of their views.
          It is reported that the Act allows the police to detain, without warrant, for
          an investigation period of up to 60 days, any person suspected of threatening
          the national security or economic life of Malaysia. The Minister of Home
          Affairs may subsequently, and without reference to the courts, issue detention
          orders of up to two years, renewable indefinitely.
          192. Allegations were also received about disappearances in 1998 of Acehnese
          asylum seekers from Indonesia, in the context of the detention of thousands of
          undocumented foreigners currently detained in Malaysia. It is said that the
          Government of Malaysia asserts that those Acehnese asylum seekers detained are
          illegal immigrants who should be repatriated as part of an ongoing campaign
          against economic migrants. The Malaysian authorities have reportedly refused
          the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
          other monitors access to these detainees in detention centres and police
          stations.
          193. During the period under review, the Government of Malaysia provided
          information to the Working Group on the two cases. In both cases, the
          Government replied that the persons had been arrested and released, and that,
          at the request of the families and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Royal
          Malaysian Police was conducting a complete and comprehensive investigation as
          to their whereabouts.
          Mauritania
          194. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Mauritania.
          195. The one outstanding case reportedly occurred in 1990 and concerned
          a 21-year-old man said to have been taken by members of the National Guard in
          a village in southern Mauritania during a nightly curfew. Reportedly, at that
          time, many people belonging to the Hal-Pulaar ethnic group in the south of the
          country were subjected to human rights violations, allegedly carried out by
          government forces and the Haratine militia.
        
          
          E/CN .4/1999/62
          page 36
          196. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the outstanding case. The Working Group is,
          therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared
          persons.
          Mexico
          197. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 10
          newly-reported cases of disappearance to the Government of Mexico, seven of
          which occurred in 1998. Six cases were sent under the urgent action
          procedure. During the same period, the Working Group clarified seven cases on
          the basis of information previously provided by the Government on which the
          source had not made observations within the six-month period. The Working
          Group also decided to discontinue its consideration of two old cases, since
          the relatives of the missing persons reiterated their desire not to pursue the
          issue any further.
          198. The majority of the 353 reported cases of disappearance in Mexico
          occurred between 1974 and 1981. Ninety-eight of these cases took place in the
          context of the rural guerrilla warfare which was waged in the mountains and
          villages of the State of Guerrero during the 1970s and the beginning of the
          1980s. Twenty-one other cases occurred in 1995, mostly in the States of
          Chiapas and Veracruz; the majority of these persons were members of several
          Indian, peasant and political organizations.
          199. Five of the 10 newly-reported cases of disappearance occurred in the
          State of Guerrero; two in the State of Oaxaca; one in the State of Baja
          California Norte; one in Jalisco and one in the Federal District. The victims
          were mainly peasants. The Federal Judicial Police and the Judicial Police of
          the State of Guerrero were mentioned as responsible in four cases; the army in
          four other cases and agents in civilian clothes in two cases.
          200. Rrepresentatives of the Mexican National Commission on Human Rights met
          with the Working Group at its fifty-fourth session and reiterated their desire
          to continue cooperating with the Group. They reported that a total of 111
          working missions had been carried out by the National Commission to 29 States
          of the Federation. Two investigators had taken part in each visit, which was
          generally for a period of approximately five days. At the beginning of 1998,
          the National Commission had urged the governors of the various States to agree
          to forward to the Commission all documents having to do with the finding of
          unidentified corpses, in order to assist the Commission in setting up a
          national centre for information on non-identified corpses.
          201. During the period under review, the Government provided information on
          40 individual cases of disappearance. In seven cases, it reported that the
          persons concerned had been found living at liberty; in one case, the person
          concerned had been found in detention; in four cases, the remains of the
          missing persons had been found; and in 28 cases the investigations were
          continuing.
          202. Concern was expressed by several non-governmental organizations that, in
          spite of efforts to prevent and terminate acts of enforced disappearance, the
          practice of enforced disappearance in Mexico had again, as in the 1970s become
        
          
          E / CN. 4/1999 / 62
          page 37
          commonplace. It was said that most of the cases of disappearance reported
          over the past few years presented evidence of official participation in their
          perpetration. However, the pace of investigation was said to be sluggish,
          prosecutions were considered rare and those responsible continued to benefit
          from impunity.
          203. It was reported that the crime of enforced disappearance was not
          specified in the Mexican Penal Code. It was said that the sanctions for the
          category of illegal deprivation of freedom, provided for in that Code, were
          not adequate for sanctioning enforced disappearance.
          204. It was also reported that recent changes in legislation had
          institutionalized military involvement in issues of internal security, thus
          widening the scope for enforced disappearance and other human rights
          violations. The General Law for the Establishment of the Bases for
          Coordination of the National and Public Security Systems allowed military
          officials to replace heads of police bodies. In March 1996, the Supreme Court
          of Justice had ruled that the armed forces could indeed take part in public
          security operations, including carrying out arrests, if the President of the
          Republic deemed it necessary. Military personnel currently held key offices
          in the State attorney-generals' Offices and the Federal Attorney-General's
          office. The Federal Law against organized Delinquency, approved in
          October 1996, gave the security forces greater powers to detain suspects
          without an arrest warrant issued by a judge.
          205. It was also alleged that disappearances of short duration were
          increasing. Community and grass-roots activists and peasants had been
          detained and held in incommunicado detention and released days later. Some
          had testified to being held in clandestine detention centres, some of which
          were allegedly located in military barracks.
          206. It was said that in the northern States of Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Baja
          California, relatives and human rights monitors were deterred from presenting
          complaints of cases of disappearance for fear of being implicated in
          drug-trafficking. Lastly, it was alleged, by several Mexican non-governmental
          organizatiofls that the climate of harassment and the pressure exerted against
          human rights defenders had been worsening.
          Morocco
          207. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted nine
          newly-reported cases to the Government of Morocco, one of which reportedly
          occurred in 1998. During the same period, the Working Group clarified 19
          cases, on the basis of information received from the source. In 15 cases, it
          was reported that the persons concerned had been released after several years
          in secret detention. In three other cases, the persons had been released and
          had subsequently died as a result of ill-treatment. In one case, the person
          had died in custody. The Group retransmitted to the Government four cases,
          updated with new information from the source.
          208. The majority of the 242 cases of disappearance transmitted to the
          Government were reported to have occurred between 1972 and 1980. Most of them
          concerned persons of Saharan origin who were reported to have disappeared in
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 38
          territories under the control of the Moroccan forces, because they, or their
          relatives, were known or suspected supporters of the Polisario Front.
          Students and better educated Saharans were reported to have been particularly
          targeted. In some instances, disappearances allegedly followed the mass
          arrest of persons after demonstrations or before visits of prominent persons
          or officials from other countries. One reported case concerns a 37-year-old
          man who was allegedly detained by the police in May 1997 in El Aioun.
          209. Disappeared persons were reported to have been confined in secret
          detention centres, such as Laayoune, Qal'at M'gouna, Agdz and Tazmamart.
          Cells in some police stations or military barracks, and secret villas in the
          Rabat suburbs, were also allegedly used to hide the disappeared. Despite the
          release in 1991 of a large group of disappeared prisoners, several hundred
          other Western Saharans are said to remain unaccounted for and their families
          are reportedly still pursuing their inquiries with the Moroccan authorities
          and detention centres.
          210. The nine newly-reported cases are alleged to have occurred between 1976
          and 1998, mainly in El-Ayoun and Smara. The forces said to be responsible for
          the arrests include the Department of Territorial Security, the Criminal
          Investigation Police and the Royal Armed Forces.
          211. During the period under review, the Government of Morocco provided the
          Working Group with information on one case, stating that the person concerned
          had never been arrested or detained.
          Mozambique
          212. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Mozambique.
          213. The two previously reported cases both occurred in 1974. One concerned
          a doctor who was said to have been arrested in 1974 in a hotel in Elantyre,
          Malawi, and to have been taken first to Mozambique and then to the southern
          part of the United Republic of Tanzania. It was believed that he was then
          transferred to Niassa province, Mozambique. The other case concerned a doctor
          who was said to have been arrested at his home in Matola and imprisoned at the
          headquarters of Frelimo troops in Boane, and later in Maputo. His family have
          been unable to determine his whereabouts.
          214. Despite several reminders, no information has ever been received from
          the Government of Mozarnbique with regard to the outstanding cases. The
          Working Group is, therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of
          the disappeared persons.
          Nepal
          215. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted four
          newly-reported cases of disappearance, which occurred in 1998, to the
          Government of Nepal, all of which were sent under the urgent action procedure.
          216. The four outstanding cases of disappearance reported to the Working
          Group occurred in 1985 and concern four men who reportedly disappeared from
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 39
          police custody in 1985. In late 1984, a series of nationwide political
          protests started in Nepal. In June 1985, following bomb explosions in
          Kathmandu and other cities, numerous persons were reportedly arrested and some
          of them were allegedly held in incommunicado detention for several months.
          217. It is reported that the four newly-reported cases of disappearance
          occurred in the context of ongoing police operations in the mid-western region
          of Nepal, following the declaration of a people's war” by the Communist Party
          of Nepal (CPN) (Maoist) in February 1996, apparently aimed at flushing armed
          members of CPN (Maoist) cut of their jungle hide-outs. One of the reported
          cases relates to an elected member of the Rukum District Development Committee
          who was also former Rukum District President of the Samyukta Jana Morcha
          (SJP 1) , United Peoples' Front (Bhattarai) , the political wing of CPN (Maoist) .
          218. During the period under review, information concerning developments in
          Nepal having an influence on the phenomenon of disappearance and the
          implementation of the Declaration were received from non-governmental
          organizations.
          219. It is reported that the recent disappearances followed the start of a
          police operation, reportedly initiated on 26 May 1998, which had resulted in
          an alarming deterioration in the country's human rights situation.
          220. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the outstanding cases. The Working Group is,
          therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared
          persons.
          Nicaraoua
          221. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Nicaragua.
          222. Of the 234 cases reported to the Working Group, 131 have been clarified.
          Most of these cases occurred between 1979 and 1983, in the context of the
          internal armed conflict which took place during the decade of the l980s. Many
          of the reports of these disappearances pointed to the involvement of members
          of the army, the former Sandinistas, the former General Directorate for the
          Security of the State and the Frontier Guard. Two cases, however, reportedly
          occurred in 1994: one concerned a farmer who was allegedly detained by a
          group composed of members of the army and the police, and the other concerned
          a person allegedly accused of being a member of the Recontras armed group.
          223. During the period under review, no information was received by the
          Working Group from the Government concerning the outstanding cases. The
          Working Group is, therefore, still unable to report on the fate and
          whereabouts of the persons concerned.
        
