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1418 OF 2010
(December 1o)
Official Journal No. 47.910 of 1 December 2010
CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC
By means of which the "International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances" is adopted, adopted in New York on December 20, 2006.
THE CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC
Having regard to the text of the "International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances", adopted in New York on December 20, 2006.
(To be transcribed: photocopy of the full text of the above International Instruments is attached).
EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF PUBLIC POWER
PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC
Bogotá, D. C., April 22, 2009
Authorized. Submit to consideration by the honorable Congress of the Republic for the constitutional effects.
(Fdo.) ALVARO URIBE VELEZ
The Foreign Minister,
(Fdo.) Jaime Bermudez Merizalde.
DECRETA:
ARTICLE 1o. Approve the "International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances" adopted in New York on December 20, 2006.
ARTICLE 2o. In accordance with the provisions of Article 1 of Law 7ª of 1944, the "International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances" adopted in New York on 20 December 2006, which, pursuant to Article 1 of this Law, is adopted, shall bind the country from the date on which the international link with respect to it is perfected.
ARTICLE 3o. This law governs from the date of its publication.
Dada en Bogotá, D. C., a los ...
Presented to the honorable Congress of the Republic by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of National Defense.
The Foreign Minister,
JAIME BERMUDEZ MERIZALDE.
The Minister of National Defense,
GABRIEL SILVA LUJAN.
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF ALL PERSONS AGAINST ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF ALL PERSONS AGAINST ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Preamble
States Parties to this Convention,
Considering that the Charter of the United Nations imposes on States the obligation to promote universal and effective respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Considering the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Remembering the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights-the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the other relevant international human rights instruments humanitarian and international criminal law,
Remembering also the Declaration on the protection of all persons against enforced disappearances, approved by the United Nations General Assembly in its Resolution 47/133 of 18 December 1992,
Aware of the extreme gravity of enforced disappearance, which constitutes a crime and, in certain circumstances defined by international law, a crime against humanity,
Decided to prevent enforced disappearances and to fight impunity with regard to the crime of enforced disappearance,
Having present the right of every person not to be subjected to enforced disappearance and the right of victims to justice and reparation,
Asserting the right to know the truth about the circumstances of a forced disappearance and the fate of the missing person, as well as respect for the right to freedom to seek, receive and disseminate information to this end,
Have agreed on the following items:
1. No one will be subjected to a forced disappearance.
2. In no case may exceptional circumstances such as a state of war or threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearance.
For the purposes of this Convention, the term "enforced disappearance" shall mean arrest, detention, kidnapping or any other form of deprivation of liberty that is the work of state agents or persons or groups of persons acting as agents. with the authorization, the support or the acquiescence of the State, followed by the refusal to recognize this deprivation of liberty or the concealment of the fate or the whereabouts of the missing person, subtracting it to the protection of the law.
States Parties shall take appropriate measures to investigate the conduct defined in Article 2 that are the work of persons or groups of persons acting without the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, and to prosecute those responsible.
Each State Party will take the necessary measures to make the enforced disappearance a crime in its criminal law.
The widespread or systematic practice of enforced disappearance constitutes a crime against humanity as defined in the applicable international law and entails the consequences provided for by the applicable international law.
1. The States Parties shall take the necessary measures to consider at least criminally responsible:
a) Any person who commits, orders, or induces the commission of a enforced disappearance, attempts to commit, is an accomplice, or participates in it;
b) Top that:
i) Had knowledge that the subordinates under their effective authority and control were committing or intended to commit a crime of enforced disappearance, or knowingly ignored information that clearly indicated it;
ii) Have exercised their effective responsibility and control over the activities with which the crime of enforced disappearance was related; and
(iii) has not taken all necessary and reasonable measures within its scope to prevent or repress a forced disappearance, or to bring the facts to the attention of the competent authorities for the purposes of its investigation and prosecution;
c) Subparagraph b) supra is without prejudice to the most stringent international law rules on liability that are required of a military chief or to which he acts effectively as a military chief.
2. No order or instruction from a public authority, whether this civil, military or other, may be invoked to justify a crime of enforced disappearance.
