Enforced Disappearance (International)
Enforced disappearances, also known as forced disappearances, refer to the abduction of individuals by state officials or agents acting on behalf of the state, resulting in their sudden and often permanent disappearance. This human rights violation is typically employed by authoritarian governments to instill fear and suppress dissent, targeting those who advocate for human rights, challenge state actions, or may pose a perceived threat to authority. The practice gained notoriety in the 1960s, particularly during military regimes in Latin America, but has roots that extend back to earlier oppressive regimes, including Nazi Germany.
Victims of enforced disappearances are frequently held outside the bounds of legal processes, experiencing severe mistreatment, and their families are left in anguish, unsure of the missing person's fate. This trauma can have long-lasting emotional and financial impacts on the families, particularly if the disappeared individual was a primary breadwinner. While men are often the primary targets, women and relatives of victims are also at risk. Enforced disappearances are particularly prevalent in conflict zones or regions experiencing internal strife, with significant cases reported in Syria, Sri Lanka, and parts of Africa and Asia.
International efforts, such as the establishment of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, aim to combat this practice, marking August 30 as a day of remembrance for victims. Despite these advancements, enforced disappearances continue to occur globally, highlighting an ongoing challenge to human rights and justice.
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Enforced Disappearances
Enforced disappearances, also called forced disappearances, occur when people are kidnapped by state officials and vanish, often never to be seen or heard from again. Unlike more traditional kidnappings, which are often carried out for ransom or revenge, enforced disappearances are orchestrated to cause terror and prevent people from taking actions not approved of by authorities. The victims are often human rights advocates or people who speak out about some form of criminal or abusive behavior. The practice has a long history but came to widespread international attention in the 1960s. Since then, several international laws have been approved and commissions have been created to address the problem. However, it continues to be a significant concern, especially in countries with authoritarian governments and in those involved in wars.
Background
Enforced disappearances have likely taken place for as long as corrupt governments have existed. However, the practice came into widespread use in Nazi Germany during the 1930s and 1940s, when many who stood in the way of the Nazis were taken away and never heard from again. In the 1960s, the military regimes that came to power in Central and South America made frequent use of the practice. It is estimated that as many as forty-five thousand people became victims of enforced disappearances in Latin America in the decades between the mid-1960s and mid-1990s, when governments and international agencies like the United Nations (UN) began to act against the practice. However, enforced disappearances continue to occur regularly around the world, especially in areas with dictatorships or affected by wars.
Overview
An enforced disappearance is one in which the person disappears without warning or acknowledgement of their whereabouts. Victims are usually abducted by someone operating on behalf of the state—either by an official government agency, such as the military or police, or by an individual or a group sanctioned by the government. The person is often taken when they are away from home and kept outside the normal parameters of law enforcement. Authorities will take no action to locate them and will likely deny any knowledge of the person if questioned.
People who disappear in this way are usually never heard from again. They are, in effect, arrested without a warrant, charge, or any form of due process. Those taken are often tortured, assaulted sexually, trafficked, or otherwise mistreated. If they are not killed immediately, they may live in fear that they will soon be murdered or that the kidnappers will go after other members of their family. They may never be found, or their remains may be located at some future time. The few people who are rescued or escape are left with emotional and often physical scars from the experience.
Each abduction violates several internationally recognized human rights. These include the right to security and dignity, the right to humane conditions, protection against torture and inhumane treatment, the right to legal representation, and the right to a fair trial. Those who are killed are also subjected to the loss of the right to life.
Enforced disappearance is a tool of terror used to intimidate anyone that state operators perceive to be a threat. The most frequent targets are human rights activists in countries where extensive human rights abuses occur, as well as witnesses to governmental crimes. Other targets are lawyers who defend witnesses of such crimes or attempt to prosecute state actors. Journalists and anyone attempting to share news about state actors have also disappeared. Relatives of those who have already disappeared are also at risk, as they may be taken to help to control or coerce information out of the original victim.
Although this tactic was once the almost exclusive tool of dictatorships and authoritarian governments, it now occurs in many other situations. Forced disappearances often occur in countries with internal conflicts. They can also be used to attempt to silence or remove political opponents or paramilitary opposition groups.
Although men are the most frequent targets of enforced disappearances, women are also victims. In addition, parents, other loved ones, spouses, and children are subjected to the emotional torture of not knowing the fate of the person who was taken. The family left behind often suffers financially as well, especially if the person who was taken was the family breadwinner. The financial effects of forced disappearances can last for decades, as many insurance policies, pensions, and other benefits may not be accessible without a death certificate, which are rarely issued in these cases or may take years to obtain. This can often leave the family in a state of financial paralysis in which they are unable to access various assets; this is part of the reason the tactic is so successful. In addition to the emotional and financial trauma, the family must live with the knowledge that because they are relatives of someone who has been forcefully disappeared, they are more likely to be taken, too.
While enforced disappearances can occur throughout the world, some areas have been identified as hot spots for these crimes. Experts believe that more than eighty thousand people have disappeared in Syria since 2011 when the Syrian Revolution began. The majority are thought to be or to have spent time in government custody, but some have been taken by various armed opposition groups. In addition to the missing Syrians, as many as one-hundred-thousand people have disappeared in Sri Lanka since the 1980s in the aftermath of war in that country. Other areas where significant numbers of enforced disappearances have occurred include Argentina, Zimbabwe, and parts of Asia.
Some international organizations, such as the United Nations Human Rights Office and Amnesty International, have opposed enforced disappearances. Among the laws that have been passed against the practice are a statute in International Criminal Court passed in 1998 and the creation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, approved by the UN in December 2010. These statutes make enforced disappearance an international crime and require states to take steps to stop them from occurring and find and return the victims when they do occur. Each year since 2010, August 30 has been set aside as Victims of Enforced Disappearance Day to remember and act on behalf of those who have been taken.
Bibliography
“About Enforced Disappearances.” United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/wg-disappearances/about-enforced-disappearance. Accessed 10 June 2023.
“Enforced Disappearances.” Amnesty International, www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/enforced-disappearances/. Accessed 10 June 2023.
“Enforced Disappearances.” Human Rights Advocacy and the History of International Human Rights Standards, humanrightshistory.umich.edu/problems/disappearances/. Accessed 10 June 2023.
“Enforced Disappearances.” Trial International, trialinternational.org/topics-post/enforced-disappearance/. Accessed 10 June 2023.
“Forced Disappearances.” The Center for Justice & Accountability, cja.org/human-rights-issues/forced-disappearance/. Accessed 10 June 2023.
“International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.” United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, 23 Dec. 2010, www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-convention-protection-all-persons-enforced. Accessed 10 June 2023.
“International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, 30 August.” United Nations,www.un.org/en/observances/victims-enforced-disappearance. Accessed 10 June 2023.
Webber, Diane and Khaola Sherani. “Addressing the Continuing Phenomenon of Enforced Disappearances.” Center for Strategic and International Studies, 18 Aug. 2022, www.csis.org/analysis/addressing-continuing-phenomenon-enforced-disappearances. Accessed 10 June 2023.