UN – Human Rights – International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances (30 August 2018)
On this International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances by a government or with its consent, Argentina and France would like to commemorate the victims and their families. These serious human rights violations are unfortunately ongoing in a large number of countries, some of which are in the midst of serious crises or wars.
The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (2006), which currently counts 97 signatories, 58 of which have ratified the agreement, represents a major step forward in demonstrating the international community’s awareness of the need for decisive action in the face of these human rights violations. The purpose of this text is to prevent enforced disappearances and to combat impunity for the crime of enforced disappearances. It is based in particular on the right to know the truth on the circumstances of the enforced disappearance, the progress and results of the investigation, as well as the fate of the disappeared person.
In 2017, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights set the goal of doubling the number of states parties to the Convention in five years; France and Argentina fully support this aim. It is why France and Argentina are calling on all nations that have not yet done so to ratify this convention and to recognize the jurisdiction of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, established to monitor the implementation of the convention, and which began its work in 2011.
To achieve the universality of this convention, Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Argentinian counterpart, Jorge Faurie, sent a letter to their counterparts last April.