a To 31 March 2023.

b One of these requests was also sent to Spain.

c This request was also sent to Sri Lanka.

63.In 2021, the Committee registered 69 new requests for urgent action, concerning 459 persons. In 2022, the Committee registered 71 new requests for urgent action concerning, 100 persons. Also in 2022, the Committee sent 72 notes, relating to registered requests for urgent action, to follow up on the implementation of its recommendations regarding the search and investigations of disappearance.

B.Urgent actions that have been discontinued, closed or suspended for the protection of persons for whom interim measures have been taken

64.At its eighth and twentieth, the Committee adopted criteria for discontinuing, closing or suspending urgent actions. Accordingly, as at 31 March 2023, the Committee had closed urgent action cases concerning 430 persons, discontinued cases concerning 38 persons and suspended cases concerning 103 persons. Cases concerning 1,007 persons remained open.

65.The Committee welcomes the fact that 469 disappeared persons had been located as at 31 March 2023. It particularly welcomes the fact that 442 persons concerned had been located alive. In this regard, the Committee wishes to highlight the positive outcomes observed in requests for urgent action registered during the period under review with regard to cases in Mexico.

C.Process after registration of requests for urgent action: developments observed since the twenty-second session (to 31 March 2023)

66.The Committee maintains constant contact with States parties and with the authors of requests for urgent action. The Committee also relies heavily on the cooperation of OHCHR and United Nations field presences.

67.The information received in the context of the urgent action procedure confirms the trends identified in the reports adopted by the Committee at its eleventh to twenty-second sessions (CED/C/11/3, CED/C/12/2, CED/C/13/3, CED/C/14/2, CED/C/15/3, CED/C/16/32, CED/C/17/2, CED/C/19/2, CED/20/2, CED/C/21/2 and CED/C/22/2). A non-exhaustive summary of the most recent information is given below. For further information, see the Committee’s reports on requests for urgent action at its twenty-third and twenty-fourth sessions (CED/C/23/2 and CED/C/24/23).

1.General trends

(a)Lack of cooperation with the Committee

68.The Committee remains concerned at the lack of cooperation by States parties that fail to respond regarding requests for urgent action or to address the Committee’s recommendations. The Committee recalls that States parties have the obligation, under article 30 (3) of the Convention, to inform the Committee, within a specified period of time, of measures taken to locate and protect the person concerned in accordance with the Convention and, under article 26 (9), to cooperate with the Committee and assist its members in the fulfilment of their mandate.

69.The Committee reiterates its concern about the continued failure of Iraq to reply to the majority of the registered requests for urgent action concerning cases of disappearance that occurred in its territory and to address the recommendations regarding search and investigation measures. The Committee has noted this lack of compliance by Iraq with its obligations under article 30 of the Convention in its past five reports submitted to the General Assembly.

70.Whenever the States parties concerned do not provide follow-up information by the deadlines set by the Committee, the Committee will send up to four reminders. Where a fourth and final reminder is necessary, the Committee will indicate that it may decide to make the situation public in its report on requests for urgent action at its following session and in its following report to the General Assembly.

71.As at 31 March 2023, the Committee had sent final reminders and was still awaiting a response from the States parties concerned regarding 153 requests for urgent action concerning 379 disappeared persons: 141 requests concerning 360 persons in Iraq, 11 requests concerning 18 persons in Mexico and 1 request concerning 1 person in Mali.

72.The Committee is also concerned about the lack of response from some authors of requests for urgent action. In such cases, the Committee will send up to three reminders to the authors. If the authors fail to respond after the third and final reminder, the Committee is prevented from being able to follow up on its recommendations, and will suspend its follow-up on the request for urgent action.

73.As at 31 March 2023, the Committee had sent three reminders and received no response from the authors concerned regarding requests for urgent action concerning 104 disappeared persons: 80 in Mexico, 13 in Honduras, 9 in Colombia, 1 in Peru and 1 in Slovakia. The Committee recalls that authors should inform the Committee if they have lost contact with the disappeared person’s relatives, in which case the Committee will suspend its follow-up on the case until new information is provided. Authors should also inform the Committee if they have nothing to add regarding the measures taken by the State party concerned, so that the Committee can proceed to follow up on the request for urgent action on the basis of the information provided by the State party.

