Committee on Enforced Disappearances Closes Twenty-Ninth Session

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances this afternoon closed its twenty-ninth session after adopting concluding observations on the reports of Benin and Sri Lanka, and on a report on additional information from Montenegro, related to the implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Marija Definis, Committee Rapporteur, reported that, during the opening meeting of the Committee's twenty-ninth session, the Committee paid tribute to the victims of enforced disappearance and presented a video overview of the first World Congress on Enforced Disappearances, which took place in January this year in Geneva. At the Congress, which garnered close to 2,000 in-person and online participants, the Committee recalled the central role of victims in its daily work.

During the session, the Committee elected by consensus for the 2025 to 2027 term a new Chair, Juan Pablo Alban Alencastro (Ecuador), and a new Bureau, including Olivier de Frouville (France), Matar Diop (Senegal), and Carmen Rosa Villa Quintana (Peru) as Vice-Chairs, and Marija Definis (Croatia) as Rapporteur. Ms. Definis was one of four new members welcomed to the Committee, the other three being Elias Ricardo Solis Gonzalez (Panama), Paulo de Tarso Vannuchi (Brazil), and Jean de Dieu Yakouma Bambara (Burkina Faso).

In addition to adopting concluding observations on the reports of Benin, Sri Lanka and Montenegro, Ms. Definis said the Committee also adopted, in preparation for future reviews, lists of issues under article 29(1) of the Convention for Finland, Oman and Slovenia, and lists of priority themes on the basis of the additional information submitted under articles 29(3) and 29(4) of the Convention for Iraq and Ecuador. Further, the Committee reviewed the situation in Mexico under article 34 of the Convention. The next steps of the procedure would be communicated to concerned parties and made public in due course.

On 29 September, Ms. Definis said, the Committee held its annual meetings with Member States and civil society actors, which were respectively attended by 21 States and 44 representatives of civil society. In the meetings, topics relevant to the Convention were discussed, including the situation of enforced disappearance in States parties and matters relating to the implementation of the Convention.

During the session, the Committee also adopted the periodic report on urgent actions under article 30 of the Convention, in which it highlighted the trends observed since the last session, including on the 144 urgent actions registered since March this year, Ms. Definis said. It held its annual meeting with the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to identify joint projects and enhance interaction and cooperation.

Ms. Definis said that the Committee also discussed its methods of work, particularly in connection with the outcome of the thirty-seventh meeting of treaty body Chairs, and discussed the potential additional actions related to follow-up to the World Congress on Enforced Disappearances. Further, it continued to work towards the future adoption of a general comment on women and enforced disappearance, and considered draft general comments on transnational enforced disappearance, and on gender identity, sexual orientation and enforced disappearance, discussing future courses of action on these issues.

In closing remarks, Juan Pablo Alban Alencastro, Committee Chairperson, expressed deep appreciation to all the delegations, institutions, groups and individuals who had supported the Committee during the session. The richness of deliberations reflected the diversity of views and their convergence on the shared goal to eradicate enforced disappearances, prevent them, and respond to the needs of victims, he said. The dialogues undertaken in the session were key to ensuring that the voices of victims were heard.

To date, the Committee had registered 2,140 urgent actions, including three today, the Chair said. The periodic report on urgent actions shed light not only on the trends observed in the urgent actions recorded by the Committee, but also on the reality of enforced disappearances, through its description of the 144 cases registered since the last session. Enforced disappearances were not numbers; they were human beings torn from their family, their community and from life in society. Each case reflected this unacceptable reality, but also highlighted the importance of the urgent action procedure. As of 16 September, 537 disappeared persons for whom urgent action had been initiated had been located, including 420 alive, and 19 had been located since March of this year.

Mr. Alban Alencastro noted that the session was marked by a collective reflection on the structural crisis that the United Nations and the human rights treaty bodies were experiencing. The treaty body system's growing workload contrasted with increasingly scarce human and financial resources. This was a real threat to the effectiveness of the system and, consequently, to the rights of victims who were waiting for answers.

However, Mr. Alban Alencastro said that with dedication, professionalism and admirable commitment, the Committee's secretariat had made it possible for this session to move smoothly, despite resource constraints. He expressed sincere thanks to the secretariat and all those who facilitated the successful session, including fellow members of the Committee, who had helped reaffirm the credibility of the Committee's work and strengthen the confidence of victims through their rigour and sensitivity.

He also expressed thanks to civil society organizations that collaborated with the Committee during the session, saying that they were indispensable allies who ensured that the Committee's recommendations and decisions had a real impact. Further, he expressed thanks to States parties for their willingness to engage in open and constructive dialogue, and reiterated the Committee's expectation of their support in ensuring the effectiveness of its work.

Mr. Alban Alencastro further said victims and their families were the heart of the Convention, stressing that the vindication of their dignity was also the Committee's responsibility. People who interacted with the Committee and other treaty bodies needed to be protected.

The Chair expressed the Committee's conviction that enforced disappearance could never be justified and that, with determination and cooperation, it was possible to confront it. Considering the current threats to peace and the promotion of human rights around the world and the United Nations' critical situation, the road ahead would be arduous.

However, the progress made during the session demonstrated that, with dedication and good will, it was possible to continue building, step by step, a future in which every disappearance was clarified and in which truth, justice and reparation were a reality for all victims. Until this was achieved, the Committee would continue to work with a profound sense of responsibility, with total objectivity and absolute independence, he concluded.

All documents relating to the Committee's work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session's webpage. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.

Information on the Committee's thirtieth session will be announced on the Committee web pageat a later date.

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CED25.014E