1. States Parties shall consider the offence of enforced disappearance punishable by appropriate penalties, taking into account their extreme seriousness.
2. States Parties may establish:
a) Mitigating circumstances, in particular for those who, having been involved in the commission of a forced disappearance, have effectively contributed to the reappearance with the life of the missing person or have allowed to clarify cases of enforced disappearance or to identify those responsible for a forced disappearance;
b) Without prejudice to other criminal proceedings, aggravating circumstances, especially in case of death of the missing person, or for those who are guilty of the enforced disappearance of pregnant women, children, people with disabilities or other particularly vulnerable people.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 5,
1. Each State Party which applies a system of limitation to enforced disappearance shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the time limit for the limitation of criminal action is:
a) Be prolonged and proportionate to the extreme severity of this offense;
b) It is counted from the moment that the enforced disappearance ceases, given the continued character of this crime.
2. The State Party shall ensure that victims of enforced disappearance have the right to an effective remedy during the limitation period.
1. Each State Party shall provide whatever is necessary to institute its jurisdiction over the offences of enforced disappearance in the following cases:
a) When crimes are committed in any territory under your jurisdiction or on board an aircraft or ship registered in that State;
b) When the alleged perpetrator of the offense is a national of that State;
c) When the missing person is a national of that State and is considered appropriate.
2. Each State Party shall also take the necessary measures to establish its jurisdiction over the offences of enforced disappearance in cases where the alleged perpetrator is located in any territory under his jurisdiction, unless the said State does so. (a) to be extradited or handed over to another State in accordance with its international obligations, or to transfer it to an international criminal jurisdiction whose jurisdiction has been recognised.
3. This Convention does not preclude any additional criminal jurisdiction exercised in accordance with national laws.
1. Each State Party in whose territory a person is presumed to have committed a crime of enforced disappearance, if, after examining the information at its disposal, considers that the circumstances warrant it, shall proceed to arrest. of that person or take other necessary legal measures to ensure their presence. Detention and other measures shall be carried out in accordance with the laws of that State and shall be maintained only for the period necessary to ensure their presence in the framework of a criminal procedure, surrender or extradition.
2. The State Party which has adopted the measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall immediately proceed to a preliminary investigation or investigation of the facts. It shall inform the States Parties referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 9of the measures taken pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, in particular on detention and detention. circumstances that justify it, and the findings of its preliminary investigation or investigation, indicating whether it intends to exercise its jurisdiction.
3. The person detained in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article may immediately contact the corresponding representative of the State of his or her nationality who is closest to him or, in the case of a stateless person, with the representative of the State in which he habitually resides.
1. The State Party in the territory of whose jurisdiction the person is found to have committed a crime of enforced disappearance, if not required to be extradited, or to surrender to another State in accordance with its international obligations, or his transfer to an international criminal instance whose jurisdiction has been recognised, shall refer the case to his competent authorities for the exercise of criminal action.
2. Those authorities shall take their decision under the same conditions as those applicable to any common offence of a serious nature, in accordance with the law of that State. In the cases provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 9, the level of evidence necessary for the prosecution or indictment shall in no way be less strict than that applied in the cases provided for in the paragraph 1 of article 9.
3. Any person under investigation in connection with a crime of enforced disappearance will receive guarantees of fair treatment at all stages of the procedure. Any person on trial for a crime of enforced disappearance shall enjoy the judicial guarantees before a court or a competent, independent and impartial court established by law.
1. Each State Party shall ensure that any person who claims that someone has been subjected to enforced disappearance has the right to report the facts to the competent authorities, who shall promptly and impartially examine the complaint and, where appropriate, proceed without delay to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation. Appropriate measures shall be taken, where appropriate, to ensure the protection of the complainant, the witnesses, the close associates of the missing person and their defenders, as well as those involved in the investigation, against any abuse or intimidation in the reason for the complaint lodged or any declaration made.
2. Whenever there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person has been subjected to enforced disappearance, the authorities referred to in paragraph 1 shall initiate an investigation, even if no formal complaint has been made.