(b)Lack of a strategy suited to each case and lack of coordination between search and investigation procedures

74.In the context of its follow-up to requests for urgent action, the Committee continued to raise concerns regarding the failure by States parties, despite the Committee’s specific recommendations, to define and implement a comprehensive strategy for the search for the disappeared persons and the investigation of their disappearance (arts. 12 and 24 of the Convention and principle 8 of the Guiding Principles for the Search for Disappeared Persons). In the majority of such cases, States parties continued to report on isolated and uncoordinated action that revealed the absence of any such strategy and prevented or hindered any meaningful progress in the location of the disappeared persons concerned.

(c)Challenges to the effective participation of relatives in the search and investigation

75.During the period under review, the Committee received reports of obstacles faced by the relatives of disappeared persons to effectively participate in the search and investigation, including lack of information on measures taken and the results achieved.

(d)Lack of a differential approach

76.The Committee remains concerned at the absence of information from the States parties concerned as to how they have implemented the Committee’s recommendations that they adopt a differential approach in cases involving women, children or members of Indigenous communities (principle 4 of the Guiding Principles).

(e)Disappearance of women

77.During the reporting period, the Committee registered an increasing number of requests for urgent action concerning the alleged disappearance of women. In particular, the Committee received allegations of the disappearance of a woman victim of domestic violence in Mexico, with indications, based on the context information, that she may have been victim of a femicide. The Committee recalled that even if a violation was initially not directly attributable to the State party, its international responsibility could still be triggered because of its lack of due diligence in preventing the violation or in addressing it in accordance with international law, in particular the Convention. That scenario could apply in cases of femicide, particularly given the high rates of impunity for such crimes in the country and the fact that the disappearance of women and girls has been used as a means of concealing femicide and other crimes linked to violence against women, such as sexual violence and trafficking in persons.

(f)Human rights defenders

78.In cases of requests for urgent action human rights defenders, the Committee requested the States parties concerned to take into account the work of the human rights defenders as a possible motive for the disappearance. When human rights defenders, their representatives or the victims’ counsel requested protection measures in such cases, the Committee requested the States parties concerned to ensure that the beneficiaries’ work relating to the search for truth, justice and reparation be taken into account in the risk assessment and identification of appropriate protection measures. Such cases included a request for urgent action concerning the disappearance of two Indigenous human rights defenders in Mexico, Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca and Antonio Díaz Valencia, known for their work related to the rights of Indigenous peoples and for their opposition to the activities of extractive industries in the State of Michoacán.

(g)Disappearance of migrants

79.The Committee registered a request for urgent action concerning the alleged enforced disappearance of a national of Morocco on 24 June 2022, as he was trying to cross the border between Spain and Morocco at Melilla, as part of a group of some 2,000 migrants. According to witnesses, the Spanish and Moroccan security forces used force to prevent the crossing and, consequently, 23 migrants died, many others were detained, and others dispersed in Morocco. The Committee sent notes to both Morocco and Spain requesting that their authorities afford one another the greatest measure of mutual assistance in searching for and locating the disappeared person (art. 15 of the Convention).

(h)Disappearance of members of Indigenous groups

80.The Committee registered a request for urgent action concerning the alleged enforced disappearance of a member of the Tzeltal Maya Indigenous community in Mexico. A group of 300 neighbours in the community of Nueva Palestina in Ocosingo, Chiapas, accompanied by armed community, municipal and state police, allegedly entered the houses of several members of an Indigenous family, one of whom was later reported disappeared. The Committee requested that a differential approach be adopted in the search and investigation strategy and that, in all stages of the search, the particular needs of the victim as a member of an Indigenous community be fully respected and specific cultural patterns be considered and respected.

