Professor Gabriella Citroni Elected to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

15 July 2021

Professor Gabriella Citroni – who is part of our LLM Faculty – has been elected to the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

Composed of five independent experts, the Working Group assist families in determining the fate or whereabouts of their family members who are reportedly disappeared and acts as a channel of communication between families and governments.

In doing so, this independent body addresses cases of people arrested or abducted by state forces or with the tolerance or acquiescence of state forces whose fate or whereabouts are unknown.Since 2019, the Working Group also deals with violations tantamount to enforced disappearances perpetrated by non-State actors.

The Working Group also carries out country visits, provides advisory services to states upon request and issues reports aimed at clarifying key legal issues related to enforced or involuntary disappearances.

‘Over the past 41 years, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has greatly contributed to the struggle against the scourge of enforced disappearance. I am now honoured to build on such a valuable legacy and I wish to devote myself to further advancing the cause. Acutely aware of the urgency posed by the issue, I will be guided by the imperative to address without delay the plight of forcibly disappeared persons and their relatives worldwide’ says Professor Gabriela Citroni.

Portrait of Professor Gabriella Citroni

A Leading Expert on the Issue

Professor Citroni has been working on the issue of enforced disappearances – in academia, government, international organizations and civil society –for more than 20 years. A leading expert on the issue, she has written a number of articles and books, provided legal assistance to victims and their relatives in different countries, and acted as an expert for governments as well as regional and international human rights bodies.

‘The election of Professor Gabriella Citroni is a recognition of her expertise on this issue, along with her commitment to addressing this global problem. The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will greatly benefit from it, along with victims and their relatives’ underlines Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform.

A LLM Course on Enforced Disappearances and International Law

Professor Citroni precisely teaches an optional course in our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights on enforced disappearances and international law.

‘In this course, I examine the nature, definitions and consequences of the offence of enforced disappearance, along with the international legal framework and jurisprudence on the phenomenon. I appreciate discussing this issue with students and I am always pleased to see that every year some of them dedicate their LLM paper to this issue’, explains Professor Citroni.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Mô Bleeker News

UNSG Special Adviser Mô Bleeker Becomes Senior Fellow at the Geneva Academy

15 April 2025

Mô Bleeker, UNSG Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, shares how her work as Senior Fellow at the Geneva Academy contributes to our shared goals.

Read more

neurotech image News

Human Rights Concerns in Neurotechnology Examined in New Research Brief

15 April 2025

Our research brief 'Neurotechnology - Integrating Human Rights in Regulation' examines the human rights challenges posed by the rapid development of neurotechnology.

Read more

Training

Human Rights and the Environment: Introducing Legal Regimes and Key Issues

1-8 September 2025

Participants in this training course will be introduced to the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as international environmental law and its implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

Read more

Open dump Training

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

15-19 September 2025

Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.

Read more

Session of the UN Human Rights Committee Project

Treaty Body Review 2020 and Beyond

Started in January 2018

The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributes to this review process by providing expert input via different avenues, by facilitating dialogue on the review among various stakeholders, as well as by accompanying the development of a follow-up resolution to 68/268 in New York and in Geneva.

Read more

Un plate with Rapporteur Spécial written on it Project

Support to UN Special Procedures

Started in June 2020

Read more

Cover of the 2023 Geneva Academy Annual Report Publication

Annual Report 2024

published on July 2025

Read more