The United Nations(UN)’s International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances is annually observed across the globe on 30th August to create awareness about enforced or involuntary disappearance in various regions across the globe.
The day highlights that enforced disappearance is a crime and it should not be used as a way to deal with conflicts.
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/65/209 on 21 December 2010 and proclaimed the 30th August of every year as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
ii.The first-ever International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances was observed on 30th August 2011.
iii.The resolution also adopted the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Enforced Disappearances:
i.The enforced disappearances are used as a strategy to spread terror within society.
ii.The enforced disappearances refer to arrest, detention or abduction of persons by agents of the State, or those acting with State authorization or support, whose whereabouts are unknown.
iii.According to the UN, around Hundreds of thousands of people has disappeared across 85 countries during conflicts or period of repression.
Efforts against enforced disappearances:
i.The Rome Statute of the International Criminal court and the International Convention of the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance defines the enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity, and it is not subjected to a statute of limitations and gives the families of the victims the right to demand the truth about the disappearance.
ii.The UN Human Rights Office launched an initiative in 2017 to double the number of ratifications of the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance by 2022.
