Committee on Enforced Disappearances Opens Thirtieth Session, During which it Will Mark the Twentieth Anniversary of the Treaty and Hold the CED20 Campaign throughout 2026 under the Slogan “Victims First. Immediate Action.”
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances this morning opened its thirtieth session, during which it will examine the situation in Ecuador, Iraq, Malawi and Samoa on their implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
The Committee will review the reports of Malawi and Samoa, and consider additional information provided by Ecuador and Iraq; adopt lists of issues for Denmark, Cabo Verde and the Republic of Korea; consider lists of priority issues for Kazakhstan and Lithuania; and adopt a periodic report on urgent actions.
Opening the session, Antti Korkeakivi, Chief of the Human Rights Treaties Branch at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Representative of the Secretary-General, said this year marked the twentieth anniversary of the Convention. This was an occasion to join forces to raise awareness, share concrete actions, and strengthen protection against enforced disappearances. Today, the Committee would launch CED20, the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention. Throughout 2026, CED20 would mobilise all interested partners to raise awareness, share concrete actions, and strengthen protection against enforced disappearances.
Juan Pablo Albán Alencastro, Committee Chairperson, in his opening statement, said this year marked 20 years since the international community affirmed unequivocally that no person may be removed from the protection of the law and that enforced disappearance constituted one of the most serious human rights violations. The Committee would carry out the CED20 campaign throughout 2026, marking the twentieth anniversary of the Convention, under the slogan “Victims first. Immediate action.”
During the meeting, Ana Lucía and Beatriz Paiva recounted the disappearance of their father Rubens Paiva, a Brazilian former member of Congress and victim of enforced disappearance in 1971.
Committee Expert Carmen Rosa Villa Quintana thanked the sisters for their testimony emphasising the deep wounds caused by acts of enforced disappearance and the utmost importance of combatting this scourge.
The Committee adopted its agenda for the session. It screened an educational video about the Convention prepared by the United Nations Office at Geneva. The Office also published an article on the principal elements of the Convention, with a brief history recounting the adoption of the treaty.
All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Webcasts of the meetings of the session can be found here, and meetings summaries can be found here.
The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. this afternoon, Monday, 9 March, to begin its consideration of the initial report of Samoa
Statements
ANTTI KORKEAKIVI, Chief of the Human Rights Treaties Branch at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Representative of the Secretary-General, said just over the past two weeks, the Committee had registered urgent actions related to the disappearance of a 30-year-old woman with her two children aged three years and six months. It had also addressed the case of a 91-year-old man, whose disappearance closely followed the disappearance of one of his sons to repress the political involvement of one of their relatives. The Committee was also dealing with hundreds of cases of family members and friends of all ages and profiles, with all alleged enforced disappearances either reportedly committed by State agents, or by persons acting with the authorisation or support of the State.
The urgent actions procedure clearly demonstrated that enforced disappearances remained a daily reality worldwide. It was a key tool enabling the United Nations to support the victims; recall the obligations of States to take concrete action to search for and locate disappeared people; and to track cases and make them visible to the world.
Unfortunately, this work continued to be done with limited resources which was not reflective of the needs. In 2025, the Committee registered 260 new urgent actions and sent 149 follow-up communications in relation to 620 registered urgent actions. In all, as of today, the Committee had registered 2,239 urgent actions, including 29 since last January. However, this was likely to be a small fraction of the cases that could potentially be submitted to the Committee. Since the urgent actions procedure became operational in 2012, 546 cases had been closed following the location of the disappeared person, 427 of whom were located alive. There was no better tribute to the Committee and evidence of the significance of its work.
This year marked the twentieth anniversary of the Convention, the only universal treaty specifically dedicated to preventing and eradicating enforced disappearances, placing victims’ rights to truth, justice and reparation at its core. Unfortunately, this anniversary took place in a context of growing precariousness of human rights across the globe, while at the same time the treaty bodies were facing unprecedented constraints not seen since their creation. In 2025, more than 30 per cent of meeting time was lost due to the financial crisis, which caused a serious drop in the work that could be undertaken. This year, the resource situation was expected to remain extremely challenging, with further cuts.
