COMMITTEE ON ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES OPENS SEVENTH SESSION

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances has opened this morning its seventh session, which runs until September 26 in Room XII of the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Committee adopted the agenda of the session and its programme of work, before observing a minute of silence in memory of victims of enforced disappearances.

Nathalie Prouvez, Chief of the Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, opening the session, spoke about how the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, together with the work of the Committee, informed the work of her Branch in many areas. She highlighted the need for victims needed to occupy a central place in any search for truth and justice and the importance of prevention, as the emergence of international crimes and other gross human rights violations was not arbitrary.
Ms. Prouvez also provided an update on the status of ratification of the Convention, noting that on 21 July 2014 Togo had ratified the Convention, thus bringing the number of States parties to 43. The increase was indeed slow, but also steady, and that was a reason to be satisfied.

Emmanuel Décaux, Chairperson of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, in opening remarks said the mandate of the Committee would never be an ordinary one, as it brought hope throughout the world, yet it also involved a heavy responsibility for States and for the international community as a whole. All the issues it addressed were of key importance, including thematic issues, whether or not it was about women’s issues, minorities or indigenous populations. He updated Committee Members on developments since the last session and spoke about an acceleration in the Committee’s pace of work.

The next public meeting of the Committee will take place at 3 p.m. this afternoon in Room XII of the Palais des Nations when it will begin its consideration of the initial report of Belgium (CED/C/BEL/1). The Committee will conclude its review of the report of Belgium on Tuesday, 16 September in the morning.

The Committee will begin examination of the initial report of Paraguay (CED/C/PRY/1), the second and last country report which it is considering this session, on Tuesday, 16 September at 10 a.m., and will conclude the review on Wednesday, 17 September in the morning.

Further information on the Committee and the session can be found at this link.

Opening Statement

NATHALIE PROUVEZ, Chief of the Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, together with the work of the Committee, informed the work of her Branch in many areas and ways. Ms. Prouvez highlighted some of the areas and aspects of the work conducted by the Branch: the right of victims to know the truth about the circumstances of an enforced disappearance and the fate of the disappeared person, as well as the right to freedom to seek, receive and impart information to this end, were central to the Convention. The right to the truth was closely linked to the right to justice and the right to reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence of violations.

One of the fundamental lessons drawn from the work carried out had been that victims needed to occupy a central place in any search for truth and justice. Transitional justice processes that took into account the needs, perspectives and rights of victims did not only contribute to restoring their dignity. They also helped to rebuild a sense of community by acknowledging the truth about the experiences that victims had endured, both as individuals and often as groups. In that respect, archives remained an important issue. The OHCHR hoped to provide guidance about the preservation of archives in order to uphold the right to truth in the past, ensure victims took centre stage, reduce impunity for the crime of enforced disappearance and promote international justice where necessary, including through supporting and advising national justice mechanisms.

Ms. Prouvez highlighted the importance of prevention, as the emergence of international crimes and other gross human rights violations was not arbitrary. These were often the result of existing social divisions, institutional failures, and clearly identifiable patterns of unnoticed human rights violations that had not been acted upon for many years. Prevention required an adequate normative framework and addressing root causes such as marginalisation and discrimination, institutions that respected human rights and rule of law principles, as well as effective accountability mechanisms also compliant with international norms and standards.

Ms. Prouvez also provided an update on the status of ratification of the Convention since the previous session. On 21 July 2014, Togo had ratified the Convention, thus bringing the number of States parties to 43. The increase was indeed slow, but also steady, and that was a reason to be satisfied. More efforts were welcome to emphasise the contemporary value of the goals and objectives of the Convention, and Ms. Prouvez was pleased to note that the Convention would be highlighted during the treaty-related event in New York in parallel with the opening of the General Assembly. She also noted that the United Nations Secretary-General had promoted the ratification of the Convention in his recent report on the Convention and in his report on missing persons.

Ms. Prouvez also briefed the Committee on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 68/268 on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system. In particular Committees should consider making the Simplified Reporting Procedure available after 1 January 2015.

Statement by the Committee Chairperson

EMMANUEL DÉCAUX, Chairperson of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, in opening remarks said the mandate of the Committee would never be an ordinary one, as it brought hope throughout the world, yet it also involved a heavy responsibility for States and for the international community as a whole. All the issues it addressed were of key importance, including thematic issues, whether or not it was about women’s issues, minorities or indigenous populations.

He updated Committee Members on developments since the last session, including a communiqué on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, and a second communiqué on the happy occasion of the reunion of human rights activist and leader of non-governmental organization Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, Ms. Estela de Carlotto and her grandson Diego, born in 1980.
Behind such shared joy, it was not to be forgotten that, 30 years later, the fate of hundreds of children had not been elucidated. Diego was the 114th child to have recovered its true identity out of some 400 children abducted from their families. The great lesson drawn by victims’ associations was to never surrender, never lose faith in humanity and to fight within and against everything. The tireless struggle of non-governmental organizations such as the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, as well as the progress made by research and DNA, were exemplary for everyone and a great source of hope.

From 2015 onwards, the work pace of the Committee would be accelerated with the review of three reports and the adoption of three lists of issues at every session. That would allow the Committee to review reports submitted recently by Montenegro, Kazakhstan and Iraq (the latter was so far only available in Arabic). All 14 reports received had been or would be dealt with, in line with a clear methodology.

Unlike urgent humanitarian calls, article 30 came under the framework of legal obligations of the State, which allowed the Committee to ask the State to “take all necessary measures, including interim measures, to find and protect the missing person”. Article 30 paragraph 4 added that “the Committee continued efforts to cooperate with the State party concerned for as long as the whereabouts of the missing person remains unresolved”. Beyond the need to save a live, there was a fundamental requirement of a right to live, upon which right to justice is based.

Mr. Décaux also expressed his gratitude to the work of former High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay, who he said was able to face crisis situations with dignity, courage and perseverance, and who was also able to tackle the difficulties linked to the human rights system through an inclusive method shown by the Dublin process. The great achievement of Ms. Pillay was to convey, in New York as in Geneva, that the system of “basic treaties” was the legal cornerstone of international human rights law and not just a budget line. He welcomed the arrival of new High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Zeid Al Hussein, who, he hoped, would pursue the same avenues as it affirmed at its first speech when he highlighted the independence and competence of treaty bodies.


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CED14/004E