COMMITTEE ON ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES OPENS FIRST SESSION

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances, the Committee responsible for reviewing how States implement the provisions of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, today opened its first session, electing its Chairperson and Bureau.

At the beginning of the meeting, the members of the Committee made a solemn declaration to perform their duties as members of the Committee independently and impartially. The Committee elected Emmanuel Decaux (France) as Chaiperson. The three Vice-Chairpersons who were elected were Mohammed Al-Obaidi (Iraq), Mamadou Badio Camara (Senegal) and Suela Janina (Albania). Luciano Hazan (Argentina) was elected as Rapporteur.

In his opening statement, Mr. Decaux said that, like everyone else in the room, it was with deep emotion and great determination that he took part in the first meeting of the first session of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances. His thoughts went to all victims of forced disappearances and their close ones and to human rights defenders in their fight for justice and against impunity. He recalled that the General Assembly had adopted its first resolution on the phenomenon of forced disappearances in 1978 and that opened the way to the creation by the Commission on Human Rights of a Working Group on the subject in 1980. The Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Forced Disappearances was adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 1992. The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances was adopted in 2006 and came into force in December 2010 and for its part, the Committee should put in place and implement new tools to give to the Convention.

Mr. Decaux said he believed their first priority as a Committee should be to establish good relations and cooperation with States parties, both States which had signed the Convention as well as all Member States, for them to respect their responsibilities and to give a new momentum in the international process of ratification of the Convention. In the same spirit, the Committee must develop working relations with non-governmental organizations. The Committee had to work on a definition of enforced disappearances, and a gender specific approach, including the problem of women and forced disappearances as well as the question of children.

The Committee is meeting mostly in private during its first session, which is taking place from 8 to 11 November, to discuss its rules of procedure and methods of work. The Committee will meet in public at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 10 November when it will meet with States parties, and than with non-governmental organizations.


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CED11/002E