From February 20 to February 27, 2023, Armenia will host the first visit of the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries, a new report on ReliefWeb has revealed.
According to the report, the Working Group will travel to Syunik province and Yerevan, the capital. The specialists will meet with government representatives, members of civil society, representatives from non-governmental organizations, and victims.
At a press conference to be held at the Congress Hotel Yerevan’s Picasso conference room on Monday, February 27, at 15:00 local time, they will present their initial findings. Journalists will only be permitted to access.
In September 2023, the Working Group will deliver its conclusions and suggestions to the Human Rights Council, the report adds.
The former Commission on Human Rights created the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and preventing the exercise of peoples’ rights to self-determination in July 2005. The Human Rights Council further extended its tenure in 2022. Five independent expert members from different parts of the world make up the Group. Mr. Ravindran Daniel is the Chairperson-Rapporteur (India). Mr. Chris Kwaja (Nigeria), Ms. Jelena Aparac (Croatia), Mr. Carlos Salazar Couto (Peru), and Ms. Sorcha MacLeod are additional members (United Kingdom).
The Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures, often known as the Working Groups, are a part of them. The term “Special Procedures” refers to the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either particular nation circumstances or global thematic issues. Special Procedures are the largest group of independent specialists in the UN Human Rights system. The experts who work on Special Processes do so voluntarily; they are not employed by the UN and are not paid for their efforts. They act on their own behalf and are independent of any institution of power or group.
