Joint statement on the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, 30 August.
On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Arab and international human rights organizations express their deep concern over the persistence and spread of this scourge in several Arab countries, making the region one of the world’s epicenters of this practice.
Decades after the disclosure of thousands of cases, many victims remain missing, while enforced disappearances continue to be committed systematically. This phenomenon has worsened in contexts marked by states of emergency and armed conflicts, becoming a political tool of repression aimed at silencing dissent and intimidating societies.
In Egypt, in the absence of official data due to the clandestine nature of this crime, human rights organizations estimate that around 19,000 people have been subjected to enforced disappearance since 2013, with nearly 300 still missing to this day. Hundreds of new cases are documented every year, affecting journalists, students, activists, and political leaders. These practices form part of a systematic policy designed to suppress all forms of expression and civic engagement.
In Algeria, the fate of thousands of people who disappeared during the “Black Decade” of the 1990s remains unknown, in a climate marked by official denial and lack of justice.
In Iraq, successive wars and the actions of sectarian militias have resulted in thousands of enforced disappearances.
In Libya, the phenomenon persists amid armed clashes between rival groups and the collapse of state institutions.
In Yemen, secret prisons run by the Houthi movement, along with other detention centers operated by forces backed by the United Arab Emirates in the south of the country, have become opaque sites where numerous disappeared persons are held.
In Syria, despite political changes, the fate of tens of thousands of disappeared persons held in the prisons of the former regime remains an open wound in the conscience of the world. It is now incumbent upon the new Syrian authorities to take concrete measures to clarify the fate of the victims, hold perpetrators accountable, and guarantee truth, justice, and reparation.
In the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, behind the image of modernity and prosperity lies a reality of injustice and impunity, where prisoners of conscience and political opponents have been subjected to enforced disappearances, particularly at the time of their arrest.
Enforced disappearance, which is not subject to any statute of limitations under international law, constitutes a crime against humanity when practiced in a widespread or systematic manner. Yet despite the clarity of international legal obligations, the absence of political will and effective accountability mechanisms continues to hinder justice and reparation for the victims.
On this occasion, the signatory organizations:
Call on Arab governments, particularly the states concerned, to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and to establish independent national mechanisms tasked with investigating and disclosing the fate of the disappeared;
Reaffirm the inalienable right of the families of victims to know the truth, to obtain justice, and to receive full reparation, both material and moral;
Urge the international community to exert effective pressure to put an end to this crime, to strengthen support for the relevant United Nations mechanisms – notably the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances – and to apply universal jurisdiction in order to prosecute those responsible;
Highlight the crucial role of civil society in documentation, advocacy, and mobilization of public opinion, and stress the urgent need to ensure real protection for human rights defenders working on this issue.
We emphasize that silence in the face of these crimes only deepens the suffering of victims and their families. Ending enforced disappearance requires genuine political will, independent justice, and a firm commitment from the international community.
Signatory organizations:
Adala for Human Rights, Istanbul
Organization of Victims of Torture, Geneva
IFED International, Belgium
Alkarama for Human Rights, Geneva
Human Rights Monitor, London
Cedar for Human Rights, Lebanon
Tawasul for Human Rights, The Hague
Sawt Horr for Human Rights Organization, Paris
Egyptian Human Rights Council, Geneva
Al-Tadamun for Human Rights, Geneva