Enforced disappearances are often used as a strategy to spread a climate of terror. August 30 – International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances Human Rights
The world must join forces to support victims of enforced disappearances. This is stated in a joint statement by UN human rights experts. August 30 marks the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
Human rights defenders expressed their solidarity with the victims and those who support them. “Clear commitments and action plans remain necessary,” they said, noting that victims of disappearances too often face government inaction and denial of the crimes that have occurred.
According to the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the term refers to cases where “persons are arrested, detained or abducted against their will or otherwise deprived of their liberty by officials of any level or chain of government, organized groups or private individuals acting on behalf of, with the direct or indirect support of, or with the authorization or acquiescence of, a government, followed by a refusal to disclose their fate or whereabouts.”
Enforced disappearances are often used as a strategy to create a climate of terror. The sense of insecurity they create not only affects the immediate family of the disappeared person, but also affects society as a whole.
“Progress can be achieved when all stakeholders work together,” human rights experts said in a statement. They said the upcoming World Congress on Enforced Disappearances, to be held in Geneva on 15-16 January 2025, will bring together governments, victims, their lawyers, human rights defenders and experts to find solutions and promote the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
“On this International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we reiterate our shared commitment to assist victims worldwide and our call for collective action to end this scourge once and for all,” the experts added.
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The statement was made by representatives of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, as well as the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Intergovernmental Commission ASEAN on Human Rights.
The Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts serve on a pro bono basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances is a United Nations treaty body. It consists of 10 independent experts responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance by States Parties. To date, 75 Member States have ratified the Convention.