A/HRC/10/9 page 2 Summary Established by resolution 20 (XXXVI) of 29 February 1980 of the Commission on Human Rights, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances was the first United Nations human rights thematic mechanism to be established with a global mandate. This report, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 7/12, covers the period 1 December 2007 to 30 November 2008 and reflects communications and cases examined by the Working Group during its sessions in 2008, and general allegations considered at its eighty-third session in 2007. The total number of cases transmitted by the Working Group to Governments since its inception is 52,952. The number of cases under active consideration that have not yet been clarified or discontinued stands at 42,393 and concerns 79 States. The Working Group has been able to clarify 1,763 cases over the past five years. During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 1,203 new cases of enforced disappearances to the Governments of Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Japan, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Viet Nam, Yemen and Zimbabwe. Of the newly-reported cases, 83 allegedly occurred during the same period. A summary of activities during the last year is presented in a table for each country, with a detailed text description of the areas of activity. During the reporting period the Working Group conducted a country visit to Argentina (see A/HRC/10/9/Add.1).