3. The States Parties shall ensure that the authorities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article:
a) Dispose of the necessary powers and resources to effectively conduct the investigation, including access to documentation and other relevant information for the investigation;
b) Have access, upon judicial authorization if necessary, to any place of detention and any other place where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the missing person.
4. Each State Party shall take the necessary measures to prevent and punish acts which impede the conduct of investigations. In particular, they shall ensure that persons who are presumed to have committed a crime of enforced disappearance are not in a position to influence the course of investigations, exerting pressure and acts of intimidation or retaliation. on the complainant, the witnesses, the relatives of the missing person and their defenders, as well as those involved in the investigation.
1. For the purposes of extradition between States Parties, the offence of enforced disappearance shall not be considered a political offence, a related offence to a political offence or a crime inspired by political motives. Consequently, an extradition request based on a crime of this kind cannot be rejected for this sole reason.
2. The offence of enforced disappearance shall be fully understood among the offences that result in extradition in any extradition treaty concluded between States Parties prior to the entry into force of this Convention.
3. The States Parties undertake to include the crime of enforced disappearance among the crimes liable to be extradited in any extradition treaty that they conclude with each other.
4. Each State Party that subordinates extradition to the existence of a treaty, if it receives an extradition request from another State Party with which it has no treaty, may consider this Convention as the necessary legal basis. for extradition as regards the offence of enforced disappearance.
5. States Parties that do not subordinate extradition to the existence of a treaty shall recognize the crime of enforced disappearance as being capable of extradition among themselves.
6. Extradition shall be subject, in all cases, to the conditions laid down by the law of the requested State Party or by the applicable extradition treaties, including, in particular, the conditions relating to the minimum penalty required for the extradition and the reasons for which the requested State may refuse extradition or subject it to certain conditions.
7. No provision of this Convention should be construed as requiring the State Party required to grant extradition if it has serious reason to believe that the request has been submitted for the purpose of processing or sanction a person for reasons of sex, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political opinions or membership of a particular social group, or if, in accepting the application, damage to this person will be caused for any of these reasons.
1. The States Parties shall provide all possible judicial assistance in respect of any criminal proceedings relating to a crime of enforced disappearance, including the provision of all the evidence necessary for the proceedings in their possession. power.
2. The judicial assistance shall be subject to the conditions laid down in the internal law of the requested State Party or in the applicable judicial cooperation treaties, including, in particular, the reasons for which the requested State may refuse such aid or subject it to certain conditions.
The States Parties shall cooperate with each other and shall provide all possible assistance to assist the victims of enforced disappearances, as well as in the search, location and release of the missing persons and, in the event of death, in the exhumation, the identification of the missing persons and the restitution of their remains.
1. No State Party shall proceed to the expulsion, return, surrender or extradition of a person to another State where there are reasonable grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to a forced disappearance.
2. For the purposes of determining whether there are such reasons, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where appropriate, the existence, in the State concerned, of a table of systematic violations. serious, flagrant or massive human rights or serious violations of international humanitarian law.
1. No one will be held in secret.
2. Without prejudice to other international obligations of the State Party on deprivation of liberty, each State Party, in its legislation:
a) Set the conditions under which the release orders can be imparted;
b) Defend authorities that are empowered to order deprivation of liberty;
c) Ensure that any private person of liberty is kept only in places of officially recognized and controlled deprivation of liberty;
d) Ensure that any private person of liberty is authorized to communicate with their family, a lawyer or any other person of their choice and to receive their visit, with the sole reservation of the established conditions by law, and in the case of a foreigner, to communicate with its consular authorities, in accordance with applicable international law;
e) Guarantees the access of all competent and law-empowered authorities and institutions to places of deprivation of liberty, if necessary with prior authorization from a judicial authority;
f) Will guarantee in any circumstances to any person deprived of liberty and, in the event of a suspicion of enforced disappearance, to find the person deprived of liberty in the inability to exercise this right, to all a person with a legitimate interest, for example those close to the private person of liberty, his representative or lawyer, the right to bring an action before a court to determine without delay the legality of the deprivation of liberty and order the release if such deprivation of liberty was illegal.