          
          E/cN. 4/1999/62
          page 40
          Nigeria
          224. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted to the
          Government of Nigeria, for the first time, one newly-reported case of
          disappearance, which reportedly occurred in 1998 and was sent under the urgent
          action procedure.
          225. The case concerns a human rights activist who was allegedly arrested at
          the International Airport of Murtala, Lagos by security forces.
          226. To date, no information has been received from the Government of Nigeria
          with regard to this case. The Working Group is, therefore, unable to report
          on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared person.
          Pakistan*
          227. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted to the
          Government of Pakistan 16 newly-reported cases of disappearance, one of which
          occurred in 1998 and was sent under the urgent action procedure.
          Subsequently, during the same period, the Working Group clarified the case
          which occurred in 1998, on the basis of information received from the source
          that the person had been released from custody. The case concerned the
          Chairman of the United Kashmir Peoples National Party (UKPNP), who is
          reported to have been abducted on 18 January 1998 by armed men in plain
          clothes using vehicles bearing government number plates. At the same time,
          the Group retransmitted to the Government one case updated with new
          information from the source.
          228. The majority of the 76 cases of reported disappearance in Pakistan
          concerned members or sympathizers of the political party Muhajir Qaomi
          Movement (MQM) , who were allegedly arrested in Karachi by the police or
          security forces during 1995. Most of the other reported cases allegedly
          occurred in 1986 and between 1989 and 1991, and concerned persons of Afghan
          nationality with refugee status in Pakistan, most of whom were said to have
          been affiliated with the Harakate Inghilabe Islami” party of Afghanistan.
          The abductions reportedly took place in Peshawar, North-West Frontier
          province, by persons belonging to a rival party, the Hezb-e-Islami
          Afghanistan”, which was alleged to be acting with the acquiescence of the
          Paskistani authorities. Four other cases reportedly occurred in 1996 and
          concerned members of the same family who were reportedly abducted from their
          home in Islamabad by agents of the military intelligence.
          229. The majority of the cases transmitted in 1998 are said to have occurred
          between 1995 and 1996 in Karachi or other parts of urban Sindh in the context
          of State police operations conducted against Mohajirs believed to be
          affiliated to MQM. Responsibility for most of the disappearances was
          attributed to the police and the paramilitary rangers.
          * Mr. Hilaly did not participate in the decisions relating to this
          subsection of the report.
        
          
          E/CN .4/1999/62
          page 41
          230. The newly-reported case of disappearance which occurred in 1998
          concerned the Chairman of UKPNP.
          231. During the period under review, no new information was received from
          the Government with regard to the outstanding cases. The Working Group is,
          therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared
          persons.
          Paraguay
          232. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Paraguay.
          233. Of the 23 cases transmitted by the Working Group to the Government, 20
          have been clarified. All of these cases occurred between 1975 and 1977 under
          the Government of President Alfredo Stroessner. Several of the disappeared
          persons were members of the Communist Party, including its Secretary-General.
          Although disappearances took place in the capital, Asuncidn, the majority of
          the cases affected the rural population and were carried cut in the districts
          of San Josd, Santa Helena, Piribebuy and Santa Rosa.
          234. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government of Paraguay with regard to these cases.
          Peru *
          235. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Peru. During the same
          period, the Working Group clarified a case on the basis of information
          previously provided by the Government to the effect that the concerned person
          had been released, a reply on which no observation was received from the
          source within a period of six months.
          236. The vast majority of the 3,004 cases of reported disappearances in Peru
          occurred between 1983 and 1992 in the context of the Government's fight
          against terrorist organizations, especially the Communist Party of Peru,
          Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary
          Movement (MRTA) . In late 1982, the armed forces and police undertook a
          counter-insurgency campaign and the armed forces were granted a great deal of
          latitude in fighting Sendero Luminoso and in restoring public order. The
          majority of reported disappearances took place in areas of the country which
          had been under a state of emergency and were under military control, in
          particular in the departments of Apurimac, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, San Martin
          and Ucayali. Detentions were frequently carried out openly by uniformed
          members of the army and the Infantry Navy, sometimes together with the Civil
          Defence Groups.
          237. Out of concern for the situation of disappearances in Peru, two members
          of the Working Group, at the invitation of the Government, visited Peru
          * Mr. Diego Garcia-Say n did not participate in the decisions
          relating to this subsection of the report.
        
          
          E/CN .4/1999/62
          page 42
          from 17 to 22 June 1985 and again from 3 to 10 October 1986, on the Group's
          behalf. Their reports are contained in documents E/CN.4/l986/18/Add.l and
          E/CN.4/1987/15/Add. 1.
          238. During the period under review, the Government of Peru provided the
          Working Group with replies on three individual cases, reporting that the
          concerned persons were never detained by the armed forces, although the
          investigations were continuing.
          239. The Government of Peru also stated that the Congress of the Republic
          had, on 21 February 1998, approved Act No. 26926 amending various articles
          of the Penal Code and qualifying as crimes against humanity the crimes of
          genocide, enforced disappearance and torture. According to new article 320 of
          the Penal Code, any civil servant or public officer who deprives a person of
          liberty by ordering or performing actions that result in the person's duly
          verified disappearance, shall be punished by deprivation of liberty for not
          less than 15 years and by disqualification. The offence of enforced
          disappearance shall be handled through the ordinary procedures and before
          the civilian courts.
          Philippines
          240. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted two newly
          reported cases of disappearance, both of which occurred in 1998, to the
          Government of the Philippines. During the same period, the Working Group
          clarified one case on the basis of information previously provided by the
          Government and on which no observations were received from the source within a
          period of six months. In this case, the Government replied that the person
          had voluntarily surrendered following a firefight between the troops of
          the 68th Infantry Battalion and the New Peoples' Army (NPA) , and had applied
          for protective custody and amnesty under the Government's amnesty programme.
          He is now said to be under protective custody of the 68th Infantry Battalion.
          The Government also sent an affidavit signed by the person concerned.
          241. The majority of the 655 reported cases of disappearance occurred in the
          late 1970s and early 1980s, virtually throughout the country, and took place
          in the context of the Government's anti-insurgency campaign.
          242. During the period 1975-1980, the persons who disappeared were reportedly
          farmers, students, social workers, members of Church groups, lawyers,
          journalists and economists, among others. The arrests were carried out by
          armed men belonging to an identified military organization or to a police unit
          such as the Philippine Constabulary, the Central Intelligence Unit, the
          military police and other organizations. In the following years, reported
          cases of disappearance concerned young men living in rurai and urban areas,
          described as members of legally constituted student, labour, religious,
          political or human rights organizations, which the military authorities have
          claimed are a front for the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)
          and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA) . Among the groups most
          commonly targeted were said to be KADENA (Youth for Democracy and Nationalism)
          and the National Federation of Sugar Workers. One case, which reportedly
          occurred in 1995, concerned a health worker who disappeared in Mindanao;
          another case, which is said to have taken place in 1996, concerned a farmer
        
