Committee on Enforced Disappearances Closes Twenty-Eighth Session
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances this afternoon closed its twenty-eighth session after adopting concluding observations on the reports of the Gambia and Malta under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, reports on additional information from Belgium and Serbia, reports on stand-alone requests for additional information from Peru and Argentina, and on the implementation of the Convention by the Central African Republic, considered in absence of a report.
Juan Pablo Albán Alencastro, Committee Rapporteur, said the Committee had adopted concluding observations on the Gambia, Malta, Belgium, Serbia, Peru, Argentina and the Central African Republic after public dialogues with all these States, apart from Argentina, for which a desk review of the State’s written response was conducted. The concluding observations, which would be made public next Tuesday, identified positive aspects, pointed out areas of concern, and presented the Committee's recommendations to support the authorities of the States concerned in implementing the Convention, in order to prevent and eradicate enforced disappearances.
Olivier de Frouville, Committee Chairperson, said the Rapporteur’s report showed that the Committee had made the best use of its three-week session, achieving impressive results. He said that five Experts’ mandates were concluding at the end of the session: those of Juan Pablo Albán Alencastro (Ecuador), Mohammed Ayat (Morocco), Suela Janina (Albania), Milica Kolakovic-Bojovic (Serbia) and Horacio Ravenna (Argentina). Mr. de Frouville thanked these Experts for their dedication to the work of the Committee. The treaty body system rested on the efforts of people like them. They had worked hard to make the world a better place for the next generation and were an inspiration to future Experts.
All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.
Information on the Committee’s twenty-ninth session will be announced on the Committee web page at a later date.
Statements
JUAN PABLO ALBÁN ALENCASTRO, Committee Rapporteur, reported that, during the opening of the Committee’s session, the Committee paid tribute to the victims of enforced disappearance, and in that context heard the testimony of Obeida Dabbagh, who recounted the arrest and subsequent disappearance of his brother Mazen Dabbagh and his nephew Patrick in November 2013 at the hands of Syrian Air Force intelligence agents, and the efforts made since then by the family to seek truth, justice and reparation.
Mr. Albán Alencastro said the Committee had adopted concluding observations on the Gambia, Malta, Belgium, Serbia, Peru, Argentina and the Central African Republic after public dialogues with all these States, apart from Argentina, for which a desk review of the State’s written response was conducted. The concluding observations, which would be made public next Tuesday, identified positive aspects, pointed out areas of concern, and presented the Committee's recommendations to support the authorities of the States concerned in implementing the Convention, in order to prevent and eradicate enforced disappearances.
Mr. Albán Alencastro reported that the Committee also adopted lists of issues in relation to reports under article 29, section one of the Convention by Croatia, Luxembourg and Togo; as well as lists of priority issues in relation to the reports submitted under article 29, section four of the Convention by Armenia, Gabon and Montenegro, in preparation for their future reviews; and the follow-up report on the implementation of concluding observations by Panama.
On 17 March, Mr. Albán Alencastro said, the Committee held a private hearing in relation to individual communication 5/2021 concerning Mexico, to receive additional information from the parties and to ask questions relating to the admissibility and merits of the case. It subsequently adopted its decision on this communication. Also, during the session, the Committee adopted its report on its visit to Colombia from 21 November to 5 December 2024, which set out the Committee’s main findings and made a series of recommendations to support the Colombian authorities in the development and implementation of an effective and efficient national policy for the prevention and eradication of enforced disappearances.
Further, Mr. Albán Alencastro reported, the Committee held discussions on its working methods, in particular examining requests for the application of article 34 of the Convention; adopted its report on the urgent action mechanism, in which it highlighted trends in requests registered since the last session and identified lessons learned in the implementation of this procedure; adopted its annual report to the General Assembly and the provisional agenda of its twenty-ninth session; discussed possible strategies for follow-up to the outcome of the First World Congress on Enforced Disappearances held in January this year; and held productive meetings with States parties to the Convention, civil society organizations, and victims.
During the session, Mr. Albán Alencastro concluded, the Committee continued the process for the future adoption of a general comment on women and enforced disappearance, to which end it adopted a concept note. Mr. Albán Alencastro said that this was his last address as Rapporteur of the Committee, as his mandate was coming to an end. He thanked all Committee Experts for their dedication and support throughout his mandate.