(i)Reprisals

81.The Committee is concerned at allegations received from the authors of requests for urgent action concerning reprisals, usually involving threats and retaliation against the relatives of disappeared persons. In cases currently open concerning 307 disappeared persons (257 of whom had disappeared in Mexico, 20 in Iraq, 13 in Colombia, 9 in Honduras, 2 in Argentina, 1 in Brazil, 1 in Burkina Faso, 1 in Cambodia, 1 in Morocco, 1 in Paraguay and 1 in Peru), representing some 30 per cent of open cases, the Committee requested the States parties concerned to take protection measures to preserve the lives and integrity of individuals concerned, and allow them to pursue their search activities without being subjected to violence, intimidation or harassment (art. 24 of the Convention and principle 14 of the Guiding Principles). The Committee further requested the States parties concerned to ensure that such measures were taken with the prior consent of the persons requiring protection and were subject to review at their request.

2.Developments relating to Mexico and Iraq

(a)Iraq

82.As at 31 March 2023, the Committee had registered requests concerning a total of 575 disappeared persons related to events in Iraq, amounting to 36 per cent of the disappeared persons concerned in all registered requests for urgent action so far. The Committee is highly concerned that only 35 of these disappeared persons (6 per cent) have been located. The Committee expressed concern about the State party’s failure to inform the Committee even when the disappeared persons had been released from detention, and reminded the State party of its obligation to cooperate in good faith with the Committee by providing prompt and detailed information on action taken to search for disappeared persons and, when determined, on their location.

83.Where the State party submitted replies to the Committee, the responses generally followed the trend observed in previous reports, whereby the State party did not provide any information on action taken to search for disappeared persons or to investigate their alleged enforced disappearance. The Committee reminded the State party of its obligation to examine the allegation promptly and impartially, to undertake without delay a thorough and impartial investigation and to take the necessary measures to prevent and sanction acts that hinder the conduct of an investigation (art. 12 of the Convention).

84.The State party continued to assert in some cases that the disappeared persons were affiliated with terrorist groups, without providing information or evidence about criminal charges brought, proceedings initiated or arrest warrants issued against them. The Committee reminded the State party that the Convention provided for no exceptions to its obligation to search for disappeared persons and to investigate their disappearance, irrespective of their profile and of any suspicions of involvement in terrorist activities. Similarly, the Committee emphasized that judicial access and remedies must be available to all persons, including those affected by terrorism sanctions regimes.

85.The Committee requested the State party to provide copies of arrest warrants or any official documents that listed the disappeared persons as wanted by the Iraqi authorities and, if specific criminal charges and proceedings had been brought against them, to officially notify their relatives and representatives, and to place them immediately under the protection of the law. The Committee welcomes the State party’s recent responses to such requests, whereby it provided copies of the relevant arrest warrants and information about the detention of the individuals concerned.

86.The Committee observes, however, that in some of these cases, the arrest warrants provided were issued after the date of the alleged disappearance, whereas they should predate the alleged detention of the persons concerned. The Committee has requested the State party to explain this discrepancy, and is still awaiting a response. In other cases, the arrest warrants did not contain any information as to the charges against the disappeared person in question.

87.In some cases, the State party responded that the disappeared persons’ relatives had not filed complaints with the relevant authorities, although they had in fact done so. In one case, the State party requested certified copies of complaints or reports submitted to the Iraqi authorities. The Committee recalled article 12 of the Convention, and principle 6 of the Guiding Principles, according to which: the obligation to search for and locate a person is triggered as soon as the competent authorities become aware, by any means, or have indications that a person has been subjected to enforced disappearance; the competent authorities should begin the search immediately and expeditiously, on their own initiative, even when no formal complaint or request has been made; a lack of information from relatives or complainants cannot be invoked to justify a failure to immediately launch activities to search for and locate the disappeared person; and where doubts arise about the occurrence of an involuntary disappearance, the search should nevertheless begin immediately. The Committee further recalled that the Convention imposes no specific requirements as to which authority should receive complaints alleging enforced disappearance.

88.As previously, the Committee continued to receive a number of new requests for urgent action with regard to the disappearance of persons in 2017. It was reported that, when the Iraqi security forces were about to enter Hadar District, in Ninawa Governorate, approximately 50 Sunni families fled in their vehicles towards the village of Oleba. Militia affiliated with the Iraqi security forces reportedly arrested the men, who were blindfolded and handcuffed and taken to the Hadar crossroad.