          
          E/CN .4/1999/62
          page 43
          who was allegedly arrested while travelling in an area where the Philippine
          army is said to have been conducting military operations against suspected NPA
          rebels.
          243. Despite the peace talks initiated by the Government with several
          opposition movements, disappearances have continued in the 1990s, mainly
          in the context of action by the security forces against NPA, the Moro National
          Liberation Front, the Mindanao Islamic Liberation Front, the Citizen Armed
          Forces Geographical Units and the Civilian Volunteer Organizations.
          244. The two newly reported cases transmitted in 1998 concern farmers from
          Agusan del Norte who are said to have been captured by the 58th Battalion of
          the Philippine army in the context of military operations. In both cases, the
          persons are believed to have been killed and their bodies buried, but the
          families fear to visit the area because of threats they have allegedly
          received from the perpetrators.
          245. During the period under review, information concerning developments in
          the Philippines having an influence on the phenomenon of disappearances and
          the implementation of the Declaration were received from non-governmental
          organizations.
          246. It is alleged that none of the 1,654 cases of reported disappearances
          that occurred since the beginning of the Marcos regime have been completely
          resolved by the Government of the Philippines. Allegedly, 759 persons
          disappeared during the Marcos regime between 1971 and 1986; 830 disappeared
          during the Aquino Administration between 1986 and 1992; and 65 persons
          disappeared during the Ramos Administration between 1992 and 1998.
          Reportedly, the Fact-Finding Committee on Involuntary Missing Persons set up
          through former President Ramos' Memorandum Order No. 88 of 8 February 1993,
          has not carried out any investigation into disappearances. It is alleged that
          certain identified perpetrators of these violations continue to remain in
          active government duty and that the Government has not initiated a process of
          investigation and prosecution of them. Allegations have also been received
          that threats and harassment of witnesses by perpetrators involved in
          disappearances has made the filing of lawsuits difficult.
          247. Allegations were also received that the Governments claim that
          compensation is being paid to families of the disappeared is incorrect and
          that only a one-time financial assistance in the form of a grant is provided
          to the immediate families of victims.
          248. During the period under review, the Government of the Philippines
          replied to the allegations submitted by non-governmental organizations. It
          refuted the allegation that not one case of disappearance had been completely
          resolved by the Government, stating that the record of the Working Group
          showed that not only the number of cases reported had declined from 653 to 500
          between 1980 to 1997, but that the majority of the cases had been clarified by
          the Government. With reference to the allegation that identified perpetrators
          continued to remain in active government duty, the Government stated that, if
          that was true, those making the allegations should identify them” and provide
          evidence that these are indeed ‘perpetrators'”. Pointing out that
          ‘the Philippine justice system operates on the principle of innocence
        
          
          E / CN . 4/1999 / 62
          page 44
          until proven guilty”, the Government stated that major difficulties it was
          encountering were related to the failure of sources to provide additional
          information and to the lack of witnesses. It informed the Group that it had
          strengthened its witness protection programme” and that witnesses could also
          avail themselves of similar programmes of the Department of Justice and
          the Philippine Commission on Human Rights. Responding to the allegation that
          threats and harassment of witnesses had made lawsuits difficult to file, the
          Government replied that recent convictions with maximum penalties by
          Philippine courts of powerful politicians, including a mayor and congressman,
          belie this allegation”.
          249. During the period under review, the Government provided information
          concerning 162 individual cases of reported disappearance. In 18 of the
          cases, the Government requested additional information. Furthermore, based on
          a review it had conducted of 494 outstanding cases of alleged disappearance
          in the country from 1975 to 1997 that the Group had transmitted as of
          January 1997, the Government referred back 95 other cases to the Group with a
          request that it obtain additional information from the source to facilitate
          further verification.
          250. In 49 of the cases, the Government requested that the name be deleted
          from the Working Group's list either because the minimum requirements set by
          the Working Group had not been met, the source had not refuted/contradicted
          the reply provided by the Government, the alleged missing person seemed to
          be fictitious/non-existent, there was no indication of military/police
          involvement, non-government forces appeared to be involved, the person had
          been released from military/police custody with proper documentation, or the
          person had since returned to his family or place of residence.
          251. With regard to the cases of disappearance which date back many years,
          the Government replied that a renewed indication of interest from the family
          of the alleged victim would be necessary in terms of securing additional
          information or making it possible for witnesses to surface and avail
          themselves of the newly strengthened witness protection programme of the
          Department of Justice and to give material evidence.
          252. The Government further informed the Working Group that, as the
          second phase of the review, 350 of the individual cases would be
          updated/followed up by the military and police authorities and the results
          communicated to the Group. The examination of the Working Group's response to
          the recommendation for deletion and the referrals would be considered as the
          third phase of the review. It informed the Working Group that a comprehensive
          government response to the allegations of disappearances, particularly on the
          issue of impunity, would be submitted at the conclusion of the review.
          253. At its fifty-fourth and fifty-fifth sessions, the Working Group met with
          representatives of the Government of the Philippines and engaged in an
          exchange of views with regard to the cases which remain pending. The
          Government expressed its willingness to cooperate with the Working Group in
          examining, in particular, the 49 cases that it had requested be deleted from
          the Working Group's list following the review of pending cases conducted by
          the inter-agency group established by the Government of the Philippines. It
          referred, in particular, to the problems it faced in resolving a number of
        
          
          E / CN. 4/1999 / 62
          page 45
          cases due to a lack of witnesses and lack of more detailed information and
          underlined the importance of renewed interest shown by relatives of persons
          whose disappearance dated back several years.
          Russian Federation
          254. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of the Russian Federation.
          255. The majority of the 193 cases transmitted in the past, concerned persons
          of ethnic Ingush origin who reportedly disappeared in 1992 during the fighting
          between the ethnic Ossetians and the Ingush. A large number of other cases
          are reported to have occurred in Chechnya, the majority in late 1994 and
          early 1995. The Russian military forces were allegedly responsible.
          256. In the past, the Government had informed the Working Group that
          investigations were being carried out on the outstanding cases by the General
          Procurator's Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal
          Security Service, and that the Group would be kept informed of the results.
          The Government also indicated that investigations were being carried out
          throughout the northern Caucasus region in the Chechen Republic by officials
          of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation in order to locate
          the whereabouts of 33 of the 35 persons reported to have disappeared in
          Chechnya. The Government suggested that representatives of the Ministry of
          the Interior of the Chechen Republic meet the persons who had reported the
          disappearances in order to obtain information which would help it to determine
          the fate of the disappeared persons. However, the Working Group has not yet
          received any information on the outcome of these investigations.
          257. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the outstanding cases. The Working Group is,
          therefore, still unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the
          disappeared persons.
          Rwanda
          258. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted to the
          Government of Rwanda five newly reported cases of disappearance, which
          reportedly occurred in 1998. Four were sent under the urgent action
          procedure. During the same period, the Working Group clarified one case on
          the basis of information received from the source. With regard to the newly
          reported case transmitted by the Working Group on 15 December 1998, in
          accordance with its methods of work, it must be understood that the Government
          could not respond prior to the adoption of the present report.
          259. Five of the 16 outstanding cases of disappearance reported to the
          Working Group occurred in 1990 and 1991 in the north of the country, in the
          context of the ethnic conflict between Tutsis and Hutus. Three other cases
          took place in 1993 in northern Rwanda and concerned students from the
          Seventh-Day Adventist University in Mudende who were suspected of supporting
          the Rwandese Popular Front. Three other cases of disappearance allegedly
          occurred in 1996. One concerned the mayor of Nyabikenke, who is reportedly of
          Hutu origin and who is said to have been detained by members of the armed
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 46
          forces. Another case concerned a journalist who was allegedly arrested by the
          military police on the grounds that he was an accomplice to genocide, and was
          later released. The third case concerned a mechanic from Kigali who was
          reportedly arrested by soldiers of the Rwandese Patriotic Army on the grounds
          that his father and brothers had committed crimes during the genocide of 1994.
          260. Of the cases which allegedly occurred in 1998, one concerns a woman who
          was reportedly abducted from home by alleged members of the Gendarmerie
          Nationale. Another case concerns a former senior civil servant who was
          reportedly abducted from home by members of the Gendarmerie Nationale posted
          in Remera. The third case concerns a journalist who worked for the Rwandan
          national television station but was suspended from his duties before his
          abduction. The fourth case concerns a person who was allegedly arrested
          by members of the Rwandan Patriotic Army. One last case concerns an
          administrative manager of a soap factory who had accommodated foreign
          employees of ICRC at home and is reportedly held at the military camp of
          Kigali.
          261. To date, no response has been received from the Government with regard
          to the outstanding cases. The Working Group is, therefore, still unable to
          report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared persons.
          Saudi Arabia
          262. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted one newly
          reported case to the Government of Saudi Arabia. With regard to this case
          transmitted by the Working Group on 15 December 1998, in accordance with its
          methods of work, it must be understood that the Government could not respond
          prior to the adoption of the present report.
          263. The case concerns a lecturer at King Saud University. After his
          disappearance, his residence was reportedly searched by security service
          officers and his bank account frozen. His wife and children were reportedly
          banned from travelling outside the country.
          Seychelles
          264. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Seychelles.
          265. The three reported cases of disappearance allegedly occurred on the main
          island of Mah in the years 1977 and 1984. All three persons are said to have
          been abducted shortly after they left their homes by persons believed to
          belong to the security forces. At least two of the persons were reportedly
          known opponents of the Government.
          266. No new information was received from the Government with regard to these
          cases. The Working Group is, therefore, still unable to report on the fate
          and whereabouts of the missing persons.
        
