GENEVA - The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is conducting a country visit to Lithuania from 20 to 26 November 2024.
The Working Group's delegation comprising human rights experts Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur) and Grażyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair) will travel to Vilnius and meet state officials, the National Human Rights Institution, NGOs, civil society organisations and human rights defenders working on enforced disappearance.
The delegation will examine matters related to the Working Group's mandate, including the institutional and legislative framework, and the implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. The experts will look into the principle of universal criminal jurisdiction in cases related to enforced disappearance, as well as the rights of victims to truth, justice and reparation in the context of enforced disappearances; efforts towards the preservation of memory; and measures aimed at preventing enforced disappearances.
The experts plan to visit the Pabradė Foreigners Registration Centre, as well as the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights and other sites of remembrance.
The experts will share their preliminary observations at a press-conference on Tuesday, 26 November at 12:00 p.m. local time at the Congress Avenue Hotel, Gedimino pr. 12, Vilnius, 01103. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.
The Working Group will present a final report containing its findings and recommendations at the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in September 2025.
