GENEVA (September 14, 2023) – The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will conduct an official visit to Mexico, from September 18 to 29, 2023, to evaluate the situation of deprivation of liberty in the country.
During the visit, the Working Group will visit different parts of the country including Mexico City, Nuevo León and Chiapas. They will meet with representatives of government institutions, human rights commissions, civil society organizations and other interested actors. The delegation of experts is composed of Matthew Gillett, Ganna Yudkivska and Miriam Estrada-Castillo.
The delegation will visit places of deprivation of liberty, including prisons, police stations and institutions for minors, migrants and people with psychosocial disabilities.
The experts will hold a press conference on September 29 at 1:00 pm local time in the Prebisch Conference Room of ECLAC Mexico, located at the MCS Corporate Office, Blvd. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra #193 14th floor, 11520 Mexico City, Mexico. Access is strictly limited to journalists.
The Working Group will present its report to the Human Rights Council in September 2024.
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For more information or press requests, contact: Ms. Tania García Galván ((email protected)/ +52 55 5438 1729). Press registration and details to attend the conference will be sent on September 19.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was established by the former Commission on Human Rights in 1991 to investigate cases of alleged arbitrary deprivation of liberty. The Commission clarified and expanded its mandate to cover the issue of administrative custody of asylum seekers and migrants. In September 2019, the Human Rights Council confirmed the scope of the Working Group’s mandate and extended it for an additional period of three years. The Working Group is made up of five independent experts from different regions of the world: the Mrs. Priya Gopalan (President-Rapporteur, Malaysia); Sr. Matthew Gillett (Vice President of Communications, New Zealand); Mrs. Ganna Yudkivska (Vice President of Monitoring, Ukraine); Mrs. Miriam Estrada-Castillo (Ecuador) and Sr. Mumba Malila (Zambia).
Database of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
The Working Group is part of the so-called Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name for the Council’s independent investigative and oversight mechanisms. Special Procedures mandate holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address specific country situations or global thematic issues. They are not part of the UN staff and are independent of any government or organization. They provide their services on an individual basis and do not receive a salary for their work.
