Committee on Enforced Disappearances Closes Twenty-Seventh Session after Adopting Concluding Observations on Morocco, Norway and Ukraine

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances this afternoon closed its twenty-seventh session after adopting its concluding observations on the reports of Morocco, Norway and Ukraine.

Juan Pablo Albán Alencastro, Committee Rapporteur, said the Committee held constructive dialogues with Morocco, Norway and Ukraine, and adopted concluding observations on their reports, which would be published next Tuesday. In addition, the Committee adopted lists of issues in the absence of a report for Lesotho and Seychelles, as well as lists of themes on additional information for Belgium and Serbia.

The Rapporteur recalled that at the opening of the session, the Committee paid tribute to the victims of enforced disappearance, and heard the testimony of Ms. Shui-Meng Ng, wife of Sombath Somphone, disappeared in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. During the session, the Committee held productive meetings with States parties, civil society organizations and victims. It also held discussions on its methods of work and adopted several amendments to its Rules of Procedure.  It adopted its report on the urgent action mechanism.

The Committee also adopted the final draft of the joint statement on short-term enforced disappearances, drafted with the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances; made the decision to initiate the process for the future adoption of a general comment on women and enforced disappearances; and continued planning the World Forum on Enforced Disappearances, to be held on 15 and 16 January 2025.

Milica Kolakovic-Bojovic, Committee Vice-Chair, presented the illustrated Spanish version of the general comment on enforced disappearances in the context of migration, which was available to be downloaded and would soon be printed and distributed.

The Committee also screened a short extract of a documentary on international adoptions which had their roots in enforced disappearance, which would soon be aired on television.

Olivier de Frouville, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks, expressed thanks to all those who had contributed to the twenty-seventh session, which had been very intense. The Committee had opened the session under the banner of the multiplication of armed conflicts, and unfortunately was closing it in a situation that had become even worse, particularly in the Middle East.

During the session, the Committee had held a constructive dialogue with Ukraine. Today, thousands of families in Ukraine were searching for their loved ones.

The dialogue with Morocco had made it possible to highlight the weight of the past. While the work of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission established the State’s responsibility for enforced disappearances committed between 1956 and 1999, and clarified the fate of many disappeared persons, the issue remained a matter of concern in Moroccan society.

The question of the past was also present in the dialogue with Norway. In the contemporary period, many countries like Norway had to face the challenges posed by the disappearances of migrants, but also revelations related to illegal international adoptions, which in some cases could be caused by enforced disappearances.

Mr. de Frouville said the Committee had adopted its report on the urgent action procedure, which showed an increase in cases of disappearances with a transnational dimension and involving several States. The Committee was particularly concerned that several authors had indicated that they no longer wished to follow up on an urgent action initiated by them, for fear of reprisals, or because the State concerned did not provide them with access to the file. It was crucial that all perpetrators of urgent actions, as well as all persons cooperating with the Committee, were protected from all forms of reprisals and were able to participate fully in the search for the disappeared.

The World Congress on Enforced Disappearances would take place on 15 and 16 January 2025.  The Committee invited all interested States, civil society actors and organizations of victims of enforced disappearances to attend. Registration for the Conference was available online as of today.

All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage, where the concluding observations on the reports of Morocco, Norway and Ukraine will be available next Tuesday. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.

The Committee’s twenty-eighth session is scheduled to be held from 17 March to 4 April 2025, during which the Committee will examine the reports of the Central African Republic, Malta and Sri Lanka. It will also review responses provided by Argentina and Peru to its request for additional information and hold the official launch of the joint statement on so-called short-term enforced disappearances.