Press Release
October 2011
ICAED to Host Conference on Enforced Disappearances in Geneva,
Switzerland
The International Coalition Against Enforced
Disappearances (ICAED) will convene its 40 member-organizations from
Africa, Eurasian Region (Euro-Mediterranean Region, Caucasus and
Belarus), Latin America and Asia and the United States and international
observers in an international conference to be held on 7-9 November 2011
in Geneva, Switzerland. The theme of which is LINKING OUR SOLIDARITY:
Strengthen our Unity; Renew our Commitment Towards the Ratification of
the International Treaty Against Enforced Disappearances.
The first to be organized since the signing of the
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance (or the Convention) in 2007, the Conference is a venue for
coalition members to meet and update on local situation on enforced
disappearances and on their campaign for the signing of the Convention.
It also seeks to keep track of the global developments on enforced
disappearances and come up with a two or three-year program of action
vis-a-vis the continuing advocacy for the ratification of the Convention
and for addressing the struggle of families of the disappeared.
A Side Event entitled: “ Universal Implementation of
the Convention: A Task and A Challenge” will be held on 9 November, 1-3
p.m. at Room XXlll of Palais des Nations. It is aimed to give further
global visibility at the UN level to the Coalition’s continuing campaign
for more signatures to and ratifications of the Convention. The panel of
speakers is composed of Chair of the UN WGEID, Mr. Jeremy Sarkin; French
Expert of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, Mr. Emmanuel Decaux
and First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the UN in
Geneva, Mr. Sebastian Rosales.
The adoption of the Convention by the United Nations
(UN) General Assembly on 20 December 2006 after the three-year drafting
and negotiation process at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland was
the fastest human rights treaty ever in the history of the UN. The
process was led by the French Government, through the able leadership of
the late French Ambassador Bernard Kessedjian and which was participated
in by organizations of families of the disappeared and international
non-government organizations. After achieving the 20th instrument of
ratification, the Convention entered into force on 23 December 2010 and
has now been signed by 90 States and ratified by 30. Its monitoring
body, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), was established at
the end of May 2011 and will officially meet on the first week of
November in Geneva.
The ICAED, under the coordinatorship of its new ICAED
Focal Point, the Asian Federation Against involuntary Disappearances (AFAD),
sees it fitting to bring together coalition members and representatives
of the human rights community in time for the first meeting of the UN
CED and the official session of the UN Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances (UN WGEID).
Established in 2007, the ICAED through its campaign,
lobbying and public information and dissemination work in many countries
at the national, regional and international levels has been contributing
to a large measure to what has been achieved so far. The following
member-organizations form part of the current Steering Committee of the
ICAED: Amnesty International (AI); Asian Federation Against involuntary
Disappearances (AFAD); Collectif des Families De Disparus en Algerie (CFDA);
FEDEFAM; FEMED; Federation Internationale de l’ACAT/ International
Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT);
Federation Internationale des Droits de l’Homme (FIDH); Human Rights
Watch (HRW); International Committee for Justice (ICJ); and We
Remember-Belarus.
Reference:
MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO
Focal Person
International Coalition Against Enforced
Disappearances
c/o Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances
Rooms 310-311 Philippine Social Science Center Bldg.
Commonwealth Ave., Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines
Telephone: 00-64-2-4907862
Telefax: 00-63-2-4546759
Mobile: 00-63-917-792-4058
Email:
fpicaed@gmail.com
Website:
http://www.icaed.org
