International Convention for the Protection of All Persons From Enforced Disappearance

A/RES/78/207View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 71bHuman rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2023.

What other versions does this mandate have?

16 versions · 2006–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/201

2025A/RES/80/201International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced DisappearanceLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/207International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced DisappearanceCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/158International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced DisappearanceCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/161International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced DisappearanceCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/72/183International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced DisappearanceCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

1 topic

Disappearance of Persons

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2025.

2025A/80/298International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

23 operative paragraphs

Recognizes the importance of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the ratification and the implementation of which is a significant contribution to ending impunity and to promoting and protecting all human rights for all;

Welcomes the fact that 98 States have signed the Convention and 72 have ratified or acceded to it, calls upon States that have not yet done so to consider signing, ratifying or acceding to the Convention as a matter of priority, as well as to consider the option provided for in articles 31 and 32 of the Convention regarding the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, and in that endeavour encourages all Member States to participate to the upcoming world congress to promote the ratification of the Convention, to be held in 2024;

Also welcomes the most recent reports of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention;

Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to increase their intensive efforts to assist States in becoming parties to the Convention, including by supporting the actions of States to ratify the Convention, providing technical and capacity-building assistance to States and civil society and raising awareness about the Convention, with a view to achieving universal adherence;

Requests United Nations agencies and organizations and invites intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to continue to make efforts to disseminate information on the Convention, to promote understanding of it and to assist States parties in implementing their obligations under this instrument;

Recalls with appreciation the first Conference of the States Parties to the Convention, held in Geneva on 19 December 2016, and convened in accordance with article 27 of the Convention, and the decision adopted by consensus that the Committee would continue to monitor the Convention in accordance with its mandate;

Takes note with appreciation of the seventh meeting of the States parties to the Convention, held in New York on 12 June 2023, and its discussion of substantive matters related to the Convention, and encourages all States parties to the Convention to continue to include such a discussion in the agenda of the meeting of the States parties;

Welcomes the work achieved by the Committee, and encourages all States parties to the Convention to submit their reports, to support and promote the work of the Committee and to implement its recommendations;

Calls upon all States parties to further cooperate with the Committee, including by responding favourably to its requests for visits;

Takes note of the guiding principles for the search for disappeared persons adopted by the Committee at its sixteenth session and developed in dialogue and broad consultations with Member States and other relevant stakeholders;

Recognizes the importance of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as a body of principles for all States that is designed to punish enforced disappearances, to prevent their commission and to help victims of such acts and their families to seek fair, prompt and adequate reparation;

Welcomes the cooperation established between the Working Group and the Committee, within the framework of their respective mandates, as well as with other relevant special procedures and treaty bodies, within the framework of their respective mandates, and encourages them to continue their cooperation in the future;

Takes note with interest of all the general comments of the Working Group, including the comments on children and women affected by enforced disappearances, and recognizes in this regard that enforced disappearances have special consequences for women and vulnerable groups, especially children, as they most often bear the serious economic hardships that usually accompany such disappearances and, when subjected to enforced disappearances themselves, may become particularly vulnerable to sexual and other forms of violence;

Takes note of the need to document cases concerning enforced or involuntary disappearances allegedly perpetrated by non-State actors, as decided by the Working Group;

Also takes note of the recommendation made by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances that Member States adopt all necessary measures, including through new technologies, to preserve and facilitate access to archives that may contain relevant information on enforced disappearance;

Takes note with appreciation of the recommendation made by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances that encourages Member States to cooperate with each other and provide mutual assistance in the use of new technologies to facilitate the search for disappeared persons and regarding legal assistance in connection with criminal proceedings brought in respect of an enforced disappearance, including the gathering and supply of all evidence at their disposal that is necessary for the proceedings;

Welcomes the fact that the Committee held its annual meeting with the Working Group, as an opportunity to take stock of the activities of the two parallel organs, which are complementary and reinforce each other within the framework of their respective mandates;

Takes note with appreciation of the guidelines to prevent and address intimidation and reprisals against individuals and groups cooperating with the Committee adopted by the Committee at its twentieth session;

Recognizes that enforced disappearance is prohibited in all circumstances and calls upon States to continue to respect their obligations under international law in this regard;

Takes note of general comment No. 1 on enforced disappearance in the context of migration adopted by the Committee on Enforced Disappearances on 18 September 2023, which highlights the growing trends of enforced disappearance of migrants, and in this regard calls upon States parties to take urgent measures to prevent and respond to this phenomenon;

Invites the Chair of the Committee and the Chair of the Working Group to address and engage in an interactive dialogue with the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth and eightieth sessions under the item entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights”;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its eightieth session a report on the status of the Convention and the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to give its full consideration to the subject matter at its eightieth session.

Paragraph content is machine-extracted from UN documents. For authoritative content, please refer to the official UN document.

No headings found in this document.

Who created this mandate?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What does this mandate say?

Table of contents