GENEVA - The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will hold its 138th session from 26 to 30 January 2026. Due to the United Nations regular budget liquidity situation, the session will take place online exceptionally.
During the session, the Working Group will examine 1063 cases from 37 countries, including 31 cases concerning acts tantamount to enforced disappearances perpetrated by four non-state actors.
The experts will meet online with relatives of forcibly disappeared persons, State representatives, civil society groups and other stakeholders to exchange information on individual cases and structural issues and challenges related to enforced disappearances.
During the session, the experts will also examine allegations about obstacles to the implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, such as legislation, practices, or systemic failures to address cases of enforced disappearance and related acts.
The Working Group will discuss internal matters and future activities at the session, including country visits and technical assistance projects, as well as the preparation for the 139th session of the Working Group, to be held in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, in May 2026.
The experts will also discuss the reports to be presented to the Human Rights Council in September 2026, which include a thematic report on memorialization and enforced disappearances and a follow-up report to the country visit to Uruguay conducted in 2022, as well as the statement on Enforced Disappearances in the context of transnational repression to be issued jointly with the Committee on Enforced Disappearances. Calls for input are currently open for these reports/statements.
Decisions made by the Working Group during this session will be reflected in its next post-sessional report.
The sessions of the Working Group are held in private.
