An Oral Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC)
Madam President:
The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) has commendably contributed to the United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms during the global pandemic.
The incidents of enforced disappearances involving extraterritorial transfers, as identified in the report, is an important area of concern. The trend of transnational transfers of the victims of enforced disappearances needs to be understood in the context of a growing authoritarianism equipped with artificial intelligence and sophisticated technologies. The absence of administrative or judicial remedies for enforced disappearances and the pattern of guaranteeing blanket impunity is already a known reality.
The States that are actively engaged in disappearing people undermine not only their domestic justice mechanisms in violation of the laws but also disregard the WGEID’s consistent efforts to end the practice of this crime against humanity.
The UN Human Rights Mechanisms needs to improve the approaches and explore multidisciplinary ways to address the problems regarding enforced disappearances. Protection of people from disappearances and holding the perpetrators accountable should be one of the topmost priorities of the Human Rights Mechanisms.
Thank you, Madam President.
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