3. Each State Party shall ensure the establishment and maintenance of one or more updated official records and/or records of persons deprived of liberty, who shall be promptly placed at the disposal of any authority. judicial or any other competent authority or institution in accordance with national law or any relevant international legal instrument of which the State is a Party. That information shall contain at least:
a) The identity of the private person of liberty;
b) The day, time, and place where the person was deprived of liberty and the authority that proceeded to the deprivation of liberty;
c) The authority that decided the deprivation of liberty and the reasons for it;
d) The authority that controls deprivation of liberty;
e) The place of deprivation of liberty, the day and time of admission to the same, and the authority responsible for that place;
f) The elements relating to the physical integrity of the private person of liberty;
g) In case of death during the deprivation of liberty, the circumstances and causes of the death and the fate of the deceased person's remains;
h) The day and time of the release or transfer to another place of detention, the destination, and the authority responsible for the move.
1. Without prejudice to Articles 19 and 20, each State Party shall ensure that any person with a legitimate interest in that information, such as those close to the private person of freedom, your representative or lawyer, access to at least the following information:
a) The authority that decided the deprivation of liberty;
b) The date, time, and place where the person was deprived of liberty and admitted to a place of deprivation of liberty;
c) The authority that controls deprivation of liberty;
d) The place where the private person of liberty is located and, in case of transfer to another place of deprivation of liberty, the destination and the authority responsible for the transfer;
e) The date, time, and place of the release;
f) The elements relating to the health status of the private person of liberty;
g) In case of death during the deprivation of liberty, the circumstances and causes of the death and the fate of the remains.
2. Appropriate measures shall be taken, where appropriate, to ensure the protection of the persons referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, as well as those involved in the investigation, against any abuse, intimidation or punishment. by reason of the search for information about a person deprived of liberty.
1. Personal information, including medical or genetic data, collected and/or transmitted in the search of a missing person may not be used or disclosed for purposes other than that search. This is without prejudice to the use of such information in criminal proceedings relating to a crime of enforced disappearance, or in exercise of the right to obtain redress.
2. The collection, processing, use and preservation of personal information, including medical or genetic data, should not infringe or have the effect of infringing human rights, fundamental freedoms and the dignity of the person.
1. Only where a person is under the protection of the law and the deprivation of liberty is under judicial control, the right to information provided for in Article 18 may be limited only by way of exception, where applicable strictly necessary by virtue of restrictions provided for by law, and if the transmission of information damages the privacy or security of the person or the course of a criminal investigation, or for other equivalent grounds provided for by the law law, and in accordance with applicable international law and with the objectives of this Convention. In no case shall limitations be permitted to the right to the information provided for in Article 18 which may constitute conduct as defined in Article 2 or violations of paragraph 1 of Article 17.
2. Without prejudice to the examination of the legality of a deprivation of liberty, the State Party shall guarantee the persons referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 18the right to a swift and effective judicial remedy. to obtain without delay the information provided for in that provision. That right to an appeal may not be suspended or limited under any circumstances.
Each State Party shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the release of a person is carried out in accordance with modalities to verify with certainty that it has been effectively released. The States Parties shall also take the necessary measures to ensure the physical integrity and the full exercise of their rights to persons at the time they are released, without prejudice to the obligations to which they may be subject national legislation.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 6, each State Party shall take the necessary measures to prevent and punish the following practices:
a) The dilations or obstruction of the resources provided for in paragraph (f) of paragraph 2 of article 17 and paragraph 2 of the article 20;
b) Failure to comply with the obligation to register any deprivation of liberty, as well as the recording of information the inaccuracy of which the official in charge of the official register or the official files knew or would have been know;
c) The refusal to provide information about a deprivation of liberty or the provision of inaccurate information, when the conditions laid down by law are met to provide such information.
1. Each State Party shall ensure that the training of military or civilian personnel in charge of law enforcement, medical personnel, officials and other persons who may be involved in the custody or treatment of private persons freedom, including the necessary education and information on the relevant provisions of this Convention, in order to:
a) Prevent the involvement of those agents in enforced disappearances;
b) Highlight the importance of prevention and research on enforced disappearances;
c) Vellar why the urgency of the resolution of cases of enforced disappearance is recognized.
