On 18 December 2022, the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (hereinafter, “the Declaration”), adopted by General Assembly Resolution 47/133, will turn 30. Since its adoption, the Declaration significantly contributed to the progress of international law on enforced disappearance (eventually culminated in the adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance), as well as of international practice and domestic legislation and jurisprudence.

The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has decided to launch a special initiative to mark the adoption of the Declaration, aiming at taking stock of the progress of international law on the subject, as well as identifying the obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Declaration and the ways in which the Working Group could support States in overcoming them, including through technical assistance and cooperation.

Objectives

The study will focus on the contribution of the Declaration to the progress of international and domestic law and jurisprudence, the obstacles encountered in its implementation, the relevant lessons learned and good practices. 

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

The Working Group would like to invite member States, as well as all interested individuals and organizations working on issues related to enforced disappearance, including National Human Rights Institutions, intergovernmental organizations, regional human rights mechanisms, representatives of civil society organizations, experts and academics, to provide input for the preparation of the foreseen study. Inputs can be both country-specific or of a general nature and should contain information on the following subjects:

• Impact of the Declaration on domestic legislation and case law;
• Main progress of international law and practice on enforced disappearance since the adoption of the Declaration;
• Obstacles and challenges encountered in the implementation of the Declaration: good practices and lessons learned to overcome them;
• Good practices and lessons learned concerning technical assistance and cooperation to promote the knowledge of the Declaration and enhance the existing legal framework and practices and promote ratification and acceptance of more recent legal instruments, and in particular of the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;
• Awareness on the contents of the Declaration and activities to further disseminate it: good practices and lessons learned.

Questionnaire

1. Can you please share examples of how the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (hereinafter, “the Declaration”) has contributed to the development of domestic legislation in your country (or countries in focus)? Can you kindly share examples of domestic provisions that were adopted in your country (or countries in focus) as a result of the implementation of the Declaration?
2. Can you please indicate the status of the Declaration in the domestic legal order in your country (or countries in focus), i.e. with respect to ordinary legislation?
3. Can you please illustrate if the provisions of the Declaration can be invoked before domestic courts in your country (or countries in focus) and, if so, share examples of case law where domestic courts made reference to the Declaration in their verdicts (if possible, summarizing to which provisions of the Declaration reference was made and how they were interpreted)?
4. Can you please illustrate how has the Declaration contributed to the development of international law on enforced disappearance?
5. Has your State (or countries in focus) ratified or acceded to the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances? If your State (or countries in focus) has not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention, is there any pending project or initiative to do so?
6. Can you please illustrate how the Declaration has influenced international jurisprudence on enforced disappearance? In particular, can you share examples of judgments/verdicts/Views or decisions delivered by international courts or mechanisms where reference was made to the Declaration (if possible, summarizing to which provisions of the Declaration reference was made and how they were interpreted)?
7. Can you kindly indicate the main obstacles – practical and legal – encountered by you/your country (or countries in focus)/ institution/organization in the implementation of the Declaration (if possible, making reference to specific provisions and concrete examples)?
8. Can you kindly illustrate whether your country (or countries in focus) has previous experiences with regard to technical cooperation and assistance from Special Procedures and whether you think this could be an effective means to further disseminate and foster the implementation of the Declaration. What other kind of initiatives could be favoured?
9. Can you kindly illustrate any activity undertaken in your country (or countries in focus) to raise awareness and further disseminate the content of the Declaration? To your knowledge, has the Declaration been translated in any local language other than the six UN language? If so, could you please share a copy?
10. Can you kindly share information on existing training programs (directed both at authorities and at civil society organizations) in your country (or countries in focus) where the Declaration is analyzed and disseminated? Any information on the nature and frequency of such trainings is welcome.
11. Is there any other information that you deem relevant for the purposes of the study?