1. Enforced disappearances and the UN Human rights mechanisms
Mapping Enforced Disappearances and the Missing

2. Who is Alkarama? Swiss NGO established in 2004
Headquarters in Geneva & office in Beirut
Team of lawyers providing legal assistance to victims of human rights violations in the Arab world
Interacts with the UN human rights mechanisms
Treaty Bodies
Special Procedures
Human Rights Council
Mandate: Enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detention

3. Raising cases of disappearances with the UN
1. Individual complaints on behalf of victims, their families, human rights defenders or NGOs to:
A. UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID)
B. Human Rights Committee (HR Committee)
C. Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)
2. Country situations
A. Reviews of States by The Treaty Bodies
B. Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
C. Human Rights Council complaint mechanism

4. 1. Individual complaints
Individual complaints can be filed:
On behalf of victims to request the authorities to release them, to place them under the protection of the law or to clarify their fate and whereabouts
On behalf of human rights defenders or NGOs victims of reprisals for their work documenting enforced disappearances

5. A. The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Group of five experts – 3 sessions every year (February, May, September)
Established in 1980 to assist families in determining the fate and whereabouts of their relative
Acts in a humanitarian capacity → channel of communication between victim’s families and the governments
Procedures:
Communications
General allegation
Country visits

6. A. WGEID - Procedures Individuals communications Urgent appeals:
For victims disappeared less than 3 months ago
Rapidly transmitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Standard communications:
For cases of disappearances reported after three months
Examined during one of the three yearly sessions
Prompt interventions for reprisals:
Cases of intimidation, persecution or reprisal against relatives of victims of disappearances, NGOs, human rights defenders
The State has to reply to the allegations sent by the WGEID, but does not always do it.

7. A. WGEID - Procedures How to submit a case to the WGEID:
Accepts cases from any country in the world
No need to exhaust domestic remedies
A case should always indicate:
Full name of victim
Day, month, year of disappearance
Place of disappearance
State or State-sponsored forces considered responsible
Information about any search that has been made
Identity of the person submitting the communication

8. A. WGEID - Procedures
Oustanding cases before the WGEID (transmitted to govts between )
Algeria
3159
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Cyprus
Egypt
227
Georgia
Iran
626
Iraq
18713
Lebanon
332
Morocco
104
Syria
190

9. A. WGEID - Procedures General allegations
The WGEID transmits a summary of allegations received from victims’ relatives and NGOs on obstacles encountered with the implementation of the Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances
So far, allegations were transmitted to:
Algeria (2013)
Egypt (2011, 2016)
Morocco (2013)
Syria (2011)

10. A. WGEID - Procedures Country visits Visits requested by the WGEID
Undertaken only at the invitation of a government
WGEID may solicit an invitation
During visit, WGEID meets with government authorities, NGOs, representatives of the legal profession, relatives of disappeared persons
WGEID identifies key factors and solutions
Visits requested by the WGEID
Algeria (accepted but pending)
Egypt (requested in 2011, no response)
Iran (requested in 2008, no response)
Iraq (requested in 1999, no response)
Lebanon (requested in 2015, no response)
Syria (requested in 2011, no response)
Visits conducted
Morocco (2009)

11. B. Human Rights Committee
Body of 18 independent experts monitoring the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
May review communications alleging violations of the ICCPR by States parties to the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR
Algeria
Azerbaijan
Cyprus
Georgia
Condition: Exhaustion of domestic remedies
Advantage: decision is binding on the State

12. B. Human Rights Committee
What information should a complaint include?
Basic personal information of the victim
Proof of the victim’s consent
Account of the facts
Steps taken to exhaust all available judicial and administrative remedies
Arguments as to why the case amounts to a violation of the ICCPR
Relevant documents

13. C. Committee on Enforced Disappearances
Body of 10 independent experts monitoring the implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance by State parties
State of ratification:
Armenia, Iraq and Morocco are State parties
Algeria, Azerbaijan, Cyprus and Lebanon signed but did not ratify
Under article 30, the Committee can receive requests for urgent actions to ensure the State party takes all necessary measures to seek and find a disappeared person

14. C. Committee on Enforced Disappearances
Requirements to fill an urgent action:
An urgent action must not have been filled with another international procedure (e.g. WGEID)
The case must have been presented to the competent bodies of the State for investigation
The events in question must have occurred after the entry into force of the Convention

15. 2. Country situations
General country situation in relation with enforced disappearances can also be raised with the UN human rights mechanisms through
Reviews of States by The Treaty Bodies
Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
Human Rights Council complaint mechanism

16. A. Review of States by UN Treaty Bodies
Once a State has ratified a treaty, obligation to submit periodic reports to the Committees
3 Treaty Bodies before which the situation of enforced disappearances can be raised:
Committee on Enforced Disappearances
Human Rights Committee
Committee against Torture
Disappearance is conducive to torture
Secret detention is per se a form of torture

17. A. Review of States by UN Treaty Bodies
How does a review work?
State submits its national report
NGOs are invited to submit shadow reports
The State is reviewed during a session of the Treaty Body through an interactive dialogue between the UN experts and the State delegation
The Treaty Body issues concluding observations and recommendations
Follow-up: States must report back on measures taken or priority concerns
Role of NGOs: publicise the review, disseminate the concluding observations and follow-up on their implementation

18. B. Universal Periodic Review
Human Rights Council periodically reviews fullfilment by all UN Member States of their human rights obligations
Four-year cycle: → Third cycle
Cooperative mechanism based on an interactive dialogue between the State under review and other Member States
Steps:
Preparation of information by the OHCHR
Review by Human Rights Council
Consideration of recommendations and adoption of review outcome documents

19. B. Universal Periodic Review
Algeria
May 2017
Armenia
January 2020
Azerbaijan
April 2018
Cyprus
January 2019
Egypt
October 2019
Georgia
October 2020
Iran
Iraq
Lebanon
Morocco
Syria
October 2021

20. B. Universal Periodic Review
How can NGOs participate?
Submit a report ahead of the UPR which will be integrated into a summary of stakeholders’ submissions by the OHCHR
Lobby Member States before the review to make sure your key concerns are raised (UPR Info)
For NGOs with the ECOSOC status, take the floor during the adoption of the outcome document
Follow-up on the implementation of accepted recommendations

21. C. Human Rights Council (HRC)
Complaint procedure of the HRC
Consistent patterns of gross and reliably attested human rights violations in any part of the world and under any circumstances
The Working Group on Communications and then the Working Group on Situations examine communications and bring them to the attention of the HRC
The HRC may decide to:
Discontinue its consideration of a situation
Keep a situation under review
Appoint an independent exert to monitor the situation
Recommend that OHCHR provides technical cooperation, capacity-building assistance or advisory services to the State

22. C. Human Rights Council
Criteria for a communication to be accepted for examination
Not politically motivated
Gives a factual description of the alleged violations
Language must not be abusive
Person, group of persons or NGOs submitting the complaint must have direct and reliable knowledge of the violations
Not exclusively based on reports disseminated by mass media
Must not be already dealt with by another UN mechanism
Domestic remedies must be exhaused, unless ineffective or prolonged

23. Mapping Enforced Disappearances and the Missing
Questions?
Mapping Enforced Disappearances and the Missing