International Day of the Disappeared 2022, Canada still isn’t party to the Convention on Enforced Disappearances

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One of the most insidious forms of human rights violations and state terrorism involves enforced and involuntary disappearance. Enforced disappearance requires consent, conspiracy, and impunity of government forces. It sends a chill through opposition political movements which it is intended to suppress and launches a nightmare existence for the families of the victims.

The 30th August is designated as the International Day of the Disappeared.

Due to the repressive nature of this human rights crime on nonviolent civil movements, Nonviolence International is a member organization of the The International Coalition against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED). ICAED is a global network of organizations of families of disappeared and NGO’s whose principal objective is maximizing impact of the activities carried out by its members in favour of ratification by governments, and effective implementation, of the Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances and other measures to end the human rights crime of enforced disappearances.

Nonviolence International Canada has advocated for the Canadian government to join the Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances at its soonest opportunity. As of 2022, the Canadian government is still not a state party to this important human rights convention.

As well as enforced disappearances, thousands are missing due to armed conflict and migration. To mark the Day of the Disappeared, the International Committee of the Red Cross marks this difficult day with a beautiful tribute, which can be watched here.

Also read the Nonviolence International publication: Justice Disappeared: Exploring the Links of Arms Trade, Impunity and Political Disappearances in Asia [2007]

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