2. Each State Party shall prohibit any orders or instructions which it provides, authorize or encourage enforced disappearances. Each State Party shall ensure that the person who refuses to obey an order of this nature is not sanctioned.
3. Each State Party shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, where the persons referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article have reason to believe that a forced disappearance has occurred or is about to occur, they shall inform their above and, where necessary, to the competent authorities or inspection or review bodies.
1. For the purposes of this Convention, 'victim' shall mean the missing person and any natural person who has suffered direct injury as a result of enforced disappearance.
2. Each victim has the right to know the truth about the circumstances of the enforced disappearance, the evolution and results of the investigation and the fate of the missing person. Each State Party shall take appropriate measures in this respect.
3. Each State Party shall take all appropriate measures for the search, location and release of the missing persons and, in the event of death, for the search, respect and restitution of their remains.
4. The States Parties shall ensure that their legal system guarantees the victim of enforced disappearance the right to redress and to prompt, fair and adequate compensation.
5. The right to repair referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article includes all material and moral damages and, where applicable, other forms of repair such as:
a) The backout;
b) Readaptation;
c) Satisfaction; including restoring dignity and reputation;
d) Non-repeating warranties.
6. Without prejudice to the obligation to continue with the investigation until the fate of the missing person is established, each State Party shall adopt appropriate provisions in relation to the legal status of the missing persons whose fate has not been clarified and from those close to it, in areas such as social protection, economic issues, family law and property rights.
7. Each State Party shall ensure the right to form and participate freely in organisations and associations which aim to contribute to the establishment of the circumstances of enforced disappearances and the fate of missing persons. how assistance to victims of enforced disappearances.
1. The States Parties shall take the necessary measures to prevent and punish criminally:
a) The appropriation of children subjected to enforced disappearance, or children whose father, mother or legal representative is subjected to a forced disappearance, or of children born during the captivity of their mother subjected to a enforced disappearance;
b) The falsification, concealment or destruction of documents that prove the true identity of the children mentioned in paragraph a) above.
2. States Parties shall take the necessary measures to seek and identify the children referred to in paragraph 1 ( ) of paragraph 1 of this Article and to return them to their families of origin in accordance with the procedures legal and applicable international agreements.
3. States Parties shall assist each other in the search, identification and location of the children referred to in paragraph (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article.
4. Taking into account the need to preserve the best interests of the children mentioned in paragraph 1 ( ) of paragraph 1 of this Article and their right to preserve and recover their identity, including nationality, name and family relations recognised by law, must exist in the States Parties which recognise the system of adoption or other form of affixing or keeping, legal procedures for reviewing the procedure for adoption or affixing or keeping of such children and, where appropriate, to the cancellation of any adoption or placement or holding whose origin is a forced disappearance.
5. In all circumstances and, in particular, for all matters referred to in this Article, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration and the child with a capacity for discernment shall have the right to express his or her opinion freely, which shall be duly valued according to his age and maturity.
1. For the implementation of the provisions of this Convention, a Committee against Forced Disappearance (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") shall be constituted by 10 experts of great moral integrity, of recognised competence in the field of of human rights, independent, who shall perform their duties in a personal capacity and shall act in full impartiality. The members of the Committee shall be elected by the States Parties taking into account an equitable geographical distribution. Account shall be taken of the interest represented by the participation in the work of the Committee of persons with relevant legal experience and a balanced representation of the genera.
2. The choice shall be made by secret ballot of a list of candidates designated by the States Parties among their own nationals, in biennial meetings of the States Parties convened for this purpose by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. At these meetings, for which a quorum of two-thirds of the States Parties shall form, candidates shall be deemed to obtain the highest number of votes and the absolute majority of the votes of the representatives of the States Parties present. and voters.
3. The initial election shall be held no later than six months after the date of entry into force of this Convention. Four months before the date of each election, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall send a letter to the States Parties inviting them to submit their nominations within three months. The Secretary-General shall prepare a list in alphabetical order of all the candidates designated in this way, indicating, for each of them, the State Party which has submitted it. This list shall be communicated to all States Parties.
