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STORY: UN / ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCES
TRT: 02:48
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 21 OCTOBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
21 OCTOBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Gabriella Citroni, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances:
“Since our main mandate is a humanitarian one that is to elucidate or help relatives, elucidating the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones, I would say that our success rate therefore depends on whether states do engage or don't engage with us. Over this reporting period, we have transmitted 998 new cases of enforced disappearances concerning 37 states and 701 were transmitted under what we call urgent procedure. That would mean that it's an enforced disappearance that commenced within the previous three months. What does this convey that unfortunate, unfortunately, enforced disappearance remains an ongoing reality, a global phenomenon, and the working group remains as necessary as it was in 1980.”
4. Wide shot, press briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Gabriella Citroni, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances:
“I would say that the main finding we had is precisely the lack of visibility of this phenomenon, and the reasons are manifold. I would say, on the one hand, in some cases, that clearly would qualify as enforced disappearances, even civil society wouldn't call them enforced disappearance because it's usually intertwined with other human rights violations. In other cases, there is under-reporting phenomenon due to fear, fear of reprisals, fear of intimidation. So we found that there is a need for awareness raising, but also the capacity to answer both at the regional level and at the universal level, taking into account these peculiarities, because we don't want simply to see the number of reports increasing without being able to address the legitimate concerns of families and civil society organizations.”
6. Wide shot, press briefing room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gabriella Citroni, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances:
“I have to be honest, when we decided to write the report on elections and enforced disappearance, we didn't consider that 2024 would be the elections year. And then it turned out to be extremely timely, because not only in Africa, but across the world, is the year with the highest number of elections. One general point I would emphasize is that we have recommendations directed not only at states, but also at online platforms operators, because of the role they would play in this context.”
8. Wide shot, end of press conference
Enforced disappearances have a ripple effect on the communities and societies where they take place due to the continuous nature of the crime, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances warned today (21 Oct).
“Enforced disappearance is a crime with many victims,” the Working Group said. “It is not the victim of enforced disappearance alone who is victimized, but also the often-forgotten family members and loved ones, and, in certain circumstances, entire communities who suffer direct harm.”
Briefing reporters in New York City after addressing the UN General Assembly, Gabriella Citroni, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, reported that since its inception in 1980, the Working Group has transmitted a total of 61,626 cases to 115 States. The number of cases under active consideration that have not yet been clarified, closed or discontinued stands at 48,619 in a total of 100 States. In its annual activities report, the Working Group voiced serious concerns at the escalating number of cases it is recording in the context of armed conflicts.
“We found that there is a need for awareness raising, but also the capacity to answer both at the regional level and at the universal level,” the expert said.
The Working Group continued to study new modalities of enforced disappearance in the context of elections. The report notes that, in the context of elections, enforced disappearance is difficult to pinpoint and address, as it is often only one out of many forms of violence. Moreover, the disappeared often reappear after brief periods and therefore cases go unreported. Lastly, as with the case of enforced disappearance more broadly, which is committed with the direct or indirect involvement of the State, it creates a significant barrier to reporting and documentation, notably due to fear of reprisals.
Citroni emphasized that 2024 “across the world, is the year with the highest number of elections. One general point I would emphasize is that we have recommendations directed not only at states, but also at online platforms operators, because of the role they would play in this context.”
She urged States to take immediate steps towards ensuring comprehensive implementation and enforcement of the absolute prohibition of enforced disappearance, in line with their obligations to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible for such crimes, search for the disappeared, and provide adequate reparations for the harm suffered.
The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
