What does the Convention mainly state about the
issue of enforced disappearance?
In general, the Convention consecrates as binding all the principles which
were already mentioned in the 1992 Declaration. Further, it better
specifies the obligations of States in order to prevent and suppress the
practice of enforced disappearance. The Convention establishes the non-derogable
right of everyone notto be subjected to enforced disappearance. No
circumstance whatsoever, be it a state or threat of war, internal
political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked to
justify an enforced disappearance. The Convention holds that enforced
disappearance constitutes an offense under criminal law and it considers
this widespread or systematic practice of enforced disappearance a crime
against humanity. Indeed, enforced disappearance is a crime under
international law.
Furthermore, the Convention provides for the right of
the relatives of the disappeared persons and of the society as a whole to
know the truth regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance,
the progress and results of the investigation and the fate and whereabouts
of the disappeared person.
According to the Convention, each State Party shall
codify enforced disappearance as an autonomous offense under its criminal
law and punish it by appropriate penalties which take into account its
extreme seriousness.
State Parties to the Convention shall cooperate in
searching for, locating and releasing disappeared persons and, in the
event of death, in exhuming and identifying them and returning their
remains. Each State Party shall take appropriate measures in this sense.
Moreover, the Convention contains a provision that emphasizes the right to
form and participate freely in organizations and associations supporting
the cause of the disappeared.
Further, the Convention provides that:
• Enforced disappearance is a continuing offense and statutes
of limitation for criminal proceedings shall not apply until the fate and
whereabouts of the victim are established with certainty;
• Enforced disappearances constituting crimes against
humanity (systematic and widespread practice) are imprescriptible;
• No one shall be held in secret detention;
• All States Parties shall establish and maintain up-to-date official
registers of persons deprived of liberty and, upon request, provide some
basic information on people deprived of their liberty to judicial
authorities and any person with a legitimate interest in this information;
• In cases of enforced disappearance, “victim” means the disappeared
person and any individual who has suffered harm as a direct result of an
enforced disappearance; and
• All victims (in the broad sense stated above) of disappearance have the
right to obtain reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation. This shall include:
1. Restitution;
2. Rehabilitation;
3. Satisfaction, including restoration of dignity and reputation; and
4. Guarantees of non-repetition.