Committee on Enforced Disappearances Holds Annual Informal Meetings with States and with Civil Society Organizations
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances today held its annual informal meeting with States, followed by its annual informal meeting with civil society organizations.
Juan Pablo Alban Alencastro, Committee Chair, said the Committee was meeting in a complicated global context characterised by global challenges in the context of human rights. Strengthening multilateralism was the most effective route to confronting the shared challenges. The Committee welcomed the contributions of civil society, which guided the work of the Committee and ensured the protection of victims.
Before the dialogues, Committee members provided updates on the Committee’s work, including the joint statement on enforced disappearance in the context of transnational repression; the draft comment on women, girls and enforced disappearance; an update on the First Global World Congress on Enforced Disappearance; and the impact of the liquidity crisis on the work on the Committee.
Speaking in the discussion with States were Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, Spain, Cambodia, Finland, Oman, Iraq, Peru and Colombia.
Speaking in the discussion with civil society organizations were the Arab Council for Supporting Fair Trials, Comité des familles des disparus au Sahara Occidentale, FEDEFAM, Instituto Catalán Internacional para la Paz, Fuerzas Unidas por nuestros Desaparecidos en Coahvila Mexico, the Observer Human Rights Centre, Human Line Foundation, Tadruk for Human Rights, Geneva International Centre for Justice, and Erythean Coordination for Human Rights.
Topics discussed included specific steps taken by States to combat enforced disappearance, the importance of ensuring sufficient resources for the treaty bodies, Governments’ insignificant approaches to enforced disappearance, and the work being done by civil society organizations on enforced disappearance, among others.
The Committee’s twenty-ninth session runs from 22 September to 2 October. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here. The programme of work and other documents related to the session can be found here.
The Committee will next meet in public on Thursday, 2 October at 5:30 p.m. to close its twenty-ninth session.
Meeting with States
Opening Statement
JUAN PABLO ALBAN ALENCASTRO, Committee Chair, said the Committee was meeting in a complicated global context characterised by global challenges in the context of human rights. This should energise the Committee and encourage it to redouble its efforts. Strengthening multilateralism was the most effective route to confronting the shared challenges.
Statements by Committee Experts
Committee members took the floor to introduce themselves to the States parties.
BARBARA LOCHBIHLER, Committee Expert, said the Committee would start working on a joint statement with the Working Group on Enforced Disappearance, on enforced disappearances in the context of transnational repression. Transnational repression was used to describe State actions to silence dissent beyond borders, including killings, abductions, enforced disappearance, gender-specific attacks, abuse of consular services, and misuse of tools such as Interpol’s Red Notice. The Committee saw this in several country situations; these disappearances caused profound harm for families, and eroded trust in State institutions. Work had begun on the document and it was hoped it would be finalised in the coming years. States and civil society were invited to participate in this process.
CARMEN ROSA VILLA QUINTANA, Committee Expert, said the Committee was working on a draft general comment on women, girls and enforced disappearance. Earlier this year, the Committee had called for expressions of interest from all stakeholders, and had received significant contributions, including from States parties, as well as academia and civil society. Work was being done with the Office of the High Commissioner in local regional offices in this regard, and further regional meetings were planned by the end of the year. It was hoped a first draft would be produced by March. The general comment would allow the Committee to focus on women and girls who were victims of enforced disappearance and understand how the Convention could be best placed at their disposal.
JUAN PABLO ALBAN ALENCASTRO, Committee Chair, said during the session, the Committee had decided to continue with its process to adopt its general comment on gender identity and enforced disappearance. The Committee intended to tackle how social perception played a key role in the search and identification process, and would lay down key principles in cases of disappearance of people belonging to different identity groups. Following the next session, the Committee would put out a call for contributions and it was hoped that States would participate.
The Committee would continue to comply with the mandates enshrined in the Convention relating to reviewing initial reports and additional information, and would continue to work on the register of urgent actions and receive individual communications. All States parties that had not yet done so were invited to accept the Committee’s competence to receive individual communications. Unfortunately, the Committee was unable to carry out two visits to Honduras and Burkina Faso due to the liquidity crisis.
OLIVIER DE FROUVILLE, Committee Vice Chair, said the First Global Congress on Enforced Disappearance took place on 15 and 16 January in Geneva, mobilising all actors involved in the issue of enforced disappearance. The outcome of the Conference exceeded expectations, with 1,400 online participants from more than 180 countries, as well as participation of civil society and academia. Key actions were identified and launched during the closing session of the Congress, including to establish a victims’ network in Sub-Saharan Africa. The twentieth anniversary of the Convention next year would be an opportunity to receive an update on these commitments.
Mr. de Frouville also said the liquidity crisis was having a disproportionate impact on the human rights system of the United Nations. The Committee had had to cancel the third week of its session, as well as country visits. There was no prospect for additional funding of the Committee’s urgent actions which saved lives. At the meeting of the Chairs last year, exceptional measures had been proposed for the treaty bodies during this time.
JUAN PABLO ALBAN ALENCASTRO, Committee Chair, said during the meeting of the Chairs of the treaty bodies last year, it had been regretful that no actions had been adopted to strengthen the treaty bodies system and make it more efficient. There was a backlog in the treaty body system and predictability was at stake. Mr. Alban Alencastro invited States to work together to strengthen the treaty body system to guarantee their ability and effectiveness, which was to the benefit of humanity.