89.The Committee also received new requests for urgent action with regard to the disappearance of persons in 2015 in the context of military operations by the Popular Mobilization Forces against Da’esh, as a result of which families had been displaced. According to the information before the Committee, the Popular Mobilization Forces arrested the men and never released them.

(b)Mexico

90.As at 31 March 2023, the Committee had registered requests concerning a total of 544 disappeared persons related to events in Mexico, amounting to 34 per cent of the disappeared persons concerned in all requests for urgent action registered so far. Of these 544 persons, cases concerning 55 persons have been closed as the disappeared persons have been located alive, cases concerning 101 persons have been suspended as the authors of the requests can no longer provide follow-up information, and cases concerning 388 persons remain open.

91.The Committee welcomes the State party’s cooperation in responding to the Committee’s requests for information. However, the Committee continued to observe a general lack of coordination between the authorities in charge of search and investigation, including with respect to the definition of their respective roles and responsibilities and the sharing of information, which occasionally resulted in duplication of action. The Committee also observed unjustified delays in the adoption of formal measures, sometimes of up to a year after the search and investigation file had been opened.

92.Authors continued to report that State authorities were directly or indirectly involved in the disappearance and that search and investigation efforts had therefore come to a halt. In such cases, the Committee emphasized to the State party the importance of establishing mechanisms for ensuring the accountability of State officials in charge of search and investigation, and requested it to investigate such allegations (art. 12 of the Convention and principle 15 of the Guiding Principles). When the local investigation authorities were allegedly involved in the disappearance, the Committee recommended that the State party consider transferring the search and investigation to the federal authorities.

93.In several cases, the Committee received information that lack of resources and capacity in some local and federal institutions meant that the initiative to advance the search for the disappeared person and the investigation of the disappearance was left to the relatives. In these cases, the Committee recalled that the main responsibility for addressing the disappearance and implementing the Committee’s recommendations lay with the State authorities (art. 30 of the Convention). The Committee reminded the State party that its Supreme Court had recognized the binding nature of the Committee’s recommendations issued in the context of the urgent action procedure.

94.During the reporting period, the Committee registered several requests for urgent action related to cases of alleged enforced disappearance in the Tierra Caliente region, also known as the “Bermuda Triangle”. The cases were reportedly committed by persons belonging to organized criminal groups with the acquiescence and, at times, direct involvement of State authorities.

3.Developments relating to other States parties

(a)Cases of disappearance in the context of demonstrations in Cuba

95.In 2021, the Committee registered requests for urgent action concerning 187 disappeared persons related to the social protests that began in Cuba on 11 July 2021. The requests concerned demonstrators who had allegedly been detained by security forces, which had later denied the demonstrators’ relatives information on their whereabouts. The Committee recalled that failure to register a detention, even for brief periods of time, followed by refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or to disclose information on the disappeared person’s whereabouts placed the individual outside the protection of the law and constituted enforced disappearance under article 2 of the Convention.

96.After receiving case-specific information from the State party, the Committee decided to close cases concerning 165 of the disappeared persons, either because they had already been released from detention or had been placed under house arrest, or because the authors were unable to dispute the information provided by the State party to suggest that the persons remained disappeared. The Committee also decided to discontinue the cases concerning the remaining 22 disappeared persons, because their locations had been confirmed, but they remained in detention. The Committee expressed concern at the repeated allegations of incommunicado detention of protesters, in some cases for up to several months, and recalled that such practice, which could be conducive to enforced disappearance, should be exceptional, in order to avoid harm to the detainee’s life or integrity and to protect investigations.

(b)Disappearance of French national in Japan

97.The Committee registered a case of disappearance of a tourist, a French national, in Nikko, Japan, during a visit in July 2018. The Committee was informed of a context of murders in Nikko at the time of the disappearance. Following the opening of an investigation in France for kidnapping, the French authorities sent two international letters rogatory to the Japanese authorities in October 2018 and April 2021, along with a request to the Japanese police to collect and safeguard the disappeared person’s mobile phone data, but have received no response to date. The Committee requested the State party to cooperate with and afford the greatest measure of assistance to France, with a view to assisting the disappeared person and her relatives, and in searching for, locating and releasing her (art. 15 of the Convention).