Unfortunately, the United Nations financial crisis showed no signs of abating. Currently, there was no confirmation of the second session this year for all treaty bodies, and in some cases no confirmation of a first session. The Office recognised the difficulties this presented for all stakeholders and would continue to provide updates on the situation. The High Commissioner had consistently warned that if this trend continued, the system risked reaching a breaking point. He would discuss new proposals with the Chairs at their annual meeting in June 2026. Meanwhile, the Office was doing its utmost to support the Committee and other treaty bodies.
The twentieth anniversary of the Convention was also an occasion to join forces to raise awareness, share concrete actions, and strengthen protection against enforced disappearances. Today, the Committee would launch CED20, the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention. Throughout 2026, CED20 would mobilise all interested partners to raise awareness, share concrete actions, and strengthen protection against enforced disappearances. Support of Member States and all those fighting enforced disappearance was essential.
During the session, the Committee would hold dialogues with Ecuador, Iraq, Malawi and Samoa; adopt lists of issues for Denmark, Cabo Verde and the Republic of Korea; consider lists of priority issues for Kazakhstan and Lithuania; and adopt a periodic report on urgent actions. The Committee would also continue its deliberations on Mexico under the article 34 procedure of the Convention. Finally, it would continue to discuss its draft general comment on women, girls and enforced disappearances, as well as its projects on enforced disappearances in the context of transnational repression and on enforced disappearances and sexual orientation and gender identity. Mr. Korkeakivi wished the Committee a successful session.
JUAN PABLO ALBÁN ALENCASTRO, Committee Chairperson, said this year marked the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention. Twenty years since the international community affirmed unequivocally that no person may be removed from the protection of the law and that enforced disappearance constituted one of the most serious human rights violations. The Convention stood as a response to the suffering of countless victims, and a tribute to their dignity and resilience.
Since its adoption, significant progress had been achieved. Yet today, the Committee and the United Nations human rights system carried out their work during a profound crisis that could no longer be considered temporary. Budgetary and administrative restrictions, and uncertainty regarding the very continuity of the Committee’s work, affected their capacity to fulfil their mandates. The future of the treaty bodies depended on the effective commitment of all actors involved, particularly States, the political organs of the United Nations, and the senior leadership of the international human rights system.
This crisis did not occur in a vacuum: it unfolded in dark times for the world, marked by aggression; unreasonably prolonged conflicts; the return and normalisation of authoritarianism; open challenges to international law; and narratives that sought to delegitimise human rights. Where the rule of law was weakened and international oversight mechanisms were undermined, human beings were exposed to abuse and violence. For this reason, it was essential to recall that the international human rights system, with all its imperfections, remained the best mechanism humanity had created so far in its effort to defend human dignity.
Regardless of the situation, the Committee would always exercise its mandate to give a voice to victims of enforced disappearance and to accompany States in the implementation of the Convention. The Committee would carry out the CED20 campaign throughout 2026, marking the twentieth anniversary of the Convention, under the slogan “Victims first. Immediate action.”
In closing, Mr. Albán Alencastro expressed deep gratitude to Committee members and the Secretariat. If this were to be the last session, which was a possibility, the Committee would not have yielded in silence nor renounced its mandate to uphold the primacy of law over force, the centrality of victims over oblivion, and the indispensable value of multilateralism and the international legal order.
He then introduced Beatriz and Ana Lucía Paiva, whose family experiences gave rise to the book “Ainda estou aqui”, written by their brother Marcelo Rubens Paiva, and later to the film of the same name directed by Walter Salles, which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2025. Both recounted the struggle of Mrs. Eunice Paiva and her children in confronting the disappearance of Rubens Paiva, a Brazilian former member of Congress and victim of enforced disappearance in 1971.
