A/HRC/WGEID/118/1 5. On 25 February 2019, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release deploring the executions in Egypt of nine men convicted on the basis of evidence allegedly obtained under torture. 2 6. On 11 March 2019, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release urging the Congress of Guatemala not to pass a new bill that would set up a general amnesty for serious human rights violations committed during the armed internal conflict.3 7. On 14 March 2019, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release renewing a call to the Chinese authorities for a comprehensive and independent investigation into the death in custody of the human rights defender and lawyer Cao Shunli, five years after her death. 4 8. On 10 May 2019, the Working Group, together with other special procedure mechanisms, issued a press release condemning the lack of significant progress in the investigation into the disappearance in Mexico of lawyer and human rights defender Ernesto Sernas García, one year after his disappearance. 5 9. Also at its 118th session, the Working Group reviewed and adopted two general allegations, concerning Bangladesh and the United States of America. II. Other activities 10. During the session, the Working Group met with relatives of victims of enforced disappearance and with non-governmental organizations working on the issue. 11. The Working Group also held meetings with representatives of the Governments of Argentina, France, Japan, Morocco, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar and the Republic of Korea. 12. During the session, the Working Group discussed its upcoming thematic report on standards and public policies for an effective investigation of enforced disappearances, to be presented to the Human Rights Council at its forty-second session. 13. The Working Group also participated in a workshop on forensic investigation and enforced disappearance. III. Information concerning enforced or involuntary disappearances in States reviewed by the Working Group during the session Algeria Standard procedure 14. The Working Group transmitted five cases to the Government, concerning: (a) Ahmed Boukhatem, reportedly arrested on 13 December 1994 by masked soldiers while he was at a mosque near his residence; (b) Mourad Raghis, reportedly arrested on 17 November 1994 by military security agents while on duty with the civil protection services at the Khelifi barracks at the Port of Algiers; (c) Samir Hamdi Bacha, reportedly arrested on 22 December 1999 by police officers at his home; 2 3 4 5 2 Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24204&LangID=E. Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24300&LangID=E. Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24331&LangID=E. Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24590&LangID=E.

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