(c)Disappearance of a migrant domestic worker in Oman

98.The Committee continued to follow up on the disappearance of a Sri Lankan migrant worker in Oman. The victim had arrived in the United Arab Emirates with a visit visa and had been illegally transferred by an employment agency to Oman, where she had allegedly been mistreated by her sponsor and disappeared. While the Committee acknowledged the new reforms regarding migrant workers in Oman – and the abolition of the “no objection certificate” system, enabling a worker to move from one employer to another – it noted that the reforms had come into force after the disappearance had occurred, and that the victim had allegedly been held in police custody in Oman before her disappearance. The Committee recalled the importance of cooperation between all States involved in a disappearance – in this case, the territorial State and the State of nationality of the victim – to ensure the greatest measure of mutual assistance in the search for the disappeared person, and mutual legal assistance (arts. 14 and 15 of the Convention).

(d)Disappearance in Ukraine

99.The Committee registered a third request for urgent action concerning a case of disappearance in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. The victim was allegedly apprehended by unknown persons, who were armed with automatic weapons and dressed in military uniform, and was reportedly transported to the city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, in the territory still under the control of the Ukrainian military units. In view of the urgency and seriousness of the situation, the Committee requested the State party to take immediate action to search for, locate and protect the disappeared person. The Committee is awaiting the State party’s response in this regard.

D.Decisions by the Committee at its twenty-third and twenty-fourth sessions

100.The Committee decided that, in all cases in which the disappeared person had been located, it would inform the authors of the request, in its note closing the case, that they could file an individual communication regarding the State party’s obligation to investigate the disappearance, if the requirements of article 31 of the Convention were met. In cases in which protection measures had been requested and the alleged risk or threat to the beneficiaries continued, the Committee would inform the authors that, if that risk or threat was related to their cooperation with the Committee, they could refer the case to its rapporteur on reprisals. The Committee also decided that in cases of disappearance in Ukraine, it would continue to process and register cases allegedly attributable to Ukraine, and would refer to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances cases allegedly attributable – directly or indirectly – to the Russian Federation. The Committee further decided that when an author failed to respond to its request for information after three reminders, the Committee would suspend its follow-up to the case.

Chapter XI

Communications procedure under article 31 of the Convention

101.Over the reporting period, the Committee registered no new individual communications.

102.At its twenty-fourth session, the Committee adopted its Views on Berrospe Medina v. Mexico (CED/C/24/D/4/2021). Yonathan Isaac Mendoza Berrospe disappeared after being taken from his home in 2013, when he was 17 years old, by armed men in police uniforms. The author, his mother, has been searching for him since then. The Committee found that the State had violated its obligation to exercise due diligence in searching for her son and investigating his disappearance, and to establish the truth and provide reparations to his family, in violation of articles 1, 2, 12 and 24 of the Convention.

Chapter XII

Visits under article 33 of the Convention

103.On 15 November 2021, Iraq communicated its official agreement to a visit by the Committee, which the Committee had requested in November 2015.The visit was conducted from 12 to 25 November 2022, by a delegation of three Committee members. The delegation visited Anbar, Baghdad, Erbil, Mosul and Sinjar. It held 24 meetings with more than 60 authorities, and meetings with four delegations of the High Commission for Human Rights in the visited governorates, and had meetings with 171 victims and with civil society organizations from Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala, Erbil, Kirkuk, Ninawa and Salah al-Din Governorates. It observed the two exhumations and visited a provisional centre for DNA identification in Sinjar, and also visited the Medico-Legal Directorate and four places of deprivation of liberty. It held consultative meetings with the United Nations presence in Iraq and representatives of member States, and international organizations involved in the fight against disappearances. At the end of the visit, the delegation presented preliminary findings to the State party and released a statement.

104.In its visit report, adopted at its twenty-fourth session (CED/C/IRQ/VR/1 (Findings) and CED/C/IRQ/VR/1 (Recommendations)), the Committee welcomed the cooperation and the facilities provided by the State party at the federal and regional levels, including in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and expressed appreciation for the readiness of all its interlocutors to engage in dialogue and provide valuable information. It expressed gratitude for the support of OHCHR and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, and especially thanked the relatives of disappeared persons for their testimonies, insights and proposals.

