UN building in Geneva. Committee on Enforced Disappearances Calls on Ukraine to Amend Law on Missing Persons Human Rights
Independent UN experts have expressed concern that Ukraine’s Law on the Legal Status of Persons Missing in Special Circumstances applies only to disappearances related to armed conflict, hostilities, occupation and emergency situations. Members of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances also noted the limited scope of the Unified Register of Missing Persons.
Need to Amend the Law
On Wednesday, the Committee published its findings following its examination of the situation in Ukraine and other countries. As noted in the press release of this body, the Committee is fully aware of the “serious challenges faced by the State party since the outbreak of armed conflict in April 2014, aggravated by the full-scale military aggression by the Russian Federation that has unfolded since 24 February 2022.”
The experts urged Ukraine to amend the Law to extend its scope of application to all cases of disappearance, including enforced disappearance, regardless of the time, place and circumstances in which they occurred, as well as to expand the scope of the Register and introduce the category of “victim of enforced disappearance”.
The Committee is concerned that reports of enforced disappearances are not investigated as such, but according to other criteria. The experts called on Ukraine to treat such crimes as a separate category – in accordance with the Convention – and to cooperate with the international community to facilitate the exchange of information and evidence to support the search for disappeared persons, including children who have been wrongfully removed.
Disappearance of minor asylum seekers in Norway
The Committee also considered the situation in Norway. The experts expressed concern about the lack of detailed information and the results of the investigations conducted by the authorities into the disappearance of at least 369 minor asylum seekers from reception centres between 2015 and 2024.
The Committee also stressed the importance of strengthening existing mechanisms to prevent such cases and to protect child asylum seekers from enforced disappearances, including in the context of trafficking. In this regard, the experts asked Norway to take immediate measures, such as organizing periodic monitoring visits to reception centres.