          
          s / CN . 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 47
          South Africa
          267. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of South Africa.
          268. The majority of the 11 cases of disappearance reported to the Working
          Group occurred between 1976 and 1982 in Namibia. Since, at that time,
          Namibia was under South African jurisdiction and responsibility for the
          disappearance was imputed to agents of South Africa, the cases have been
          retained on the South Africa country file in accordance with the Working
          Group's methods of work.
          269. During the same period, the Government provided the Working Group with
          information regarding one individual case of disappearance. It replied that
          the Amnesty Committee, a branch of the South African Truth and Reconciliation
          Commission had been seized of this particular case and that a decision had not
          yet been made on the amnesty applications with regard to the incident
          involving the person. The Government also stated that the Working Group would
          be informed of the decision. Subsequently, the Working Group requested that
          it be informed of the outcome of these hearings. The Government later
          informed it that the Amnesty Committee in South Africa had heard former
          members of the South African Police, Security Branch, regarding the
          disappearance of the person concerned. According to the evidence given under
          oath and accepted by the Committee, the person concerned had been abducted and
          killed. His body had then been burnt and thrown in a river.
          Sri Lanka
          270. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 13 newly
          reported cases of disappearance to the Government of Sri Lanka, four of which
          occurred in 1998 and were sent under the urgent action procedure. During the
          same period, the Working Group clarified 32 cases on the basis of information
          previously received from the Government, on which no objection was received
          from the source: in 24 cases, the person concerned had been released; in
          four cases, the persons had been released on bail; in two cases, the persons
          had either been kept in custody by decision of a magistrate court or was in
          prison; in one other case, the person had returned home; in another case, the
          person had been killed. The Working Group further clarified 15 cases on the
          basis of information previously received from the Government which was
          subsequently confirmed by the source; in 12 of the cases, the persons
          concerned had either been arrested and released or released on bail, produced
          before the magistrate court or taken into custody by the court; in four other
          cases, the persons had been traced and remained in custody in known detention
          centres. Two other cases were clarified on the basis of information submitted
          by the source in which it was reported that the Charg d'affaires at the
          Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brussels, Belgium, had confirmed that the persons
          concerned had been arrested by an unknown group” and had been subsequently
          released on 13 March 1998. At the same time, the Group retransmitted to the
          Government seven cases, updated with new information from the source. With
          regard to the newly reported cases transmitted by the Working Group
          on 15 December 1998, in accordance with its methods of work, it must be
          understood that the Government could not respond prior to the adoption of
          the present report.
        
