Committee on Enforced Disappearances Closes Thirtieth Session
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances this afternoon closed its thirtieth session after adopting its concluding observations on the reports of Malawi and Samoa, and reports on additional information from Ecuador and Iraq, on their implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
In closing remarks, Juan Pablo Alban Alencastro, Committee Chairperson, said that on 9 March, at the opening of the session, the Committee highlighted that this year marked the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention. The past 20 years were a reminder that the phenomenon of enforced disappearance was not a problem of the past, but a very present reality, which took on changing forms and adapted to new contexts, causing unspeakable suffering to victims and their societies. The commemoration could not consist simply of looking back to acknowledge and celebrate the Committee’s significant and valuable achievements; there was also a need to forward and commit to doing everything that remained pending.
Mr. Alban Alencastro said this had been a particularly intense and fruitful session. The Committee had examined the reports of Samoa, Iraq, Malawi and Ecuador; adopted lists of issues and themes on several States parties; continued deliberations on the procedure under article 34 of the Convention regarding Mexico; and adopted the report on the urgent action mechanism. These concrete actions helped to ensure that the promise of the Convention translated into real measures of prevention, search, investigation, truth and reparation.
The Committee also held the first reading of the draft general comment on women, girls and enforced disappearance; and continued working on joint projects with the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances for future joint statements on the phenomenon of enforced disappearance in the context of transnational repression, and on the impact of enforced disappearances on persons belonging to sex and gender diversities. Further, it held valuable dialogues with States, victims, civil society organizations, and other United Nations human rights mechanisms, particularly with the Human Rights Committee. Amid the crisis facing the treaty body system, these interactions were necessary to preserve its effectiveness, ensure coherence, and take advantage of complementarities among mandates.
Mr. Alban Alencastro said the Committee continued working with the same enthusiasm and dedication as always, but the conditions under which the session was confirmed and its reduced duration by 40 per cent were further reminders of the depth of the crisis facing the United Nations human rights treaty body system. The accumulation of work, budgetary and administrative constraints, and uncertainty regarding the ability to continue adequately fulfilling functions were not merely internal problems; they had concrete consequences for the protection of rights and for the legitimate expectations not only of victims but also of States. The closing of the session was an opportunity to insist on the need to ensure the continuity, independence and effectiveness of the work of the treaty bodies. This required political will, adequate resources and a commitment from States and those leading the United Nations and its human rights structures.
In violent, authoritarian and uncertain times like the present, invoking the law was a form of resistance. This needed to be done not with empty gestures, but with standards, arguments, rigour and concrete decisions. It was a way of affirming that human dignity did not depend on political convenience or on a circumstantial balance of power. For this reason, Mr. Alban Alencastro said, despite adverse conditions, this Committee would continue to exercise its functions with independence, objectivity, rigour, full respect for due process, and effectiveness, as demonstrated by the results of its work over these past days.
Mr. Alban Alencastro expressed thanks to fellow Committee members for the commitment they demonstrated throughout the intense session; to the Committee’s secretariat, which had sustained the work of the Committee through their professionalism and dedication; to civil society organizations for their contributions and support; and to States parties for their willingness to engage in dialogue. The Committee expected that this willingness would translate into concrete actions to address the scourge of enforced disappearances worldwide. Further, Mr. Alban Alencastro reiterated the Committee’s commitment to the cause of victims and their families, and to the recognition and fulfilment of their rights.
The road ahead to eradicate enforced disappearances was still long, but what had been achieved in the few days during which the Committee was able to meet was encouraging. As long as enforced disappearances continued to be committed anywhere in the world, the work of this Committee would not be finished. But as long as there was a willingness to apply the law seriously, to listen to victims, and to defend the institutions created to address this atrocious reality, there would still be hope, Mr. Alban Alencastro concluded.
Marija Definis, Committee Rapporteur, reported that during the opening of the current session, the Committee paid tribute to the victims of enforced disappearance; and heard the testimony of Ana Lucía and Beatriz Paiva, daughters of Rubens Paiva, a former Brazilian congressman, who was forcibly disappeared in 1971. Their family's story was a reminder of the reality of enforced disappearances, their devastating consequences and transgenerational impact, and the importance of truth and memory.
During the current session, in addition to reviewing States’ reports on the measures taken to implement the Convention, the Committee considered and adopted lists of issues in relation to the reports submitted under article 29(1) of the Convention by Cabo Verde, Denmark and the Republic of Korea, in preparation for their future reviews. Further, based on additional information submitted under articles 29(3) and 29(4) of the Convention, the Committee discussed and adopted the lists of themes to be addressed by Kazakhstan and Lithuania, which would guide constructive dialogues with these States at future sessions.
Further, Ms. Definis reported, the Committee adopted its periodic report on requests for urgent actions under article 30 of the Convention. Over the reporting period, the Committee received 161 new requests for urgent action. As of 28 February 2026, the Committee had registered more than 2,000 requests; 546 disappeared persons on whose behalf an urgent action was opened had been located, including nine during the current reporting period. The Committee welcomed that 427 disappeared persons had been located alive since the beginning of the implementation of the procedure.
During the session, the Committee continued efforts to align its methods of work with the outcome of the thirty-seventh meeting of Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies, Ms. Definis reported. Further, it adopted a first draft of a general comment on women, girls and enforced disappearance, which included contributions presented by States, civil society actors and national human rights institutions in writing and during regional consultations that were carried out last year. Also, the Committee analysed more than 70 contributions received following its call for inputs on a future general comment on enforced disappearance in the context of transnational repression, and adopted a document that would serve as a basis for a future call for input on its project on gender identity, sexual orientation and enforced disappearance.
In addition, Ms. Definis said, the Committee held productive meetings with States parties, treaty bodies and offices of the United Nations system, as well as with civil society organizations, national human rights institutions and victims. It also continued its consideration of the situation of Mexico under article 34 of the Convention and would distribute further information on the adopted decision in the forthcoming weeks. Further, the Committee adopted the initial draft of its annual report to the General Assembly, to be presented in October 2026.
Ms. Definis said this year marked the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention. At the opening of the session, the Committee launched a campaign of activities to celebrate the anniversary, called “CED20”, and screened a video prepared by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva about the history of the Convention and work of the Committee. Guided by the slogan “Victims First. Act Now.”, CED20 placed victims at the centre of all efforts and stressed that enforced disappearances were preventable and that States and other stakeholders had clear responsibilities and tools to act. This anniversary was an opportunity to raise awareness about enforced disappearance, promote the universal ratification of the Convention and its full implementation, and highlight the Committee’s work supporting victims and States parties. The Committee invited all persons to take part actively in this campaign.
In closing, Ms. Definis said that, ahead of elections for Committee members in 2027, the Committee encouraged all States parties to continue their efforts to nominate experts of high moral standing and recognised competence and experience in the field of human rights, particularly in the field covered by the Convention.
All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by State parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.
Information on the Committee’s thirty-first session will be announced on the Committee web page at a later date.
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