JOINT STATEMENT
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE DISAPPEARED
AUGUST 30th, 2010
Quezon City, Paris, La Paz,
Montevideo, Minsk - On the occasion of the International Day of the
Disappeared, The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD),
the Euro-Mediterranean Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED),
the Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of
Disappeared-Detainees (FEDEFAM) and We Remember-Belarus call on all
States to take actions towards the perpetration of enforced
disappearances and to ratify the International Convention for the
Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances.
The first enforced disappearances were
massively perpetrated during the Second World War especially by the
Nazi-regime. In the seventies, the Moroccan regime and the Latin
American Juntas systematically used this practice in the context of
stifling dissent and subversion. This phenomenon rapidly spread to other
continents and still occurs in countries experiencing complex situations
of internal conflict.
Abduction processes have been similar,
independently of the situation of each country where enforced
disappearances are committed. The victim is often arrested and then
detained incommunicado by the State or agents acting on its behalf.
Confronting families’ demands, authorities then deny that the person is
being held or conceal their whereabouts, placing them outside the
protection of the law.
Enforced disappearance constitutes a
crime against humanity under international law when practiced in a
widespread and systematic manner. It is also an ongoing crime as long as
person’s whereabouts remain unknown and as long as its family suffers
from the unbearable pain of not knowing his or her fate. This
uncertainty forces the relatives of the
disappeared into a long wait, of a return that may never happen, of the
absence of truth and justice. This process prevents the family from
mourning for their loved ones.
Even if contexts differ from one country
to another, families of the victims go through the same suffering.
They tirelessly demand to know the truth
on the fate and whereabouts of their missing relatives, as well as to
obtain justice and reparation.
Family members of the disappeared and
human rights defenders, fighting for the recognition of the rights of
the victims and against impunity, are often subjected to harassment from
the authorities in their respective countries.
Therefore, AFAD, FEMED, FEDEFAM and We
Remember-Belarus jointly reiterate their call on States to conduct
thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all past and
current allegations of enforced disappearances, by putting in place
mechanisms to establish the truth on the fate of the disappeared.
Furthermore, States should refrain from
any act of intimidation or retaliation against families of the
disappeared and human rights defenders supporting their fair cause.
Today, as we honor all the disappeared
people of the world, our organizations urge governments to take all
possible measures to prevent and eradicate the practice of enforced
disappearances and to put an end to impunity by prosecuting their
perpetrators, in compliance with the International Convention for the
Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances1 that they
must promptly ratify.
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1 Up to now, 19 countries - Albania, Argentina, Bolivia,
Burkina Faso, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Germany, Honduras, Japan,
Kazakhstan, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Senegal, Spain and Uruguay-
ratified the Convention. Only one ratification remains for its entry
into force.
