CNDH member to chair UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
CNDH member Houria Esslami was appointed Friday 18 September 2015 Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, during the 107th session of the Working Group. Mr. Bernard Duhaime (Canada) was appointed Vice-Chair of the expert body.
Ms. Esslami is the first woman in the history of the WGEID. She joined the group in 2014. She is a member of the National Human Rights Council and Coordinator of its international relations, partnerships and cooperation Working Group.
She is also a member of the Coordinating Committee of the families of the disappeared and victims of enforced disappearances in Morocco. She was chair of Morocco Alternative Forum (FMAS), Executive Director of Driss Benzekri Foundation for Human Rights and Democracy and a founding member of the Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice.
Ms. Esslami held many positions of responsibility at the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement (Secretariat-General of the Government), and the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion (Deposit and Management Fund) -CDG.
The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances was established in 1980 by a resolution of the Commission on Human Rights. One of the Working Group's primary tasks is to assist families in determining the fate or whereabouts of their family members who are reportedly disappeared.