Item 3: Clustered Interactive Dialogue with Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
and Special Rapporteur on Water and Sanitation
Statement by the Delegation of the United States of America
as delivered by Vivian Ekey
33rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Geneva,
September 13, 2016
The United States thanks Special Rapporteur Heller for his presentation.
We look forward to welcoming the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to the United States for a country visit in October.
We commend the Working Group for promoting greater transparency by making its conclusions and recommendations on individual communications, including advance unedited versions, available at the end of each session in which they are adopted.
While the Working Group’s opinions and conclusions are not legally binding or enforceable, they nonetheless have the potential to serve a useful and important function in drawing attention to situations of concern.
We note with appreciation the Working Group’s April 20 opinion regarding the detention of U.S. citizen Sandy Phan-Gillis in China, including the recommendation that she be released.
We are also looking with interest at the Working Group’s recommendation to establish an international day against arbitrary detention.
We would like to ask: What best practices has the Working Group observed for drawing attention to cases of arbitrary detention?
(end statement)