105.In the report, the Committee presented detailed recommendations following its thorough analysis of duly verified public and confidential information, with the aim of supporting State institutions and other stakeholders to eradicate and prevent enforced disappearance, fight impunity and ensure that all victims had access to truth, justice and full reparations, regardless of their ethnic, religious or national origin, the national origin of the alleged perpetrators, and the time, location and circumstances of the disappearance. The Committee stressed its willingness to strengthen a constructive and trustful interaction with the State party to this end.

Chapter XIII

General comments

106.After a wide-ranging consultation process and a dedicated retreat, financed by Switzerland, from 13 to 17 March 2023, the Committee, at its twenty-fourth session, adopted the first draft of its general comment on enforced disappearance in the context of migration.

107.On 23 March 2023, the Committee launched a process of consultation on the first draft, which remained open until 15 June 2023. All contributions will be taken into account in preparing the final draft of the general comment.

Chapter XIV

Other projects and activities undertaken by members of the Committee intersessionally

108.At its twenty-fourth session, the Committee adopted its statement on non-State actors in the context of the Convention, after three years of work in cooperation with a wide range of stakeholders. The aim of the statement was to clarify the scope of applicability of the Convention with regard to acts committed by non-State actors, the obligations of States parties in that regard, and the implications thereof for the functions entrusted to the Committee.

109.The Committee and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances issued a joint call for input on their project on the notion of short-term enforced disappearance.

110.Between the twenty-second and twenty-fourth sessions, Committee members participated in a wide range of activities to promote the Convention and the Committee’s work.

