The protection of human rights is a State policy for both Argentina and France. Therefore, both countries work together in the fight against enforced disappearances, reaffirm their shared commitment in this field and express their full solidarity with the victims and their families.
Enforced disappearances remain a reality all around the world. These practices, which constitute crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, deprive the families of the disappeared persons of the possibility of obtaining information and learning the truth about on their fate, and hamper the realization of justice. Consequently, they pose an obstacle to reconciliation, the fight against impunity and the restoration of peace.
The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which was adopted by the UN in 2006 and entered into force in 2010, and to which 75 countries are State Parties, marked a decisive step in the fight against these practices, as it provides an agreed-upon and binding definition of enforced disappearances under international law.
In 2023, the UN General Assembly in New York adopted by consensus the resolution “International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.”
Thanks to our joint efforts, 10 countries have ratified the Convention since 2011. France and Argentina encourage each and every State to accede to this Convention, so as to achieve its universal ratification. The goal is for the Convention to have 100 State Parties by the end of 2025.
Argentina and France call for the full and effective implementation of the Convention and commend the work done by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), which monitors its implementation.
Both nations welcome the contributions by civil society organizations and human rights defenders committed to the fight against enforced disappearances, which play a fundamental role in reporting violations and documenting the facts.
Argentina and France, unwaveringly committed to this fight, are organizing, together with Morocco and Samoa, the 1st World Congress on Enforced Disappearances, to be held on 15 and 16 January 2025 in Geneva. This Congress is an initiative launched by the Convention Against Enforced Disappearances (CEDI), in collaboration with the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the support of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
