The Day of the Disappeared - Enforced Disappearances Continue Unabated Worldwide Amnesty International
go to original August 28, 2015

A Life on Hold: Addressing the needs of families of the missing (International Committee of the Red Cross)

The use of enforced disappearance by governments to silence its critics and instill fear into targeted groups continues unabated in every region of the world, said Amnesty International as the world marks the International Day of the Disappeared on August 30.

The organization is currently actively campaigning on the cases of more than 500 individuals who have been subjected to enforced disappearance, and is continuing to pressure governments to determine the fate and whereabouts of all those who have been disappeared.

"Governments in every region of the world, from Syria to Mexico and from Sri Lanka to Gambia may be holding hundreds or even thousands in secret detention. In many countries, the authorities continue harassing and intimidating those who are looking for their relatives. The struggle for justice must not cease," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's Secretary General. "As we mark the International Day of the Disappeared, we offer our support to all the victims and families of those forcibly disappeared and illegally detained by state authorities across the world. Governments in countries where enforced disappearances are occurring must come under greater pressure to stamp out this abhorrent practice."

Enforced disappearances are perpetrated by state agents or people acting on their behalf with a refusal to acknowledge this or conceal the person's fate or whereabouts, placing them outside the protection of the law.

Disappearances frequently follow a pattern: once arrested, the victims almost never appear before a court and there is almost never a record of their "crime" or their detention. Once out of the public eye, individuals subjected to enforced disappearance are at great risk of ill-treatment, torture and even death.

This year Amnesty International is urging dozens of governments who employ enforced disappearances against their opponents to stop using this tactic once and for all. On the International Day of the Disappeared the organization is highlighting cases from each of its global regions.

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