Annex

States parties to the Convention as at 31 March 2023 and their reporting status

State party (in order of ratification)	Ratification/accession	Entry into force	Deadline for reporting under art. 29 (1)	Report submitted
Albania*	8 Nov. 2007	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	11 Nov. 2015
Argentina*	14 Dec. 2007	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	21 Dec. 2012
Mexico*	18 Mar. 2008	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	11 Mar. 2014
Honduras	1 Apr. 2008	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	4 Feb. 2016
France*	23 Sept. 2008	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	21 Dec. 2012
Senegal	11 Dec. 2008	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	28 Apr. 2015
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	17 Dec. 2008	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	28 Sept. 2018
Cuba	2 Feb. 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	24 Apr. 2015
Kazakhstan	27 Feb. 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	3 June 2014
Uruguay*	4 Mar. 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	4 Sept. 2012
Mali*	1 July 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	5 Nov. 2020
Japan*	23 July 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	22 July 2016
Nigeria	27 July 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	26 Mar. 2021
Spain*	24 Sept. 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	26 Dec. 2012
Germany*	24 Sept. 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	25 Mar. 2013
Ecuador*	20 Oct. 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	5 June 2015
Burkina Faso	3 Dec. 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	7 Oct. 2014
Chile*	8 Dec. 2009	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	1 Dec. 2017
Paraguay	3 Aug. 2010	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	28 Aug. 2013
Iraq	23 Nov. 2010	23 Dec. 2010	23 Dec. 2012	26 June 2014
Brazil	29 Nov. 2010	29 Dec. 2010	29 Dec. 2012	30 June 2019
Gabon	19 Jan. 2011	18 Feb. 2011	18 Feb. 2013	10 June 2015
Armenia	24 Jan. 2011	23 Feb. 2011	23 Feb. 2013	14 Oct. 2013
Netherlands*	23 Mar. 2011	22 Apr. 2011	22 Apr. 2013	11 June 2013
Zambia	4 Apr. 2011	4 May 2011	4 May 2013	-
Serbia*	18 May 2011	17 June 2011	17 June 2013	30 Dec. 2013
Belgium*	2 June 2011	2 July 2011	2 July 2013	8 July 2013
Panama	24 June 2011	24 July 2011	24 July 2013	30 June 2019
Tunisia	29 June 2011	29 July 2011	29 July 2013	25 Sept. 2014
Montenegro*	20 Sept. 2011	20 Oct. 2011	20 Oct. 2013	30 Jan. 2014
Costa Rica	16 Feb. 2012	17 Mar. 2012	17 Mar. 2014	7 May 2020
Bosnia and Herzegovina*	30 Mar. 2012	29 Apr. 2012	29 Apr. 2014	26 Jan. 2015
Austria*	7 June 2012	7 July 2012	7 July 2014	31 May 2016
Colombia*	11 July 2012	10 Aug. 2012	10 Aug. 2014	17 Dec. 2014
Peru*	26 Sept. 2012	26 Oct. 2012	26 Oct. 2014	8 Aug. 2016
Mauritania	3 Oct. 2012	2 Nov. 2012	2 Nov. 2014	29 Dec. 2020
Samoa	27 Nov. 2012	27 Dec. 2012	27 Dec. 2014	14 Mar. 2023
Morocco	14 May 2013	13 June 2013	13 June 2015	10 Sept. 2021
Cambodia	27 June 2013	27 July 2013	27 July 2015	15 July 2021
Lithuania*	14 Aug. 2013	13 Sept. 2013	13 Sept. 2015	6 Oct. 2015
Lesotho	6 Dec. 2013	5 Jan. 2014	5 Jan. 2016	-
Portugal*	27 Jan. 2014	26 Feb. 2014	26 Feb. 2016	22 June 2016
Togo	21 July 2014	20 Aug. 2014	20 Aug. 2016	-
Slovakia*	15 Dec. 2014	14 Jan. 2015	14 Jan. 2017	26 Apr. 2018
Mongolia	12 Feb. 2015	14 Mar. 2015	14 Mar. 2017	27 Dec. 2018
Malta	27 Mar. 2015	26 Apr. 2015	26 Apr. 2017	21 Mar. 2022
Greece	9 July 2015	8 Aug. 2015	8 Aug. 2017	1 Feb. 2019
Niger	24 July 2015	23 Aug. 2015	23 Aug. 2017	1 Aug. 2019
Belize	14 Aug. 2015	13 Sept. 2015	13 Sept. 2017	-
Ukraine*	14 Aug. 2015	13 Sept. 2015	13 Sept. 2017	3 Aug. 2021
Italy	8 Oct. 2015	7 Nov. 2015	7 Nov. 2017	22 Dec. 2017
Sri Lanka	25 May 2016	24 June 2016	24 June 2018	-
Central African Republic	11 Oct. 2016	10 Nov. 2016	10 Nov. 2018	-
Switzerland*	2 Dec. 2016	1 Jan. 2017	1 Jan. 2019	21 Dec. 2018
Seychelles	18 Jan. 2017	17 Feb. 2017	17 Feb. 2019	-
Czechia*	8 Feb. 2017	10 Mar. 2017	10 Mar. 2019	22 May 2019
Malawi*	14 July 2017	13 Aug. 2017	13 Aug. 2019	-
Benin	2 Nov. 2017	2 Dec. 2017	2 Dec. 2019	15 Sept. 2021
Gambia	28 Sept. 2018	28 Oct. 2018	28 Oct. 2020	15 Mar. 2021
Dominica	13 May 2019	12 June 2019	12 June 2021	-
Fiji	19 Aug. 2019	18 Sept. 2019	18 Sept. 2021	-
Norway	22 Aug. 2019	21 Aug. 2019	21 Aug. 2021	18 Nov. 2021
Oman	12 June 2020	12 July 2020	12 July 2022	-
Sudan	10 Aug. 2021	9 Sept. 2021	9 Sept. 2023	-
Slovenia*	15 Dec. 2021	14 Jan. 2022	14 Jan. 2024	-
Denmark	13 Jan. 2022	12 Feb. 2022	12 Feb. 2024	-
Croatia*	31 Jan. 2022	2 Mar. 2022	2 Mar. 2024	-
Luxembourg*	1 Apr. 2022	1 May 2022	1 May 2024	-
Cabo Verde	20 Dec. 2022	19 Jan. 2023	19 Jan. 2025	-
Republic of Korea*	4 Jan. 2023	3 Feb. 2023	3 Feb. 2025	-

Note : States parties marked with an asterisk have made declarations recognizing the competence of the Committee under articles 31 and/or 32 of the Convention. The full text of declarations and reservations made by States parties is available at https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-16&chapter=4&clang=_en .