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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 United Nations 1992 Declaration for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance?
This is a universal standard setting document unanimously approved by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 1992 under the Resolution 47/133. This declaration, although non-binding, establishes the principles that shall guide and govern all states, namely:
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Description of the practice of enforced disappearances and the human rights violated;
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Repudiation of the practice of enforced disappearance under all circumstances;
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Need for each State to take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent and terminate acts of enforced disappearance in any territory under its jurisdiction;
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Each State shall make enforced disappearance an autonomous and grave offense under its criminal law;
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No order of any public authority, civilian, military or other, may be invoked to justify an enforced disappearance;
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All detained should be held in official detention centers and information be given to families on detainees (right to information) ;
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The State is obliged to investigate all reported cases(right to truth) and those denouncing cases should be protected;
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Enforced disappearance is a continuing offense and therefore, there should be no statutes of limitation;
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Enforced disappearances are to be considered crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread and systematic practice and are hence,
imprescriptible;
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Persons who have, or are alleged to have committed an enforced disappearance shall not benefit from any special amnesty law or similar measures;
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Only civil tribunals shall be competent in cases of enforced disappearances;
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Families and victims have the right to rehabilitation, redress and reparation;
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Children who are victims should receive special protection and the abduction of children is a very serious offense.
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