Related Resources
The struggle against Enforced Disappearnce and the 2007 United Nations Convention view details >>
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance view details >>
Criminal Responsibility and Convention view details >>
Antecedents
The wish for an international legally-binding treaty protecting all persons from enforced disappearances dates back to over two decades ago. Since 1981 the Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared-Detainees (FEDEFAM) – with strong assistance of international human rights organisations- has struggled to have disappearances recognised as a crime against humanity and lobbied for the creation of a binding international instrument to stop and prevent them.
Their pressure during the 1980s was successful: The UN first adopted a Declaration on the question of disappearances in 1992 (which is a legally non-binding instrument). Two years later the organisation of American states adopted a convention, that is a binding treaty but only applies to the Latin American countries that ratified it.
Since then family members of disappeared persons from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East have joined them in a world movement campaigning for improving the means in international law to address the problem of disappearances everywhere where that violation occurred or could occur.
But the discussion and the drafting attempts of the test of a legally binding instrument with a universal scope stagnated for almost a whole decade (despite a very satisfying draft by the Subcommittee on Human rights of 1998) before they got re-launched in 2003 with the first meeting of an open-ended working group of the UN Commission of Human Rights tasked with developing this instrument.
The importance of the International Convention
The International Convention against Enforced Disappearance is one of the strongest human rights treaties ever adopted by the UN. It creates two new human rights and fills many of the existing gaps in the framework for protection from enforced disappearances in international law. Provisions on incrimination, on preventive measures, on international cooperation, the recognition of victims and their rights, and the measures regarding children and adoptions related to enforced disappearances represent significant progress.
New Human Rights
The Convention against Enforced Disappearances creates two new human rights:
- The Right not to be Disappeared: The Convention recognizes the right of any person not to be subjected to enforced disappearance as an autonomous, non-derogable right which means that no circumstances many be invokend as a justification to carry out enforced disappearances.
- The Right of Victims to know the Truth: Material victims of disappearance and their relatives have the right to know the truth regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance, the progress and results of the investigation and the fate of the disappeared person.
Additional Provisions
The Convention against enforced disappearances sets forth a number of relevant provisions concerning the following:
- Incrimination (Arts. 4, 6, 7, 8, 22)
Each State party is required to incriminate the provisions of the convention in its domestic criminal law. It should:
- Make enforced disappearance an offence under its criminal law,
- Hold any person involved criminally responsible,
- Make the offence punishable by appropriate penalties (Art. 7)
- Strictly limits any statute of limitations (Art. 8).
Article 8 indicates that a State has to take into account the continuous nature of the crime when declaring a 'time limit' on applicability of prosecution. The limitation may only start from the moment the enforced disappearance ceases to exist.
- Protection and Rights of Victims (Arts. 12, 18, 19, 20, 24)
The Convention contains several provisions on protective measures after a disappearance occurred. The State should for instance enable individuals to report an enforced disappearance, protect witnesses and investigate complaints and reports of disappearances.
The convention also establishes several rights for victims. Relatives of the disappeared are included in the definition of victim.
The right to information is guaranteed in article 18. Every person with a legitimate interest should have access to basic information such as the date, time and place of the deprivation of liberty and the whereabouts of the person.
The right to know the truth is guaranteed in article 24. States should also ensure reparation and prompt and adequate compensation as well as the right to form organisations and associations trying to address the enforced disappearances.
- Children (Art. 25)
The States are responsible for the prevention and punishment of the wrongful removal of children who are subjected to enforced disappearance or whose parents are subjected to enforced disappearance. States should search for, identify and return those children to their families.
- International Cooperation (Arts. 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15)
International cooperation is a vital requirement to make the convention effective. Often enforced disappearances concern the involvement of more than one State.
State Parties shall cooperate in searching disappeared persons and, in the event of death, in exhuming and identifying them and returning the mortal remains.
State parties should submit suspects who are found on their territory to the competent authorities, extradite them to another state, or surrender them to an international criminal court.
The Disappearances Committee
The International Convention against Enforced Involuntary Disappearances provides for the establishment of a Committee on Enforced Disappearances to execute the functions of the Convention. Read more
International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances
The International Coalition against Enforced Disappearances is a global network of organisations of families of disappeared and NGO’s working in a non-violent manner against the practice of enforced disappearances at the local, national and international level.
The Coalition offers the opportunity for its members to gather and exchange experiences, combine the different skills and expertise, coordinate projects, make effective use of resources and identify and carry out possible joint actions.
The principal objective of the Coalition is maximising impact of the activities carried out by its members in favour of an early ratification and effective implementation of the Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances.
To know more about the International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances go to www.icaed.org