UN Committee warns of current enforced disappearances

Published at: 30/08/2026 02:07 PM

The vice-president of the United Nations (UN) Committee on Forced Disappearance, Carmen Rosa Villa, warned that enforced disappearances are still in force in various regions of the world.

During a forum on human rights held in Tegucigalpa, Villa highlighted that the international response evolved since the 80s to consolidate the formal condemnation of this crime in the global legal framework, although he emphasized the need for the 78 countries that signed the International Convention to translate these norms into effective public policies, Telesur reported.

The specialist described forced disappearance as an atrocious and continuing crime that does not end until the victim's whereabouts are found with certainty, while noting that it violates fundamental rights such as life, physical integrity and the recognition of legal personality.

According to UN reports, forced disappearance has become a global problem affecting more than 85 countries, with hundreds of thousands of victims, and 2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the only universal treaty dedicated to preventing and eradicating this practice.

Mazo News Team