          
          E / CN . 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 48
          271. Since the establishment of the Working Group in 1980, 12,221 cases of
          disappearance alleged to have occurred in Sri Lanka have been reported to the
          Working Group. The cases occurred in the context of two major sources of
          conflict in that country: the confrontation of Tamil separatist militants
          and government forces in the north and north-east of the country, and the
          confrontation between the People's Liberation Front (JVP) and the government
          forces in the south. The cases reported to have occurred between 1987
          and 1990 took place mostly in the Southern and Central Provinces of the
          country, during a period in which both security forces and JVP resorted to the
          use of extreme violence in the contest for State power. In July 1989, the
          conflict in the south took a particularly violent turn when JVP adopted even
          more radical tactics, including enforced work stoppages, intimidation and
          assassination, as well as targeting family members of the police and army.
          To thwart the JVP military offensive, the State launched a generalized
          counter-insurgency campaign and the armed forces and the police appear to have
          been given wide latitude to eliminate the rebel movement and restore law and
          order in any way they saw fit. By the end of 1989, the armed forces had put
          down the revolt.
          272. The cases reported to have occurred since 11 June 1990, the date of
          resumption of hostilities with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ,
          have taken place primarily in the Eastern and North-Eastern Provinces of the
          country. In the north-east, the persons most often reported detained and
          missing were young Tamil men accused or suspected of belonging to,
          collaborating with, aiding or sympathizing with LTTE. Tamil persons
          internally displaced owing to the conflict and staying in informal shelters
          such as church or school centres were particularly at risk of detention and
          disappearance. The most frequently utilized method of detention in the
          north-east was the cordon-and-search operation in which the army, often in
          conjunction with the police, and particularly the Special Task Force, went
          into a village or a rural area and detained scores of persons. Many were
          released within 24 to 48 hours, but a percentage of the persons remained in
          custody for questioning.
          273. The majority of the newly reported cases occurred in the north
          between 1990 and 1997 and concerned fishermen who had either disappeared or
          were taken into custody following the alleged shelling of their boats by the
          Sri Lankan Navy. Two other cases concerned displaced persons residing at the
          Poomthoddam camp in the Vavuniya district who were reportedly taken into
          custody by members of the security forces. Another two cases concerned
          persons believed to have been detained by uniformed soldiers near Maha Oya, in
          the Batticala district.
          274. During the period under review, information concerning developments in
          Sri Lanka having an influence on the phenomenon of disappearances and the
          implementation of the Declaration were received from non-governmental
          organizations.
          275. It is alleged that, despite progress made by the current Government of
          Sri Lanka to provide redress and to prevent disappearances from occurring,
          disappearances continue to occur at high levels, particularly since the
          resumption of the armed conflict between the security forces and LTTE in
          April 1995. It is said that perhaps the single most important factor
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 49
          contributing to the phenomenon of disappearance is that of impunity. Concern
          was expressed that, to date, the Government has not made any amendments to the
          Prevention of Terrorist Act (PTA) , which, it is said, continues to allow for
          up to 18 months of detention on administrative order, under three-monthly
          renewable detention orders. It is also said that the procedures laid down in
          the Emergency Regulations for post-mortems and inquests into deaths resulting
          from actions of security forces personnel continue to facilitate extrajudicial
          executions by the security forces.
          276. Reportedly, virtually no one allegedly responsible for disappearances
          has been prosecuted, even where investigations have been carried out and those
          allegedly responsible identified. The Indemnity (Amendment) Act, 1988, it is
          said, provides immunity from prosecution to all members of the security
          forces, members of the Government and government servants involved in
          enforcing law and order between 1 August 1977 and 16 December 1988, provided
          that their actions were carried out in good faith” and in the public
          interest. Furthermore, Section 26 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) is
          said to provide immunity from prosecution for any officer or person for any
          act or thing done or purported to be done in good faith in pursuance or
          supposed pursuance of any order made or direction given under this Act”.
          277. Allegations were further received about detainees held in secret places
          of detention, especially in the Jaffna peninsula, Colombo and Vavuniya, in
          spite of the requirement that detainees can only be held in officially
          gazetted places of detention. It is alleged that, although keeping a detainee
          in a place not authorized as a place of detention was made a specific offence
          under the Emergency Regulations, no member of the security forces has so far
          been charged under these provisions.
          278. It is alleged that safeguards relating to the maintenance of registers
          of detainees, including a central register of detention, provided within the
          framework of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and presidential
          directives to the security forces, are not being fully implemented. With
          regard to habeas corpus, major problems are said to remain in the current law
          and practice. In areas outside Colombo, the local high courts have the power
          to hear habeas corpus petitions, but in practice have not heard any such
          cases. In Jaffna, it is reported that no high court has been functioning and
          that the only option is for relatives of people who have disappeared in Jaffna
          to travel to Colombo to file petitions before the Court of Appeal. Concern
          was expressed that, while petitions filed before the Court of Appeal in
          Colombo are reportedly dealt with more speedily than in the past, delays
          continue to be considerable. It is alleged that, on average, it takes
          approximately two and a half years from the filing of a petition to it being
          considered by the court.
          279. It is further alleged that the pattern of reprisals” directed at
          families of disappeared persons for the purpose of intimidation, continues.
          This, it is said, is shown by the case of Krishanthy Kumarasamy, whose mother,
          brother and neighbour disappeared after having been taken into custody at the
          same army checkpoint where Krishanthy had been arrested before and where they
          had inquired about her whereabouts.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 50
          280. During the period under review, the Government of Sri Lanka replied
          to the allegations made by non-governmental organizations. It refuted the
          allegation that there is a continuing sense of impunity and that no one
          allegedly responsible for disappearances has been prosecuted, stating that
          while there are unavoidable legal delays, strong deterrent punishments have
          been imposed on offenders among the security forces who were found guilty of
          human rights abuses such as disappearances”. it informed the Group that the
          High Court of Sri Lanka had recently passed the death sentence on six security
          force personnel found guilty of the disappearance of a young woman and members
          of her family, and that the Attorney-General's Department was taking action to
          prosecute a number of other cases. The Government also provided information
          on a number of fundamental rights cases which had been filed in the Supreme
          Court against security forces personnel between 1994 and 1998. Furthermore,
          steps were being taken by the Attorney-General's Department and law
          enforcement agencies to prepare for prosecution of offenders identified by the
          three independent commissions appointed by the President of Sri Lanka. With
          regard to indemnity, the Government stated that in numerous fundamental
          rights and criminal cases filed against the security personnel, there has not
          been any instance where indemnity was invoked by security force personnel”.
          281. The Government also refuted allegations about the existence of secret
          places of detention, stating that there are no secret places of detention in
          Sri Lanka” and that if specific information of such places is provided by any
          NGO, investigation can be made of such reports”. Furthermore, all places of
          detention are published and accessible to the ICRC', as well as to the Human
          Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.
          282. The Government provided a full description of safeguards concerning
          arrest and detention under the Emergency Regulations and the Prevention of
          Terrorism Act. A Committee on Unlawful Arrest and Harassment had been
          established in July 1998 as an additional safeguard to deal with complaints
          made by civilians with regard to any harassment caused to them in the course
          of law enforcement agencies' actions to prevent suicide bombings and terrorist
          attacks in Colombo by LTTE. A 24-hour service unit in the Ministry of Justice
          has also been established to enable the general public to make their
          complaints. The Government underlined that it must be borne in mind that the
          Emergency Regulations and the Prevention of Terrorism Act have been enacted in
          order to deal with extraordinary security challenges posed by a ruthless
          terrorist group which indulges in suicide attacks, forcible recruitment of
          children for combat; killing and maiming innocent civilians, including those
          belonging to the Tamil community who do not share the philosophy of ethnic
          exclusiveness propounded by this terrorist group, LTTE”.
          283. With regard to allegations relating to the functioning of courts in
          Jaffna and the hearing of habeas corpus applications in high courts outside
          Colombo, the Government stated that the difficulties encountered were mainly
          due to the fact that the terrorist group, LTTE, has threatened to kill the
          judicial and other public officials serving the courts in Jaffna and other
          areas”. However, the Government is committed to facilitating the normal
          functioning of the judicial institutions including High Courts” and that the
          security forces had nearly completed its task of reopening the main supply
          route from Vavuniya to Jaffna Peninsula.
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 51
          284. During the period under review, the Government also provided information
          on 19 individual cases of reported disappearance. In 11 of the cases, the
          Government replied that the persons concerned had been released and, in
          five other cases, that the persons had been released on bail. In
          two additional cases, the Government replied that the persons had been
          remanded in fiscal custody by a magistrate court. In one other case, it
          replied that a person bearing a similar name was detained in prison.
          285. During the same period, the Government submitted to the Working Group
          reports of the three independent commissions appointed by the President of
          Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of disappearances in Sri Lanka. The
          Government also informed the Working Group that it had established an
          inter-ministerial committee uto examine expeditious ways of implementing the
          recommendations of the Commissions, including prosecution of identified
          offenders”.
          286. By letter dated 17 June 1998, the Government agreed in principle to the
          proposed visit to the country by the Working Group and considered it more
          convenient that the proposed visit take place in 1999. A mutually convenient
          date is being sought.
          Sudan
          287. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted two
          newly-reported cases of disappearance to the Government of the Sudan, one
          of which occurred in 1998 and was sent under the urgent action procedure.
          288. The majority of the 259 outstanding cases concern 249 villagers who were
          allegedly abducted from the village of Toror in the Nuba Mountains in 1995 by
          the armed forces of the Government of the Sudan. It is suspected that the
          villagers have been taken to one of the government-controlled peace camps”.
          289. One of the newly-reported cases concerns a person who converted from
          Islam to Christianity and was studying at the Bishop Gwynne theological
          college in Juba. He was reportedly arrested by National Islamic Front
          security officials.
          290. During the period under review, the Government provided information on
          this new case, stating that the person concerned was currently leading a
          normal life as a bishop. The Working Group was unable to clarify the case in
          view of the discrepancy in the occupation of the person referred to by the
          source and the Government.
          Syrian Arab Republic
          291. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of the Syrian Arab
          Republic. During the same period, the Working Group clarified one case on the
          basis of information provided by the source in which it was reported that the
          person concerned had died in prison.
          292. Of the 35 cases of disappearance reported to the Working Group, 27 have
          been clarified. Many of the eight outstanding cases allegedly occurred
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 52
          throughout the country in the early to mid-1980s. Some of the persons
          concerned were allegedly members of terrorist groups; others were reportedly
          members of the military or civilians.
          293. In the past, concern was expressed to the Working Group about the
          whereabouts of both Lebanese citizens and stateless Palestinians who were
          reported to have disappeared in Lebanon, but for which the Government of the
          Syrian Arab Republic was allegedly responsible. So far, the Working Group has
          received no information from the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic
          concerning these cases.
          294. During the period under review, the Government provided information on
          eight individual cases. In two cases, it reiterated that the persons
          concerned, a mother and her daughter, had never been detained and that the
          authorities had no responsibility in their disappearance. According to the
          Government, their fates are related to their organization (the Revolutionary
          Council) which suffered from internal dissent. In five cases, the Government
          stated that no information concerning the missing persons was available to it.
          In one case, the Government stated that a person with a different name had
          been sentenced to death.
          Taj ikistan
          295. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Tajikistan.
          296. Two of the eight cases previously reported to the Working Group
          concerned brothers of Badakhshani ethnic origin who reportedly ran a business
          in the city of Khusan. One of the brothers, whose whereabouts are still
          not known, is said to have been a member of the last parliament of the
          Soviet Union. Six other cases are alleged to have occurred between late 1992
          and July 1993 in the context of the escalating civil war when pro-Government
          forces took over the capital of Dushanbe.
          297. Although several reminders have been sent, no information has ever been
          received by the Working Group from the Government. The Working Group is,
          therefore, still unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the
          disappeared persons.
          Togo
          298. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Togo.
          299. Six of the 10 outstanding cases concern persons who were reportedly
          detained in 1994 by members of the armed forces at Adetikope as they were
          on their way to Lom to visit two relatives of the Secretary—General of the
          Togolese Drivers' Trade Union, who had reportedly been injured in a car
          accident. One other case concerned a civil servant who was reportedly the
          adviser to the President of the High Council of the Republic between 1991
          and 1993 and who is said to have been abducted from his car in the Lom suburb
          of Agu nyi and taken to an unknown destination by three men in a minibus,
        
