UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances issues findings on Gabon and Lithuania

GENEVA (15 September 2017) – The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances has published its findings on Gabon and Lithuania, which it reviewed during its latest session, held from 4 to 15 September in Geneva.

The findings cover how the respective State is doing with regard to implementing the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, detailing positive developments, main areas of concern, and recommendations for action.  The findings, officially known as concluding observations, can be found here.

The Committee will next meet from 21 May to 1 June 2018 when it is due to review Albania, Austria and Honduras.
More details can be found here.

ENDS

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Background

What is CED and why it matters?

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations intended to prevent enforced disappearance. The text was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 December 2006 and came into force on 23 December 2010.  As of December 2016, 57 States have ratified the Convention.

The ratification of the Convention by a State expresses its political will to end enforced disappearance and to protect its own citizens from this heinous practice.

If the principles of the Convention are fully implemented, then the practice of enforced disappearance can be eradicated and people can be effectively protected from enforced disappearance all over the world.

This protection is essential for the citizens of those States who experienced the tragedy of disappearance in the past and/or continue to experience it in the present. The same protection is also fundamental for the citizens of those States who fortunately did not experience enforced disappearance in their recent history as a preventive measure as political regimes change and also democracy may turn in an oppressive regime.

The Convention  matters for people in every country as it defends the rights of the disappeared and their families, combats impunity and prevents new cases of enforced disappearance from occurring.

Stand Up for the victims of enforced disappearance. Help us increase ratification of the Convention. Find out more about why and how to get involved: http://www.standup4humanrights.org/en/disappeared.html