ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES: TIME TO ACT

0:01 Il a disparu en 1997, on est en 2017. Ça fait 20 ans. Les jours où on a fait les 20 ans, je... On est sale. J'ai perdu l'espoir de le revoir. J'ai perdu l'espoir de le revoir. Just imagine, un jour, soudain, votre famille, votre ami, votre personne, votre amie, peut disparaître sans laisser de traces. Les relatives, They go to the next police station and ask, the son hasn't come home, do you know where he is? And at that point, when the police and the prison guards tell you, no, we don't look, we looked, but we couldn't find.

0:50 It can happen that your child is not coming back home because he is abducted by some militia, by some gangs, by some government official because he is politically involved or because he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. So people do disappear. They might be killed, they might be tortured, but you do not know. It is terrifying. Il a pour rôle d'accompagner les États pour les aider à assurer que leurs lois et leurs pratiques respectent la Convention, mais aussi permettre aux victimes de faire valoir leurs

1:39 droits. L'impacte du comité est très important parce qu'il fait apportes nouveaux à les mécanismes de protection. Et c'est peut-être le plus destacable parce qu'on a introduit les actions urgentes, qui sont les mots de un juriste argentino Rodolfo Matarolo es el avias corpus internacional. En coordinación permanente con los miembros del comité, recibimos y procesamos los pedidos de acción urgente, las comunicaciones individuales y apoyamos la organización y el desarrollo de las sesiones. Para todos los procedimientos contenidos en la convención, recolectamos las informaciones necesarias y preparamos proyectos de decisión y de recomendación que son presentados al examen del

2:26 comité para su discusión y su adopción. Throughout the year, almost on a daily basis, the Committee receives requests from family members of disappeared persons, asking for help in searching for and locating their loved ones. This work is done through the urgent actions and individual complaints procedure. Thanks to this, 90 persons have been located so far. The Committee brings responses and restores the dignity of victims around the world. nous sommes face à un problème. Au moment où je vous parle, trop de pays n'ont pas encore ratifié la Convention internationale pour la protection de toutes les

3:13 personnes contre les disparitions forcées. Or, il est essentiel que la Convention puisse s'appliquer partout. L'application universelle de la Convention est en effet nécessaire pour protéger les droits de tous et de toutes contre Why has the Convention been ratified by so few countries? First, the Convention is still a very young human rights instrument. It's the last human rights mechanism that came into force. And states need time to analyze the Convention and decide whether to ratify it or not. Then states in which enforced appearances is not considered as part of the national history or is no longer a public issue may consider that

4:03 enforced appearances is not a problem for them. Then the countries where enforced appearances occur may fear that the committee will criticize them. But if we keep this logic, nothing will progress. It's very important that states in which enforced appearances occur take action and understand that the Committee is here to help them. Then states in which enforced appearances is not considered as a problem may understand and have to understand that the Convention is a very rich instrument in terms of prevention of enforced appearances but also to enable them to count with the cooperation of other states in case for example one of the Nationals would be disappeared

4:51 in another country. I think of each victim who I have met, heard or read in the course of my work. The daily fight against impersonal appearances is essential. During the 10 years of the committee, the participation of the civil society has been key for its work, both in the identification of the problems at a national level, con respecto a la desaparición forzada, así como en el trabajo de seguimiento de la implementación de las recomendaciones emitidas por el Comité. Cabe también destacar el rol importante que juega la sociedad civil en promover la ratificación de la Convención, así como en asegurar que los Estados asumen sus responsabilidades con respecto a la Convención para que las víctimas puedan obtener justicia. Es hora

5:39 de ratificar la Convención Internacional para luchar y forzar las discapacidades. Because with the ratification, you will protect all your citizens when they are abroad, not to become victims and also to get the help from the UN to search for them. No state, be it in the north, south, east or west, is immune from the risk and colossal effects of enforced disappearance. Universalizing this convention must be a pressing priority for all. Today, I call Don Merci d'avoir regardé et faites-le.