On August 30 2010, which marks the 27th anniversary of the International Day of the Disappeared, We Remember is holding an action dedicated to the enforced disappeared persons in Belarus. The action is taking place in the capital city of the Netherlands, at one of the central squares, Leidseplein, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. local time. The action will be supported by resident musicians, including Avi Adir.

Enforced disappearance is a continuing phenomenon in one hundred countries based on the 2009 report of UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. The practice of enforced disappearances is now prevented by the existence of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The Convention was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2006. To date, 83 states have already signed and 19 States have ratified the Convention — only one more ratification is lacking for the treaty’s entry into force. The presence of Convention indicates the seriousness of the international community to put to a stop the act of enforced disappearance.

In the years 1999-2000 four prominent persons in Belarus — ex-minister of Internal Affairs Yuri Zakharenko, Wise-Speaker of the Supreme Council Viktor Gonchar, businessman and  famous public figure Anatoly Krasovsky and journalist Dmitry Zavadsky — were subjected to involuntary disappearance. Their fate remains unknown. There are evidences, though, that high-ranked officials including the head of the state, are suspected to be involved in the abduction and possible murder of the four people. Belarusian authorities cooperate neither with the relatives of the disappeared nor with the international society in order to properly investigate the cases of the involuntary disappearances, which makes their involvement in the abductions evident.

CIWR.ORG

On the photo: the International Day of the Disappeared, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 30 August 2008