          
          E / CN . 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 53
          followed by a military vehicle. The other victims were a man arrested by
          the police and taken to the Central Commissariat in Lom , from where he
          disappeared a few days later; a farmer abducted from his home by armed men and
          taken to an unknown destination; and a businessman abducted from his home by
          five men in military fatigues.
          300. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the outstanding cases. The Working Group,
          therefore, is unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared
          persons.
          Turkey
          301. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 19
          newly-reported cases of enforced disappearance to the Government of
          Turkey, 13 of which reportedly occurred in 1998 and were sent under the urgent
          action procedure. Nine of those cases were subsequently clarified on the
          basis of information provided by the source, in which it was reported that
          four persons had been released from custody without charge and five persons
          had been found in detention. During the same period, the Government submitted
          information on 40 outstanding cases. With regard to the newly-reported cases
          transmitted by the Working Group on 15 December 1998, in accordance with its
          methods of work, it must be understood that the Government could not respond
          prior to the adoption of the present report.
          302. Since the creation of the mandate, 172 cases of enforced or involuntary
          disappearances in Turkey have been reported to the Working Group, of which 79
          have been clarified. The majority of these cases reportedly occurred in
          south-east Turkey, in areas where a state of emergency was in force. While
          in 1994 the Working Group transmitted 72 newly-reported cases, the numbers
          dropped to 17 in 1995, to 12 in 1996, to 9 in 1997 and to 13 in 1998. These
          figures show that the peak of alleged disappearances occurred in 1994 and that
          there has been a decrease in their number. However, enforced disappearances
          still continue to occur.
          303. The victims of the newly-reported cases were villagers from Karlova,
          Bing6l and humanitarian activists from Izmir, on the Aegean coast. Those
          allegedly responsible were members of the Narcotics Branch of the Police, the
          Gendarmerie, and members of a Special Team (National Intelligence) .
          304. At the invitation of the Government of Turkey, two members of the
          Working Group, Mr. Ivan Tosevski, the Chairman, and Mr. Diego Garcia-Say n,
          visited Turkey from 20 to 26 September 1998. Their report is contained in
          Addendum 2 to the present report.
          Uganda
          305. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 41 new
          cases of disappearance; three of which occurred in 1998. Two cases were sent
          under the urgent action procedure.
          306. Of the 61 reported cases of disappearance, 20 occurred between 1981
          and 1985, before the present Government took office. These reported arrests
        
          
          S / CN. 4 / 1999 / 62
          page 54
          or abductions occurred throughout the country and in one case the person was
          allegedly abducted while in exile in Kenya and taken to Kampala. One case
          concerned the 18-year-old daughter of an opposition member of the Ugandan
          Parliament. The arrests are said to have been made by policemen, soldiers or
          officials of the National Security Agency.
          307. Of the 41 newly-reported cases, 38 concerned two groups of girls and
          boys, from two different schools, who were reported to have been abducted
          in 1996 by members of the Lord's Resistance Army, a group allegedly supported
          by the Government of the Sudan. Three other cases occurred in 1998, one of
          which concerns a former magistrate who was a recognized refugee. He was
          reportedly arrested in Kampala by alleged Ugandan police officers. Another
          case concerns a lawyer providing defence counsel to persons accused of
          genocide in the context of a project set up by a non-governmental
          organization. He is said to have been previously arrested and tortured
          because of his activities. One other case concerns an 11-year-old girl who
          was abducted by members of the Lord's Resistance Army in the presence of her
          mother.
          308. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the outstanding cases. The Group is, therefore,
          still unable to report on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared persons.
          Ukraine
          309. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Ukraine.
          310. All three cases of disappearance occurred in 1995 and concern two
          brothers and a friend who are said to have been arrested in Simpherolol,
          Crimea, by members of the security forces.
          311. During the period under review, the Government of Ukraine provided
          information on the three outstanding cases transmitted to the Government
          in 1997, providing the Working Group with details of the investigations
          carried out thus far by the Procurator's Office of the Autonomous Republic of
          Crimea into the disappearances, and reporting that investigations were
          continued by the Office of the Attorney-General of Ukraine, which had issued
          specific instructions regarding the lines of inquiry to be pursued in order to
          shed light on all the circumstances surrounding the disappearance.
          Uruguay
          312. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Uruguay.
          313. The majority of the 31 cases of disappearance reported to the Working
          Group occurred between the years 1975 and 1978 under the military Government,
          in the context of its fight against alleged subversion. It should be noted
          that the Working Group has received no reports of disappearances in Uruguay
          after 1982.
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 55
          314. According to recent reports received from non-governmental
          organizations, full redress to victims of enforced disappearance is not
          synonymous with monetary compensation. The crucial matter in order to close a
          case is clarification of the whereabouts of the disappeared. Allegedly, in
          Uruguay, not one case has been clarified according to these standards, since
          the Government has not taken the appropriate steps to investigate the
          outstanding cases.
          315. The same organizations reported that several provisions of the
          Declaration are not being implemented, such as articles 4, 5, 13, 14, 16, 17,
          18, 19 and 20.
          316. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government with regard to the outstanding cases.
          Uzbekistan
          317. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Uzbekistan.
          318. Two of the outstanding cases of disappearance concern an Islamic
          religious leader and his assistant who were reportedly detained in August 1995
          by the National Security Service in Tashkent as they were waiting to board an
          international flight. The third case concerns the leader of the Islamic
          Renaissance Party, reportedly an unregistered political party, who was
          allegedly arrested in 1992 by men believed to be government agents.
          319. During the period under review, the Government of Uzbekistan provided
          information on the three outstanding cases, transmitted to the Government
          in 1997. In the three cases, the Government replied that investigations
          conducted by the Procurator's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea had
          found that the claim made by the mother of the missing brothers, that her sons
          and a friend had been arrested by operational services of the law-enforcement
          organs and kept in detention for a lengthy period, was not substantiated. It
          also informed the Working Group that, on 13 January 1998, the criminal case
          for an offence committed under article 93 (D) of the Ukrainian Penal Code had
          been studied by the Office of the Attorney-General of Ukraine and that
          specific instructions had been issued regarding the lines of inquiry to be
          pursued in order to shed light on all the circumstances surrounding the
          disappearance of the three persons concerned. The Government reported that
          the investigation was being continued under the supervision of the Office of
          the Attorney-General of Ukraine.
          Venezuela
          320. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted to the Government of Venezuela by the Working Group.
          321. Of the 10 cases reported to the Working Group, four have been clarified.
          Three of the six outstanding cases occurred in December 1991 and concern
          student leaders who had reportedly been intercepted by security forces during
          a commercial fishing expedition. A fourth case concerned a businessman
          arrested in February 1991 in Valencia City, Carabobo, by the police. A fifth
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 56
          case concerns a 14-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted in March 1993
          following a military raid on her house in the peasant community of 5 de Julio,
          municipality of Catatumbo, State of Zulia. Another case concerns a person who
          was allegedly detained in February 1995 in the vicinity of Puerto Ayacucho,
          State of Amazona, by members of the Navy Infantry, following incidents in
          which eight Venezuelan soldiers were reportedly ambushed and killed by
          Colombian guerrillas.
          322. During the period under review, no new information was received from the
          Government of Venezuela with regard to the outstanding cases.
          Yemen
          323. During the period under review, 52 new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of Yemen, one of which
          occurred in 1998 and was sent under the urgent action procedure.
          324. Of the 150 cases transmitted to the Government, the majority occurred
          between January and April 1986 in the context of the fighting which took place
          in the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen; many others occurred in
          the context of the 1994 civil war.
          325. At the invitation of the Government of Yemen, two members of
          the Working Group, Mr. Jonas Foli and Mr. Manf red Nowak, visited Yemen
          from 16 to 21 August 1998. Their report is contained in Addendum I to the
          present report.
          Palestinian Authority
          326. During the period under review, no new cases of disappearance were
          transmitted by the Working Group to the Palestinian Authority. During the
          same period, the Working Group retransmitted the one outstanding case updated
          with new information from the source.
          327. The one outstanding case of disappearance, which reportedly occurred
          in 1997, concerns a real estate agent and father of five children who
          reportedly disappeared following his arrest by members of the Palestinian
          military intelligence in Ramallah.
          328. To date, no response has been received from the Palestinian Authority.
          The Working Group is, therefore, unable to report on the fate and whereabouts
          of the missing person.
          III. COUNTRIES IN WHICH ALL REPORTED CASES OF
          DISAPPEARAJ TCE HAVE BEEN CLARIFIED
          United Arab Emirates
          329. During the period under review, the Working Group clarified the one case
          of disappearance transmitted to the Government, on the basis of the
          information provided by the Government, certifying that the person concerned
          has been released and left the country through Abu Dhabi airport. This
          information was confirmed by the source. This one reported case of
        
