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contents:
cover
What is Enforced Disappearance?
What does the United Nations do about Enforced Disappearances?
What is the United Nations 1992 Declaration for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance?
What is the United Nations Convention For the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance?
From AFAD’s initial assessment, the following are some factors which contributed to the successful adoption/approval of the Convention in September 2005:
What does the recently approved Convention mainly state about the issue of disappearance?
Why is there a need for a Convention?
What will the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, to be established by the Convention, do?
What is the Convention’s importance to the Peoples of Asia?
Why is the ratification and entry into force of the Convention important?
What is the practical importance of the Convention for the victims and their families?
How can we lobby governments to recognize the importance of the instrument by signing and ratifying the Convention?
What is the International Coalition Against Enforced
Disappearance
(ICAED)?
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Primer on the United Nations Convention
for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
Third Edition
(Prepared by the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances)
What is the practical importance of the Convention for the victims and their families?
A Convention is a clear step in the struggle against impunity. It would ensure indictment of the perpetrators and provide hope to the survivors and the relatives of the victims.
Indeed, it will be a crucial factor in lobbying local governments to quickly ratify the Convention.
In the meantime, organizations of families of the disappeared shall avail themselves of existing remedies, in particular:
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Keep sending communications to the UNWGEID. It is primarily important to update the Working Group on any news. If there has already been a case presented, it is of utmost importance to avoid the application of the six-month rule (that is: if the UNWGEID sends information to the source and the source does not respond within six months, the UNWGEID will drop the case);
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In case there are reprisals or threats, IMMEDIATELY inform the UNGWEID and ask for its prompt intervention. It is important to periodically update the Working Group once it has provided prompt intervention measures, in order to establish a fruitful and continuing dialogue;
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Formulate general observations for the UNWGEID on the compliance of local governments with their obligations under the Declaration; and
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Submit complaints to the HRC if the State is a Party to the ICCPR and its First Optional Protocol.
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