United Nations: International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

The United Nations General Assembly, in Resolution 65/209, designated International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on the 30th of August every year and the day was declared for the first time in 2011.

Enforced disappearance is defined in the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/133 of 18 December 1992 as a body of principles for all States. Both the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance state that, when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed at any civilian population, a "forced disappearance" qualifies as a crime against humanity and, thus, is not subject to a statute of limitations. It gives victims' families the right to seek reparations, and to demand the truth about the disappearance of their loved ones.

It has frequently been used as a strategy to spread terror within society. The feeling of insecurity generated by this practice is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects their communities and society as a whole.

Enforced disappearance has become a global problem and is not restricted to a specific region of the world. Once largely the product of military dictatorships, enforced disappearances can nowadays be perpetrated in complex situations of internal conflict, especially as a means of political repression of opponents. Of particular concern are:

• the ongoing harassment of human rights defenders, relatives of victims, witnesses and legal counsel dealing with cases of enforced disappearance;
• the use by States of counter-terrorist activities as an excuse for breaching their obligations;
• and the still widespread impunity for enforced disappearance.

Special attention must also be paid to specific groups of especially vulnerable people, like children and people with disabilities.

The victims are frequently tortured and in constant fear for their lives. They are well aware that their families do not know what has become of them and that the chances are slim that anyone will come to their aid. Having been removed from the protective precinct of the law and “disappeared” from society, they are in fact deprived of all their rights and are at the mercy of their captors.

Even if death is not the final outcome and the victim is eventually released from the nightmare, the physical and psychological scars of this form of dehumanization and the brutality and torture which often accompany it remain.

Disappearance and the lack of information as to the whereabouts or condition of the missing person also has a dramatic impact on the victim’s family and community. Without sufficient financial support, the rights to an adequate standard of living, health, and education are likely to be violated for the family members. In addition, enforced disappearance directly violates the right of the family unit to protection by the State.

Countries with more than a thousand cases documented by the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances include Algeria, Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Iraq, Peru, and Sri Lanka. Geneva International Centre for Justice works closely with NGOs and human rights activists in Iraq, Palestine, and other places gathering evidence on enforced disappearance and reporting the cases to the UN Human Rights Council and other human rights bodies.

Last update

26/8/2021