The UN’s liquidity crisis and the increase in cases mark the sessions on enforced disappearances
The recent sessions of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) and the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, held in Geneva on September 16 and 29, sent a clear message: while enforced disappearances continue to rise in the context of conflict, migration, and repression, international mechanisms are facing unprecedented obstacles that threaten their ability to fulfill their mandates.
During the September 16 session, the Working Group presented its annual report and warned of a sustained increase in cases. In 2023 alone, 1.280 new cases of enforced disappearance were transmitted to 38 States, of which 927 were processed under urgent procedures. These cases are especially concentrated in armed conflict zones such as Ukraine and Gaza, but also in migration contexts in Tunisia, Libya, Lithuania, and Cyprus, where pushback practices (the act of returning migrants without following legal procedures) expose people to serious human rights violations.
The Working Group currently faces a backlog of 8.000 pending cases due to the United Nations liquidity crisis, which has drastically reduced its operational capacity. In 2024, it managed to conduct only one country visit (to Lithuania), and no missions are planned for 2025. This situation limits the ability to verify the implementation of recommendations on the ground and hinders effective case follow-up.
The instrumentalisation of migration flows was a central topic in Lithuania’s intervention, which denounced Belarus for facilitating irregular migrant crossings into the European border, exposing them to disappearances and other abuses. Lithuania reaffirmed its commitment to human rights and warned of the use of disappearances to silence dissent and intimidate civil society. Similar concerns were raised in other regions. Worries were expressed about returns in Libya, deportations from the U.S. to El Salvador and Venezuela, and migration practices in Cyprus, where the Working Group’s 2022 recommendations have only been partially implemented.
Meanwhile, on September 29, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances held its 550th session, focusing on strengthening international cooperation and responding to emerging phenomena. Among the highlighted initiatives was the preparation of a joint declaration with the Working Group to address transnational repression, meaning abductions, disappearances, and harassment perpetrated by States outside their own borders. This increasingly common phenomenon severely affects victims, host communities, and asylum systems.
Another significant development is the drafting of a new General Comment on the gender dimensions of enforced disappearance, aiming to identify specific challenges faced by women and girls and strengthen prevention, investigation, and reparations strategies with an intersectional approach. The Committee is also working on formulating guiding principles on sexual identity and disappearances, a topic that has received little attention until now.
The Committee also presented the outcomes of the First World Congress on Enforced Disappearances (January 2025), which brought together States, civil society, and victims’ organisations to reignite a global movement on the issue. Follow-up actions include the creation of victim and youth networks, promotion of the ratification of the International Convention, and strengthening of national capacities.
Several States reaffirmed their commitment to the Convention and outlined their progress and challenges. Peru presented its National Search Plan through 2030, which includes a humanitarian and gender-sensitive approach and psychosocial support for thousands of families affected by disappearances during the internal conflict. Colombia updated its figures to 132.000 disappeared persons and highlighted historic rulings by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, combining transitional and restorative justice. However, Iraq acknowledged that it still lacks a specific law that defines enforced disappearance in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention.
Civil society had a prominent presence. NGOs and families denounced ongoing barriers to participation and accountability, including the exclusion of victims from official processes and defamation campaigns against them. FEDEFAM drew attention to the disappearance of children in Latin America, while Catalan organisations emphasised the key role of women searchers.Both the Committee and the Working Group issued a joint call to reinforce political and financial support for the UN treaty system, whose effectiveness is severely threatened by the budget crisis. They also stressed the need for States to ratify the Convention and recognise the Committee’s competence to receive individual communications. Finally, the Committee’s Presidency emphasised that the exchange of good practices and transnational cooperation are essential to address the scale and complexity of enforced disappearances, which continue to affect tens of thousands of people worldwide.
Sara Zanon and Marina de Leiva, FIBGAR’s collaborators.
