|
The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance was adopted both by the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly by consensus in 2006. The Disappearances Convention is the result of over 25 years of lobbying by States, NGOs and the families of the disappeared.
Enforced disappearances are one of the worst human rights violations that affect both the victims, who are taken away in silence, and their families, who may suffer uncertainty about their fate. While in the past, enforced disappearances were dealt with under broader provisions in other human rights treaties; the Convention now clearly identifies ‘enforced disappearance’ as a self-standing human rights violation.
The Convention is innovative in its definition of ‘victims’ as it takes into account the family and relatives of the person who has undergone an enforced disappearance. The Convention recognises the right of victims to know the truth regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance, the fate of the disappeared person, the progress and results of the investigation regarding the events that took place, and to obtain reparation for damages caused.
The Convention also prohibits secret detention and establishes the rights of families to get information about what has happened to and the location of their relatives who have been detained. States that become party to the Convention must incorporate a specific crime of ‘enforced disappearance’ in their national laws, they must investigate complaints and reports of enforced disappearance and bring those responsible to justice, including suspected perpetrators from other countries who are present in their territory.
In the past, the greatest frustration of victims has been the impunity of individuals when it comes to investigations into allegations of enforced disappearance. In order to resolve this problem, the Convention identifies those who should be held criminally responsible, including anyone who was either directly involved or a superior official who knew about the situation, but failed to take the necessary actions that could have prevented the violation from taking place.
It establishes a new treaty-monitoring body, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (the Committee), to monitor the implementation of the Convention. The Committee can also follow up on individual cases of disappearances at the request of the relatives or other persons, and make recommendations to the State on measures to locate and protect the disappeared person. It can receive complaints from individuals about violations of their rights under the Convention, when the State in question has recognised the ability of the Committee to do so. It can also carry out visits, with the agreement of the concerned State, when it receives reliable information indicating grave violations by the State.
Further reading
For more information, see Human Rights Monitor 2006, chapter on standard setting and chapter on the General Assembly.
|
