1. AIMS AND PROGRAMME OF THE EXPERT SEMINAR
The Expert Seminar of 24 November 2021 aims at highlighting the remarkable work realized by the CED and the WGEID under difficult circumstances, and at reviewing new challenges in the field of enforced disappearance, such as disappearances in the context of migration, the crimes committed by non State actors, and the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.
This hybrid Expert Seminar will take place on Wednesday 24 November 2021 from 13:00 to 16:00 in the Conference Room of the Ecumenical Centre (150, Route de Ferney, Geneva). As it was the case for our previous Expert Seminars, the Permanent Delegations of Argentina, France, Chile, and The Netherlands are invited to co-sponsors the event.
You will find here after the ‘draft outline’ of 11th of November 2021. the new update and revised programme will be available on Monday 22nd of November 2021.
We also have background documentation available upon request.
Previous Experts Seminars of GHR
GHR first Expert Seminar took place on 1 November 2012 during the simultaneous sessions of the Committee (3rd session) and of the Working Group (98th session). Its aim was to intensify the
cooperation between both mechanisms with active civil society participation. The Seminar discussed and compared the mandates, working methods and rules of procedures, and it focused on the
complementarity and cooperation between the two mechanisms.
The 2nd Seminar was on 7 November 2013. Its theme was ‘the pivotal role of the CED in the treaty bodies and in the thematic procedures’. Co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of France
and Argentina, it aimed at promoting a system-wide coherence of both doctrine and action on enforced disappearances (decisions on individual cases, General Comments).
The 3rd Expert Seminar of 17 September 2014 assessed how the Committee, the Working Group, and other mechanisms dealt with a variety of communications regarding enforced disappearances: communications on individual cases, on obstacles to the implementation of the Declaration (Working Group), on allegations of a widespread practice in the country (CED).
GHR convened its 4th Expert Seminar on 15 March 2017, as a follow-up to the December 2016 Conference of State Parties. The Seminar was co-sponsored by the Permanent Delegations of Argentina and France, together with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy Studies (GCSP). All the members of the CED attended.
The 5th Expert Seminar took place on 13 November 2018 with the advanced screening of The Documentary ‘The Subversives’ (on the pioneering work of former UN Human Rights Director Theo Van Boven) to the CED and representatives of relatives of victims.
The 6th Seminar of GHR (27 February 2019) was co-sponsored by the Delegations of The Netherlands, Argentina and Chile. This side-event during the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council presented the Screening of ‘The Subversives’, followed by a round-table chaired by the Dutch Ambassador and animated by the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights.