Dialogue with States
In the discussion, States among other things, expressed their support for the treaty bodies, and their commitment to the human rights system and the Convention. States had cooperated with the Committee through extending country visits, submitting reports on time, and providing answers to requests from the Committee. It was fundamental to encourage more States parties to ratify the Convention. States welcomed the success of the First World Congress on Enforced Disappearance, which highlighted the importance of renewing the global commitment to combat enforced disappearance.
States also expressed their commitment to the right to truth, justice, memory and non-repetition. Enforced disappearance represented itself differently in States, including through the disappearance of political opponents and contemporary enforced disappearance. States expressed their commitment to addressing the issue of enforced disappearance in all its forms, including through locating and identifying victims; providing justice and reparation for victims; combatting impunity; improving forensic work; strengthening legislation on enforced disappearance; working with authorities to establish detention registers; rolling out specialised training; launching a national search plan for the disappeared; supporting families of the disappeared during the search process; producing reports on disappearance; and historic rulings and sentencings for cases of enforced disappearance, among others.
States expressed concern about the impact of the liquidity crisis on the Committee’s work. It was important for everyone to adapt to overcome these challenges. It was vital that the treaty body system had sufficient human and financial resources to carry out its functions. The treaty body system needed to be strengthened by harmonising working methods between Committees, whilst preserving their independence. A strong treaty body system was essential for the United Nation’s framework. States said they were actively participating in UN 80 initiative, looking at the reforms proposed by the Secretary-General.
Closing Statement
JUAN PABLO ALBAN ALENCASTRO, Committee Chair, said States’ presence today highlighted their commitment to the Committee’s work. The scale of the problem of enforced disappearance over the world was enormous and diverse. This should motivate the Committee and States to work side by side to address the problem. Providing reparations and justice to victims was the most important cornerstone of the Committee’s work. It was important to create better processes to approach investigations and search, as well as reparations. Mr. Alban Alencastro extended invitations for States for permanent exchanges to allow them to work better with the Committee and to enable the Committee to better support them in their implementation. It was hoped this would be the beginning of the conversation.
Dialogue with Civil Society Organizations
Opening Statement
JUAN PABLO ALBAN ALENCASTRO, Committee Chair, said the Committee welcomed the contributions of civil society, which guided the work of the Committee and ensured the protection of victims.
Statements by Committee Experts
Committee members took the floor to introduce themselves to civil society organizations.
Discussion with Civil Society Organizations
In the dialogue, representatives of civil society organizations, among other things, appreciated the Committee’s efforts and appealed for States to comply with their financial obligations. Unfortunately, enforced disappearances still took place in many States and there had been periods in the past where many people had been disappeared. In some cases, Governments denied instances of enforced disappearance. It was important for States to establish the causes of enforced disappearance and duly prosecute those who had perpetrated these crimes. Victims needed international solidarity to ensure they could one day obtain truth and justice.
In some cases, members of civil society were prevented from working on issues of enforced disappearance, and sometimes they even faced threats from Governments. One speaker condemned the action of certain Governments that continued to operate in complete defiance of international humanitarian law. The Committee was asked to urge States to further the participation of civil society and closely monitor specific situations of enforced disappearance.
Some members of civil society were victims or relatives of victims of enforced disappearance and continued to work valiantly to find their loved ones. Major resources were required from Governments to undertake this important work, but lack of resources often prevented these efforts. There had been cases in countries where children were separated from their families and illegally adopted inside and outside the country, which also constituted enforced disappearance. All those present were called on to provide support to allow States to tackle these painful issues.
Work undertaken by the civil society organizations included improving reporting for situations of enforced disappearances; advocating for changes within national Criminal Codes to allow all detainees to have contact with a lawyer or their family; working on collective memory preservation; presenting reports on stolen children; working on specific legislation to combat various forms of enforced disappearance; creating victims’ databases; pushing for the official recognition of all victims; increasing the visibility of female searchers as peacebuilders; and putting pressure on Governments to open mass graves.
Questions asked to the Committee included what were the most effective methodologies for the Committee to recommend in aligning legislation with the Convention? What were examples of best practices from other States? What specific investigative techniques and standards of proof were recommended for national human rights institutions to document such cases? How could States be encouraged to ratify the Convention?
Responses from Committee Experts
CARMEN ROSA VILLA QUINTANA, Committee Expert, said the dialogue allowed the Committee to see the scale and seriousness of enforced disappearances in various countries. There were many challenges to obtain the truth and bring perpetrators to justice. Concentrated, collaborative action between civil society organizations could make significant progress; civil society had more power than they realised.
BARBARA LOCHBIHLER, Committee Expert, said the Committee would adopt a list of themes on Iraq at the end of the session, which would be the basis of the dialogue with the Government. The Committee’s urgent action report to the General Assembly focused on individual cases being dealt with by the Committee, including cases in Iraq.
FIDELIS KANYONGOLO, Committee Expert, said the failure of States to establish enforced disappearance as an autonomous criminal offence was an ongoing issue. It would be beneficial for civil society to focus on this issue.
JUAN PABLO ALBAN ALENCASTRO, Committee Chair, said a practical guide had been produced for States to help them become party to the Convention; civil society organizations could refer States to this document.
Closing Statement
JUAN PABLO ALBAN ALENCASTRO, Committee Chair, thanked civil society organizations for all they did. They were the Committee’s eyes and ears on the ground. Cooperation with civil society was vital for the Committee members to enable them to carry out their work. The Committee was open to receive further contributions from civil society in writing.
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CED25.013E