The act of disappearing people has long been identified only with the authoritarian and military
dictatorships of Latin America during the 1970s and 1980s. When these countries overthrew their dictators and moved forward to a period of democracy, people thought that enforced disappearance has also been incarcerated in the pages of history or buried along with the oppressors who have died. What they fail to actually see is that disappearance is a global concern. It is not merely contained within the boundaries of the Latin American region. Thus, it may have already faced the courts of justice in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Guatemala, Peru, etc. But in other regions, particularly in Asia, enforced disappearance continues to freely wreak terror and havoc in the lives of many families.
Enforced disappearance is still very much alive; a continuing reality of the present time especially in Asia.
Since the 9/11 attack to the World Trade Center in New York, enforced disappearance has taken a new face. From the pretext of “war against communism to maintain national stability,” it has become “war against terrorism to protect human security.”
In Asia, the present cases of disappearances are committed by relatively democratic governments as a response to the call for a global war against terrorism, e.g. Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Kashmir, India. Given this context under which people, especially human rights defenders, are left vulnerable to the human rights abuses of the governments, protection against violations especially disappearances must be prioritized.
The adoption by the UN General Assembly of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on December 20, 2006 is a great achievement toward protecting the Right Not to be Disappeared. On February 6, 2007, the Convention was signed by 57 governments in Paris, France. Recently, four more UN member-states signed, thus, already 61 member-states have signed. For the instrument, however, to enter into force, it needs 20 ratifications from UN member-states.
It is important to note that the Convention emphasizes the urgency and importance to protect the right of every person not to be disappeared. More, it consequently makes the ratification an imperative for all the member-states. The consensus during the process of adopting the Convention can be gleaned as an expression of genuine commitment by each state to truly uphold human rights in all their non-derogable aspects. With this in mind, the Convention becomes less of an illusion but more of a reality for all the victims and families of the victims of disappearance.
Nevertheless, not leaving everything to simple fate, the victims and the international human rights organizations have set up a Coalition for the Convention against Enforced Disappearances. It aims to strengthen and to ensure the effectiveness of the call for the ratification of the Convention as part of the global struggle against disappearances and impunity; that victory will be achieved sooner than later. Time is gold. For every family of a disappeared, every second is crucial to save their loved one’s life.
Ratify the Convention NOW!
