At the end of the 98th session held in Geneva today, five UN experts expressed their deep concern about the continued practice of enforced disappearances. They reported that they have reviewed more than 400 cases, spanning 31 nations. These ongoing disappearances occur even after 20 years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. In 1980 the UN Commission on Human Rights established the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to aid families effected by these disappearances and ensure that the cases are investigated. In October, the Working Group held an event, which opened their annual session, about the effect on of enforced disappearances on women. This session also focused on the issues of reparations, methods of work, country visits, and the obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Declaration. The experts also finalized and approved their 2012 annual report to be presented at the Human Rights Council session in March. The Working Group's five members are all from different countries and have investigated the cases from all 31 countries.
The Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance is comprised of an initial address and 21 articles. It proclaims the document as a set of principles for all States, and urges that it become known and respected. It discusses the Declaration's relevance to other important documents, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It states that despite the fact that enforced disappearances violate already laid out international agreements and laws, it is important to specifically address these violation and crimes, and the proper punishments, in hopes that the frequency of their occurrence will go down.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43456&Cr=&Cr1=&Kw1=human+rights&Kw2=&Kw3=#.UJ1pc4WmUzY
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/disappearance.htm
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