The Convention
History and background of the Convention.- Need for the Convention and key provisions.
- Ratification and implementation of the Convention.
- Relevant legal framework .
RELATED DOCUMENTS AND LINKS
SIGNING
57 States that signed on February 6, 2007
South Africa - As announced at the Conference on the Convention in Pretoria, 26-27 February, 2008, the South African government intends to sign the Convention by April 2008. Read more...
UK - Answer of Secretary of State on June 26, 2007 to question whether the government intends to sign the Convention
UK - The UK Human Rights Annual Report 2007 states that 'the UK did not sign the Convention at the ceremony in Paris on February 6, 2007 because we do not sign international instruments unless we have a firm intention to ratify within a reasonable time frame.' Read more...
RATIFICATION
The complete list of signatures and ratifications
Argentina - On June 11th the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina deposited a declaration accepting the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, in compliance with Article 32 of the Convention.
France - The French National Assembly adopted a bill authorizing the ratification of the Convention. The Senate has yet to decide whether the text will be ratified by the President to enter into full legal force. Read more on the matter on the webpage of the French National Assembly (in French).
USA - On May 1 a proposal for a resolution that expresses that the Senate should give its advice and consent to the ratification of the convention on enforced disappearances - and other UN conventions - was submitted to the House of Representatives in the USA. The resolution is currently under review at the Comittee on Foreign Affairs. Read (article 3 of) the resolution here
Remarks on Enforced Disappearances and the Coalition during the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council. Read more on Session 1 (7-18.4.2008) and Session 2 (5-19.5.2008) in English.
Honduras - Ratified the Convention on April 1, 2008.
Mexico - Considerations of the Mexican Senate that lead to the ratification of the Convention on November 7, 2007 (in Spanish).
Albania - Declaration of Albania at ratification accepting the competence of the Committee.
Argentina - Statement of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina on deposit of the ratification on December 14, 2007 (in Spanish).
IMPLEMENTATION AND DISAPPEARANCE BILLS
Mexico - In an article in a Mexican newspaper the relativity of the ratification is underlined. Impunity for all cases of the past, no recognition of the competence of the Committee and continuing disappearances make clear that ratification is not the same as full implementation. Read article (in Spanish)
RATIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION
- High Commissioner Louise Arbour during the signing ceremony on February 6 2007 in Paris
RATIFICATION
Article 39 of the Convention states that
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying or acceding to this Convention after the deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession, this Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of the deposit of that State's instrument of ratification or accession.
The ratification process can vary between a few months up to several years dependent on the situation in the country. Its not only the political will that defines the amount of time a ratification takes. Unlike a signature a ratification means that from that moment onwards the State can be held accountable for violation of the provisions mentioned in the Convention. Some countries have to go through the entire process of changing national laws and regulations first before they can ratify the Convention. Other countries might decide to take forward the implementation process after the ratification.
Albania was the first country that deposited its ratification at the United Nations on November 8, 2007.
IMPLEMENTATION INTO DOMESTIC LAW
Implementation can not be caught in one single act like depositing a ratification. Implementation of the convention means that based on an analysis of the provisions of the Convention and the national situation laws, regulations and practices have to be changed and adhered to.
The UN Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances is a very extensive Convention that touches upon a wide range of different laws and regulations.
- Disappearance should become punishable under penal law
- Statutes of limitations
- Criminalise the offence as crime against humanity
- Make the refusal to share information a crime
- Absolute prohibition of secret detention
- Prohibition to use arguments as state secrecy or public security as reason for not informing
- Make the appropriation of children whose parents are disappeared a crime
- Maintain official and centralized registers of detainees
- Guarantee a non-derogable judicial recourse to determine the whereabouts and fate of a person
- Recognise relatives as being also victims of an enforced disappearance
- Legal measures for annulations of adoptions rooting in a disappearance