          
          E / CN. 4/1999 / 62
          page 57
          disappearance concerns Dr. Ahmed Hamdy al-Badawe, a university professor of
          Egyptian nationality who had been seconded from Assyat University in Egypt to
          Agman University in the United Arab Emirates, and who is reported to have
          disappeared in 1996 shortly after returning to the United Arab Emirates from
          visiting his family in Cairo. He is said to be a well-known intellectual and
          human rights activist.
          IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
          330. The Working Group calls the attention of all Governments that the full
          implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from
          Enforced Disappearance is crucial for the prevention and the termination of
          this human rights violation. In particular, the Working Group wishes to
          stress the importance of measures aimed at reducing periods of administrative
          detention to an indispensable minimum, at establishing accessible and
          up-to-date registries of detainees and at guaranteeing access and appropriate
          information to relatives, lawyers and doctors of persons deprived of their
          liberty.
          331. Bearing in mind that the effectiveness of its mandate depends on the
          cooperation received from Governments, especially of those countries in which
          enforced disappearance is an ongoing phenomenon, the Working Group appreciates
          the mechanisms of communication and dialogue that exist with almost all the
          Governments of the countries concerned, many of which have sent their highest
          representatives to the Working Group's sessions.
          332. The Working Group wishes to emphasize that it is essential to its
          activities to continue receiving cooperation from non-governmental
          organizations concerned with the problem of disappearances. Their activities
          deserve full support considering that they are a key ingredient for the
          clarification of cases. The Working Group expresses its appreciation for the
          cooperation and support it has received from these organizations. At the same
          time, the Working Group notes with deep concern that in some countries these
          organizations suffer harassment and persecution that prevent them from
          fulfilling their duties. The Working Group calls upon the concerned
          Governments to take all measures to guarantee complete protection to these
          organizations and their members.
          333. One of the major achievements of the United Nations human rights
          programme has been the establishment of thematic mechanisms by the Commission
          on Human Rights to deal with the essential task of receiving complaints,
          investigating gross violations of human rights and reporting on their findings
          publicly. These mechanisms are accessible to everybody and have demonstrated
          in practice, for the past 18 years, that they can perform an effective role in
          the protection of human rights throughout the world, especially with regard to
          persistent and extended violations such as enforced disappearances. The
          non-governmental organizations acknowledge that these mechanisms have
          certainly acted as a deterrent to a greater increase of this particular
          international crime.
          334. As is well known, the Working Group was the first of these mechanisms
          to be created and has played a pioneering role as a channel of communication
          between victims, families and non-governmental organizations on the one hand,
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 58
          and Governments on the other. Since its establishment in 1980, the Working
          Group has transmitted a total of 48,770 cases to 79 Governments; in many of
          the countries concerned new cases have been reported. Although 2,926 cases
          have been clarified, 45,825 cases are still outstanding.
          335. It is crucial for the countries which have a large backlog of
          outstanding cases to make consistent and effective efforts to identify the
          fate and whereabouts of the disappeared. At the same time, in agreement with
          the relatives of the disappeared persons, mechanisms are being explored for
          the clarification of cases, including acknowledgement of the responsibility of
          the State and the award of appropriate compensation. The Working Group renews
          its offer of cooperation to the parties concerned.
          336. The Working Group stresses once again that impunity is one of the main
          causes - probably the root cause - of enforced disappearance, and at the same
          time one of the major obstacles to clarifying past cases. It is very
          important that all States comply with the Declaration, which obliges them to
          make all acts of enforced disappearance offences under domestic criminal law,
          to promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate any allegation of enforced
          disappearance and to bring the perpetrators to justice. In addition, the
          Working Group strongly urges all States to comply with article 18, which
          establishes that perpetrators of enforced disappearance shall not benefit from
          any special amnesty law or similar measures that might have the effect of
          exempting them from criminal proceedings or sanction.
          337. In some countries, the Working Group was unable to achieve progress
          in clarifying cases because of the lack of appropriate cooperation on the
          part of the Government. The Governments of Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad,
          Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique and Tajikistan have never replied to any
          requests for information from the Working Group. The Working Group
          recommends once again that the Commission on Human Rights take whatever
          steps are appropriate in relation to these countries.
          338. It is crucial that, in accordance with the Declaration, the Governments
          take effective legislative, administrative and judicial measures aimed at
          preventing the occurrence of disappearances in the future. Although article 4
          of the Declaration is very clear and applies to all States, i.e. not only to
          those in which enforced disappearances actually take place, in very few States
          have the criminal laws been amended in order to ensure that acts of enforced
          disappearance as such are offences punishable by appropriate penalties. The
          enactment and effective implementation of such legal measures would be a major
          step forward towards preventing acts of enforced disappearance.
          339. The Working Group wishes to express once again its sincere appreciation
          to the secretariat for its dedication in the pursuance of the difficult tasks
          it has to undertake. The Group avails itself of this opportunity to appeal
          again to the Commission to meet the needs of the secretariat by allocating the
          appropriate resources, considering that the numbers of the secretariat staff
          have been dramatically reduced during the past year from nine to three staff
          members.
        
          
          E/CN. 4/1999/62
          page 59
          V. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT
          At the last meeting of its fifty-sixth session, on 4 December 1998, the
          present report was adopted by the members of the Working Group on Enforced or
          Involuntary Disappearances:
          Ivan Tosevski (Chairman-Rapporteur) (the former Yugoslav
          Republic of Macedonia)
          Agha Hilaly (Pakistan)
          Jonas K.D. Foli (Ghana)
          Diego Garcia-Say n (Peru)
          Manfred Nowak (Austria)
          Notes
          / Since its creation in 1980, the Working Group has submitted
          a report to the Commission annually, starting at the Commission's
          thirty-seventh session. The document symbols of the previous 16 reports are
          as follows: E/CN.4/1435 and Add.l; E/CN.4/l492 and Add.1; E/CN.4/1983/14;
          E/CN.4/l984/21 and Add.l and 2; E/CN.4/1985/15 and Add.l; E/CN.4/1986/18
          and Add.1; E/CN.4/1987/15 and Corr.1 and Add.l; E/CN.4/1988/19 and Add.l;
          E/CN.4/l989/l8 and Add.l; E/CN.4/1990/l3; E/CN.4/1991/20 and Add.1;
          E/CN.4/1992/18 and Add.1; E/CN.4/1993/25 and Add.1; E/CN.4/1994/26 and Corr.1
          and 2 and Add.l; E/CN.4/1995/36; E/CN.4/1996/38; E/CN.4/1997/34;
          E/CN.4/1998/43.
          2/ Resolutions 1998/19, 1998/21, 1998/31, 1998/39, 1998/42, 1998/49,
          1998/51, 1998/52, 1998/53 and 1998/74.
        
