All countries are confronted by the practice of arbitrary detention. It knows no boundaries, and thousands of persons are subjected to arbitrary detention each year. Thus, the mandate of the Working Group is crucial. It consists of three different missions : investigate cases of detention imposed arbitrarily or inconsistent with relevant international standards of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or in other international legal instruments accepted by the States concerned ; seek and receive information from Government and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and receive information from the individuals concerned, their families or representatives ; present a comprehensive report to the Commission at its annual session.
It is worth noting that the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is the only non-treaty mechanism whose mandate provides consideration of individual complaints.
The working group classifies the situation of arbitrary detention into 3 categories :
a)When it is impossible to invoke any legal basis justifying the deprivation of liberty
b)When the deprivation of liberty results from the exercise of rights or freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
c)When the international norms relating to the right to a fair trial have not been observed
The working group follows 4 different procedures:
a)Investigation of individual cases (4 stages: bringing the matter to the attention of the working group, offering the Government an opportunity to refute the allegations, offering the source an opportunity to comment on the Government’s response, the Working Group’s opinion)
b)Adoption of deliberations on matters of a general nature involving a position of principle
c)Urgent action for cases in which there are sufficiently reliable allegation that a person is detained arbitrarily and that the continuation of the detention is a danger to the person’s health or life.
d)Field missions: dialogue with Government and civil society representatives in order to have a better understanding of the situation prevailing in that country and the reasons for instances of arbitrary deprivation of liberty. The field missions include visits with the judicial, penitentiary and other officials concerned, as well as with the detainees.
In addition, the Working Group expresses its observations, opinions and conclusions into an annual report to the Commission.
Submission of communication:
communications shall be submitted in writing and addressed to the Secretariat, giving the family name, first name and address of the sender. Each case should present the circumstances of the arrest or detention (date and place), as well as information allowing identifying the person detained (names, ID number, legal status).
In addition, communication should state the reasons given by the authorities for the arrest, detention or deprivation of liberty; the legislation applied in the case; the action taken (investigation, internal remedies, regional and international levels and the results of such actions or the reasons of their ineffectiveness or absence); an account of the reason why the deprivation of liberty is deemed arbitrary; a report of al elements presented by the source to inform the Working Group on the status of the reported situation.
In order to facilitate the Working Group’s work, individuals are encouraged to use the model questionnaire available from the Secretariat to submit their communications.
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Detention/WGADQuestionnaire_en.pdf
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Detention/Pages/Complaints.aspx
