Quezon City, Paris, La Paz, Montevideo,  Minsk - On the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared, The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), the Euro-Mediterranean Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED), the Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared-Detainees (FEDEFAM) and We Remember-Belarus call on all States to take actions towards the perpetration of enforced disappearances and to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances.

The first enforced disappearances were massively perpetrated during the Second World War especially by the Nazi-regime. In the seventies, the Moroccan regime and the Latin American Juntas systematically used this practice in the context of stifling dissent and subversion. This phenomenon rapidly spread to other continents and still occurs in countries experiencing complex situations of internal conflict.

Abduction processes have been similar, independently of the situation of each country where enforced disappearances are committed. The victim is often arrested and then detained incommunicado by the State or agents acting on its behalf. Confronting families’ demands, authorities then deny that the person is being held or conceal their whereabouts, placing them outside the protection of the law.

Enforced disappearance constitutes a crime against humanity under international law when practiced in a widespread and systematic manner.  It is also an ongoing crime as long as person’s whereabouts remain unknown and as long as its family suffers from the unbearable pain of not knowing his or her fate. This uncertainty forces the relatives of the disappeared into a long wait, of a return that may never happen, of the absence of truth and justice. This process prevents the family from mourning for their loved ones.

Even if contexts differ from one country to another, families of the victims go through the same suffering. They tirelessly demand to know the truth on the fate and whereabouts of their missing relatives, as well as to obtain justice and reparation.

Family members of the disappeared and human rights defenders, fighting for the recognition of the rights of the victims and against impunity, are often subjected to harassment from the authorities in their respective countries.

Therefore, AFAD, FEMED, FEDEFAM and We Remember-Belarus jointly reiterate their call on States to conduct thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all past and current allegations of enforced disappearances, by putting in place mechanisms to establish the truth on the fate of the disappeared. Furthermore, States should refrain from any act of intimidation or retaliation against families of the disappeared and human rights defenders supporting their fair cause.

Today, as we honor all the disappeared people of the world, our organizations urge governments to take all possible measures to prevent and eradicate the practice of enforced disappearances and to put an end to impunity by prosecuting their perpetrators, in compliance with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances that they must promptly ratify.