          
          E/CN.4/1999/62
          page 60
          Annex I
          DECISIONS ON INDIVIDUAL CASES TAKEN BY
          THE WORKING GROUP DURING 1998
        
          
          DECISIONS ON INDIVIDUAL CASES TAKEN BY THE WORKING GROUP DURING 1998
          Countries
          Cases which
          allegedly
          occurred in
          1998
          Cases transmitted to the
          Government during 1998
          Clarifications by:
          Discontinued
          cases
          Urgent actions
          Normal
          actions
          Government
          Non-governmental
          sources
          Algeria 12 12 566 4
          Burundi - - 2 -
          Cambodia 2 2 - - -
          China 2 2 12 4 3
          Colombia 50 50 4 3 -
          Democratic
          Republic of 18 18 - -
          the Congo
          Ecuador - 1
          Egypt 1 1 - 1
          Eritrea 34 34 -
          Ethiopia 2 2 3
          Honduras - 1
          India 5 5 28 3
          Indonesia 61 34 31 2 6
          Iran
          (Islamic
          - 2 1 - 0 —.
          Republic
          of)
          H
          H
          t o
          N J
        
          
          DECISIONS ON INDIVIDUAL CASES TAKEN BY THE WORKING GROUP DURING 1998
          ( continued )
          Countries
          Cases which
          allegedly
          occurred in
          1998
          Cases transmitted to the
          Government during 1998
          Clarifications by:
          Discontinued
          cases
          Urgent actions
          Normal
          actions
          Government
          Non-governmental
          sources
          Iraq - - 18
          Lebanon 1 1 - i
          Malaysia 2 2 - i
          Mexico 7 6 4 7 2
          Morocco 1 - 9 19
          Nepal 4 4 - -
          Nigeria 1 1 - -
          Pakistan 1 1 15 - 1
          Peru - - 1 -
          Philippines 2 - 2 1 -
          Rwanda 5 4 1 - 1
          Saudi - - 1 - -
          Arabia
          Sri Lanka 4 4 9 47 2
          Sudan 1 1 1 - -
          Syrian Arab - 1
          Republic
          Tunisia 9 9 9
          pi —
          (OZ
          NJ .
          NJ
        
          
          DECISIONS ON INDIVIDUAL CASES TAKEN BY THE WORKING GROUP DURING 1998
          ( continued )
          Countries
          Cases which
          allegedly
          occurred in
          1998
          Cases transmitted to the
          Government during 1998
          Clarifications by:
          Discontinued
          cases
          Urgent actions
          Normal actions
          Government
          Non-governmental
          sources
          Turkey
          Uganda
          United Arab
          Emirates
          Yemen
          13
          1
          -
          1
          13
          2
          -
          1
          6
          39
          -
          51
          -
          -
          1
          -
          9
          -
          -
          -
          -
          -
          0 L i i
          Qn
          CD
          w
        
          
          E / CN. 4/3.999 / 62
          page 64
          Annex II
          STATISTICAL SUMMARY: CASES OF ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARARCES REPORTED
          TO THE WORKING GROUP BETWEEN 1960 AND 1998
        
          
          STATISTICAL SUMMARY:
          CASES OF INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE REPORTED TO THE WORKING GROUP BETWEEN 1980 AND 1998
          Countries
          Cases transmitted to the Government
          Clarifications by
          Discontinued
          cases
          Total
          Outstanding
          Government
          Non-
          governmental
          sources
          No.
          of
          Female
          No. of
          Female
          cases
          cases
          Afghanistan 2 2
          Algeria 731 8 720 5 6
          Angola 7 1 4 - 3
          Argentina 3 453 772 3 375 749 43 35
          Bahrain 1 1
          Bangladesh 1 1 1 -
          Bolivia 48 8 28 - 19 1
          Brazil 56 4 7 - 48 1
          Bulgaria 3 - 3 -
          Burkina Faso 3 - 3 -
          Burundi 51 - 51 - -
          Cambodia 2 - 2 - -
          Cameroon 6 - 6
          Chad 12 - 11 1 -
          Chile 912 67 847 - 42 23
          erll
          China 87 5 33 45 9
          CD
          Ui
          Ui
          Ui
          Ui
          m
        
          
          CASES OF INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE REPORTED TO THE WORKING GROUP BETWEEN 1980 AND 1998
          ( continued )
          Countries
          Cases transmitted to the Government
          Clarifications by
          Discontinued
          cases
          Total
          Outstanding
          Government
          Non-
          governmental
          sources
          No.
          of
          Female
          No. of
          Female
          cases
          cases
          Colombia 1 060 89 833 2 171 56
          Democratic
          Republic of the 45 11 39 - 6
          Congo
          Dominican 4 - 2 2 -
          Republic
          Ecuador 22 2 7 11 4
          Egypt 20 - 12 - 7 1
          El Salvador 2 661 332 2 270 267 318 73
          Equatorial 3 - 3 - -
          Guinea
          Eritrea 34 - 34 -
          Ethiopia 112 2 110 1 1
          Gambia 1 - - 1
          Greece 3 - 3 - -
          Guatemala 3 151 396 2 990 82 79
          Guinea 28 21 - 7
          Haiti 48 38 - 9 1
          tI
          0
          LD
        
          
          CASES OF INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE REPORTED TO THE WORKING GROUP BETWEEN 1980 AND 1998
          ( continued )
          Countries
          Cases transmitted to the Government
          Clarifications by
          Discontinued
          cases
          Total
          Outstanding
          Government
          Non-
          governmental
          sources
          No.
          of
          Female
          No. of
          Female
          cases
          cases
          Honduras 198 129 30 39
          India 305 1 263 1 32 10
          Indonesia 550 33 475 1 55 20
          Iran (Islamic 512 99 497 - 13 2
          Republic of)
          Iraq 16 514 2 311 16 384 - 107 23
          Israel 3 2 - 1
          Kazakhstan 2 - - 2
          Kuwait 1 - 1 -
          Lao People's - 1 -
          Democratic 1
          Republic
          Lebanon 288 2 281 - 1 6
          Libyan Arab 3 - 2 - - 1
          Jamahiriya
          Malaysia 2 - 1 - - 1 - ‘0 ll
          0
          (-no
          Mauritania 1 - 1 -
          (-0
          (-0
          ( -0
        
          
          CASES OF INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE REPORTED TO THE WORKING GROUP BETWEEN 1980 AND 1998
          ( continued )
          Countries
          Cases transmitted to
          the Government
          Cia
          rifications by
          Discontinued
          cases
          Total
          Outstanding
          Government
          Non-
          governmental
          sources
          No.
          of
          Female
          No.
          of
          Female
          cases
          cases
          Mexico 353 319 232 1 91 17 13
          Morocco 242 28 108 1 88 46
          Mozambique 2 - 2
          Myanmar 2 1 - -
          Nepal 10 1 9 1 1
          Nicaragua 234 4 103 112 19
          Nigeria 6 1 1 5
          Pakistan 76 2 71 1 4
          Paraguay 23 1 3 20 -
          Peru 3 004 311 2 368 116 253 383
          Philippines 655 80 501 123 31
          Romania 1 1 -
          Russian 193 11 193
          Federat ion
          *Rwanda
          e
          isc
          CDZ
          M
          16 2
          14 1 1
          1
        
          
          CASES OF INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE REPORTED TO THE WORKING GROUP BETWEEN 1980 AND 1998
          ( continued )
          Countries
          Cases transmitted to the Government
          Clarifications by
          Discontinued
          cases
          Total
          Outstanding
          Government
          Non-
          governmental
          sources
          No.
          of
          Female
          No. of
          Female
          cases
          cases
          Saudi Arabia 2 - 1 - 1
          Seychelles 3 - 3 -
          South Africa 11 1 1 2 2 6
          Sri Lanka 12 221 147 12 108 77 36 -
          Sudan 263 34 259 1 3 -
          Syrian Arab 35 3 8 13 14
          Republic
          Tajikistan 8 - 6 2
          Thailand 2 2 -
          Togo 11 2 10 - - 1
          Tunisia 14 - 10 4
          Turkey 172 11 93 1 31 48
          Turkmenistan 2 - - 2
          Ukraine 3 2 3 -
          Uganda 61 31 54 31 2 5
          1 50
          CDZ
          D
          H
          10
          10
          10
          N)
        
          
          CASES OF INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE REPORTED TO THE WORKING GROUP BETWEEN 1980 AND 1998
          ( continued )
          * Note that the previous statistical summary (1980-1997) for Rwanda should read as follows:
          10 outstanding cases, 11 total cases transmitted, 1 case clarified by the Government, and no cases clarified
          by non-governmental sources.
          Qn
          o
          Countries
          Cases transmitted to the Government
          Clarifications by
          Discontinued
          cases
          Total
          Outstanding
          Government
          Non-
          governmental
          sources
          No. of
          cases
          Female
          No. of
          cases
          Female
          United Arab
          Emirates
          Uruguay
          Uzbekistan
          Venezuela
          Yemen
          Zambia
          Zimbabwe
          andthe
          Palestinian
          Authority
          1
          31
          3
          10
          150
          1
          1
          1
          -
          7
          -
          2
          -
          1
          -
          -
          -
          23
          3
          6
          149
          -
          -
          1
          -
          -
          -
          -
          -
          -
          —
          -
          1
          7
          -
          4
          -
          -
          1
          -
          1
          -
          -
          1
          1
          -
          -
          -
          -
          -
          -
        

Download Attachments:

Show More

Related Articles

Back to top button