BEATRIZ PAIVA said her father Rubens Paiva was not only a politician, but also a civil engineer. As an opponent of the military regime, he was savagely tortured and murdered. Recently, a statue had been erected in his honour, which had been visited by many, symbolising indignation against the military dictatorship and the practice of torture. Many people described Reuben Pavia as a hero.
Brazil had only returned to democracy since 1985, after 21 years of military dictatorship. Many of the military agents responsible for the crackdown at that time were not tried or convicted for their crimes, due to the amnesty law granted at the time between the military and parliament. To this day, many families did not know where the bodies of their loved ones were, and could not organise funeral rites. It had become difficult to judge military officials and witnesses, as many had already died, and obtaining evidence had also become a challenge because a lot of information was hidden or suppressed.
It was only now, during President Lula's third term, after the great success of the film "I'm still here", based on the book by their brother Marcelo Rubens Paiva, that the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil reopened the trial on the disappearance and death of Reuben Paiva, and had found that it was considered a crime against humanity and therefore the amnesty law was not applicable. A bill was currently under discussion in the Senate which more precisely defined whether the crime of enforced disappearance of persons and concealment of the body should be considered a heinous and imprescriptible crime.
Many of those responsible for the torture and murder of opponents of the military regime had never been investigated. Defence of democracy had become almost a daily battle, in the face of the rise of the far right in Brazil and around the world. Rubens Paiva was a hero, but he unfortunately did not manage to escape persecution. The story of the hero Rubens Paiva had a beginning, a middle, but still no end or epilogue.
ANA LUCÍA PAIVA said there had been a lot of emotion since the film had been released in the past two years. Their father had left them a letter from the embassy before he disappeared into exile, in which he outlined why he was no longer a deputy. During his time as a deputy, he had worked to reform the country to help the poor people, but he had faced obstacles from the wealthy, and this was why he had been killed. When he returned from exile nine months later, he became a member of the resistance, helping family members to communicate with political exiles, and he was then killed. It was hard to see their faither as a victim, but that was the reality. For more than 40 years, it was a subject which had not been talked about, due to fear, and today it was important to talk about it.
The family knew the names of five of their father’s murderers, three of whom were still alive. One of them had even received an honorary title. Their father’s murder was never brought before the courts or judged with the evidence available. It was hoped the new law being brought through would progress so her father’s assassins could be brought to justice.
CARMEN ROSA VILLA QUINTANA, Committee Expert, said it was an honour to welcome the sisters today, as the Committee paid tribute to victims of the atrocious crime of enforced disappearance. Today, all over the world, under dictatorships, they were still seeing the disappearance of people. When a State’s power was used to disappear, torture, or kill instead of protect, this violated the law and highlighted the breakdown of humanity.
Reuben Paiva disappeared because he opposed the dictatorship. As young children they had lived through this, and their mother had embarked on a long and painful path to find the truth. Their mother had worked tirelessly to get the State to issue a death certificate 25 years after his disappearance. Last year, the National Council of Justice had acknowledged that the death was violent and caused by the Brazilian State, in the systematic persecution of its people recognised as political dissidents. History had shown that dictatorship did not last forever and would eventually fall. It was victims raising their voices and sharing testimonies who helped to pave the path to justice.
Those investigating these crimes needed to ensure that the perpetrators were brought to justice. The voices of victims helped strengthen the Committee’s commitment and empathy and reminded them why they continued to strive to find the truth; to ensure the past would not be forgotten and that a repetition of such crimes would not be seen again. This year, the Convention would celebrate its twentieth anniversary. It was important to appeal to States to join the Committee in their commitment to eradicate the scourge of enforced disappearance. The testimony of the sisters showed the depths of the wounds left by enforced disappearance. Nobody should be subjected to enforced disappearance and nothing could justify these acts. Ms. Villa Quintana thanked the sisters for their presence at the meeting and their testimony.
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