Geneva (Switzerland), September 17, 2025 (SPS) – On the sidelines of the 60th session of the Human Rights Council, the Chair of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Ms. Gabriella Ströms, presented her annual report yesterday evening at the Human Rights Council headquarters in Geneva. The report, referenced A/HRC/0/35, covers the period from May 2024 to May 2025.
The thematic report focused on enforced disappearances in the context of protecting land, natural resources, and the environment. It noted that during the year under review, the UN team examined 1,278 cases concerning 38 countries. Since its establishment in 1980, the Working Group has addressed 62,904 cases, while several states still refrain from disclosing the fate of thousands of disappeared persons.
The Chair stressed that this crime, classified as both a crime against humanity and a crime of extermination, requires the concerned states to uphold their international obligations and cooperate with the relevant UN mechanisms to put an end to this suffering and reveal the truth to the families.
For her part, human rights activist El-Ghalia Abdallah Djimi emphasized in a statement to the Sahrawi News Agency that the issue of enforced disappearances can never be subject to limitation, nor can it be closed before uncovering the truth and holding those responsible accountable.
She further underlined that this issue is intrinsically linked to the Moroccan occupation, and that ignoring the fate of the disappeared constitutes a grave violation of international law and fundamental human rights. (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)
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