UN Working Group Concludes Draft Treaty on Forced Disappearances

September 26, 2005 -- The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances announced today it had finished drafting an international convention on forced disappearances. A major outcome of the convention will be formally defining “enforced disappearance” for the first time in an international treaty.According to the working group, the document makes significant progress in international law to protect people from enforced disappearances.

The draft convention will be submitted to the UN Commission on Human Rights and subsequently to the UN General Assembly for their approval before being opened for signature and ratification next year. The definition of enforced disappearances put forth in the convention is line with the United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

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Last updated September 29, 2005

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