A new international treaty prohibiting enforced disappearance of any person for any reason became effective in United Nations (U.N.) member states on Dec. 23.
The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance was approved by the General Assembly in 2006. The treaty has come into effect 30 days after Iran became the 20th country to formally adopt it.
The U.N. defines enforced disappearance as “the arrest, detention, abduction, or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the state or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of the state.”
Under the new treaty, there are “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearance.”
The measure also establishes the right of all concerned persons, including relatives of the disappeared party, to learn the truth about the relevant disappearance incidents. Every state that ratifies the convention commits to investigating enforced disappearances and prosecuting those responsible, states the U.N. news release.
Of the 192 U.N. member states, 87 have signed the treaty and 21 have ratified it thus far, a spokesman for the U.N. Secretary General told The Epoch Times.
Iraq, Argentina, and Chile are among the countries with long records of forced disappearances that have ratified the convention. Thousands vanished in Chile under the rule of Augusto Pinochet, who headed the military junta in power from 1973 to 1990. Approximately 30,000 also disappeared in Argentina under the military junta rule between 1976 and 1983.
The U.N. cautions that even though the treaty has come into force, “much remains to be done.”
The U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances said in a statement that “the convention breaks new ground in the fight against the scourge of enforced disappearances” and that “the entry into force of the convention is a new and important step in the right direction.”
The group reviewed recent and older enforced disappearance cases from more than 40 countries around the world in its last session and reported that they “still see secret detention facilities, kidnappings, and abductions by state agents against political dissenters and persons accused of terrorism, harassment against relatives of people disappeared, and widespread impunity.”
The Committee of Enforced Disappearances will handle complaints and monitor implementation of the law by states that have ratified the treaty. Read Amnesty International’s perspective on Enforced Disappearances HERE.
With additional reporting by Marco ’t Hoen
The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance was approved by the General Assembly in 2006. The treaty has come into effect 30 days after Iran became the 20th country to formally adopt it.
The U.N. defines enforced disappearance as “the arrest, detention, abduction, or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the state or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of the state.”
Under the new treaty, there are “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearance.”
The measure also establishes the right of all concerned persons, including relatives of the disappeared party, to learn the truth about the relevant disappearance incidents. Every state that ratifies the convention commits to investigating enforced disappearances and prosecuting those responsible, states the U.N. news release.
Of the 192 U.N. member states, 87 have signed the treaty and 21 have ratified it thus far, a spokesman for the U.N. Secretary General told The Epoch Times.
Iraq, Argentina, and Chile are among the countries with long records of forced disappearances that have ratified the convention. Thousands vanished in Chile under the rule of Augusto Pinochet, who headed the military junta in power from 1973 to 1990. Approximately 30,000 also disappeared in Argentina under the military junta rule between 1976 and 1983.
The U.N. cautions that even though the treaty has come into force, “much remains to be done.”
The U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances said in a statement that “the convention breaks new ground in the fight against the scourge of enforced disappearances” and that “the entry into force of the convention is a new and important step in the right direction.”
The group reviewed recent and older enforced disappearance cases from more than 40 countries around the world in its last session and reported that they “still see secret detention facilities, kidnappings, and abductions by state agents against political dissenters and persons accused of terrorism, harassment against relatives of people disappeared, and widespread impunity.”
The Committee of Enforced Disappearances will handle complaints and monitor implementation of the law by states that have ratified the treaty. Read Amnesty International’s perspective on Enforced Disappearances HERE.
With additional reporting by Marco ’t Hoen
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