OLIVIER DE FROUVILLE, Committee Chairperson, said the Rapporteur’s report showed that the Committee had made the best use of its three-week session, achieving impressive results. He expressed thanks to the Committee’s secretariat and members of the Committee, who had demonstrated exemplary professionalism and their unwavering commitment at a time when it was sorely needed.
Five Experts’ mandates were concluding at the end of the session: those of Juan Pablo Albán Alencastro (Ecuador), Mohammed Ayat (Morocco), Suela Janina (Albania), Milica Kolakovic-Bojovic (Serbia), and Horacio Ravenna (Argentina). Mr. de Frouville thanked these Experts for their dedication to the work of the Committee. The treaty body system rested on the efforts of people like them. They had worked hard to make the world a better place for the next generation and were an inspiration to future Experts.
Mr. de Frouville said that, during the session, under the procedures of article 29 of the Convention, the Committee had reviewed no less than 14 States parties, a record number, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Committee’s new working methods. The Committee hoped that the concluding observations that emerged from these reviews would help the States concerned to make the necessary changes to prevent and eradicate enforced disappearances.
All the situations the Committee examined were different, the Chair said, yet all demonstrated the tragic relevance of enforced disappearance. The crime of enforced disappearance continued to be committed in countries like the Central African Republic. The wounds inflicted by past crimes of enforced disappearance in some countries, such as the Gambia and Serbia, had still not healed, and families were still seeking the truth and justice. In countries like Malta, the risk of disappearance was heightened by the closure of borders and increasingly strict asylum policies. Countries such as Belgium were also lifting the veil on the reality of illegal intercountry adoptions, some of which had their origins in enforced disappearance. Several special procedures mandate holders raised the alarm about this phenomenon in a joint statement in 2022.
Mr. de Frouville said that the Committee’s report on its visit to Colombia was an unprecedented feat; it conducted precise analysis of the phenomenon of enforced disappearance over a 60-year period, and made targeted recommendations for ensuring truth, justice and reparation. The Committee would continue to cooperate with Colombia and support the implementation of its recommendations.
During the session, Mr. de Frouville said, the Committee had also examined the troubling situation in Mexico, including through its urgent action and individual communication procedures, as well as the procedure under article 34 of the Convention. Under the latter provision, the Committee had received concerning reports that enforced disappearance was practiced in a widespread or systematic manner in Mexico, and had decided to request additional information from the State on the phenomenon in the coming weeks. The Committee’s aim was constructive dialogue with the State party to achieve the common goal of the full implementation of the Convention.
The Committee had also adopted the report on its urgent actions procedure, which was a sad reflection of the current practice of enforced disappearances. To date, the Committee had recorded 2,010 urgent action requests in 31 countries. The equivalent procedure of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, in place since 1980, had registered more than 61,000 cases in 115 States. The Committee’s report on urgent actions highlighted a recent increase in the practice of “short-term enforced disappearances”. In their joint statement on the phenomenon, the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances and the Committee stressed that, under international human rights law, the definition of enforced disappearance did not address the length of the crime. Thus, the obligations imposed on States were the same regardless of the length of the crime.
Mr. de Frouville said that during the session, the Committee had held consultations with the head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic. The Committee called on Syria to ratify the Convention and recognise the competence of the Committee under articles 31 and 32, to demonstrate the commitment of the new authorities to combat the practices of the past while responding to the legitimate demands of families in search of truth, justice and reparation. It also called on all States parties to assist Syrian families in search efforts and help fight against impunity for the perpetrators of enforced disappearances in Syria through judicial cooperation.
The United Nations’ liquidity crisis continued to hamper the Committee’s work; there was still uncertainty about whether the Committee’s next session would be held, Mr. de Frouville said. In fact, no treaty body sessions scheduled from May onwards had been confirmed yet, including that of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, due to start on 5 May. This was an unprecedented situation. It was Member States’ responsibility to ensure the smooth operation of the treaty bodies. This unique system, which was built on the ruins of the Second World War to build global peace, was now in peril. At a time when peace was under threat around the world, when the independence of the judiciary was under attack, when the media, human rights defenders and universities were the victims of an unprecedented offensive, everyone needed more international guarantees, not less. States needed to shoulder their responsibilities now; tomorrow would be too late.
Mr. de Frouville closed by thanking the Committee for its work and expressing hope that the Committee’s next session would be held in September as planned.
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