4. The members of the Committee shall be elected for four years. They may be re-elected once. However, the term of office of five of the members elected in the first election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately after the first election, the chairman of the meeting referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article by drawing the names of those five members.
5. If a member of the Committee dies or resigns or otherwise cannot continue to perform his duties in the Committee, the State Party which submitted his application shall propose, taking into account the criteria laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article. Article, to another candidate, among its own nationals, to carry out its duties during the remaining term of office, subject to the approval of the majority of the States Parties. Such approval shall be deemed to have been granted unless half or more of the States Parties respond negatively within a period of six weeks from the time the Secretary-General of the United Nations informs them of the application. proposal.
6. The Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.
7. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the personnel and material resources necessary for the effective performance of the functions of the Committee. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall convene the first meeting of the Committee.
8. The members of the Committee shall be entitled to the facilities, prerogatives and immunities accorded to the experts on mission to the United Nations, in accordance with the relevant sections of the Convention on Prerogatives and Immunities of the United Nations.
9. The States Parties undertake to cooperate with the Committee and to assist its members in the exercise of their mandate, in the framework of the functions of the Committee accepted by those States Parties.
A Conference of the States Parties shall meet not more than four years and not later than six years after the entry into force of this Convention, to assess the functioning of the Committee and to decide, in accordance with the procedures laid down in the paragraph 2 of Article 44, if it is appropriate to entrust another instance-without excluding any possibility-with the privileges provided for in Articles 28 to 36, monitoring the application of this Convention.
1. Within the framework of the powers conferred upon it by this Convention, the Committee shall cooperate with all the bodies, offices, specialised agencies and appropriate funds of the United Nations, the conventional committees set up under this Convention. international instruments, special procedures of the United Nations, appropriate intergovernmental regional organisations or institutions, as well as all relevant national institutions, bodies and offices which act to protect all people from enforced disappearances.
2. In the framework of its tasks, the Committee shall consult with other conventional committees set up by the relevant human rights instruments, in particular the Human Rights Committee established by the International Covenant on Civil Rights and Politicians, with a view to ensuring the coherence of their respective observations and recommendations.
1. Each State Party shall submit to the Committee, through the Secretary-General of the United Nations, a report on the measures it has taken to fulfil its obligations under this Convention, within the two years from the entry into force of the Convention in the State Party in question.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall make the reports available to all States Parties.
3. Each report shall be examined by the Committee, which may make the comments, comments or recommendations it considers appropriate. The State Party concerned shall be informed of such comments, comments or recommendations, to which it may respond, either on its own initiative or at the request of the Committee.
4. The Committee may also ask the States to provide further information on the implementation of this Convention.
1. The Committee may, as a matter of urgency, examine any request made by the persons close to a missing person, their legal representatives, their lawyers or the persons authorised by them, as well as anyone who has a legitimate interest, that a missing person is searched and located.
2. If the Committee considers that the request to act urgently pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article shall:
a) It is not manifestly unfounded;
b) It is not an abuse of the right to file such requests;
c) It has been previously presented and in the form due to the competent authorities of the State Party concerned, such as the authorities responsible for carrying out the investigations, where such possibility exists;
d) It is not incompatible with the provisions of this Convention; and
e) Is not being treated in another international instance of examination or arrangement of the same nature;
ask the State Party concerned to provide, within the time limit set by the Committee, information on the situation of that person.
3. In the light of the information provided by the State Party concerned in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, the Committee may transmit its recommendations to the State Party and may include a request for the adoption of all measures. necessary, including precautionary measures, to locate and protect the person in accordance with this Convention, and may request that it inform the Committee, within the time limit set by it, of the measures it takes, taking into account the urgency of the situation. The Committee shall inform the person who submitted the request for urgent action on its recommendations and on the information transmitted by the State Party when they are available.
4. The Committee will continue its efforts to work with the State Party as long as the fate of the missing person has not been clarified. The Committee shall keep the author informed of the request.
1. Each State Party may declare, at the time of ratification or after ratification, that it recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and examine communications submitted by persons under its jurisdiction or on behalf of the of these States, which claim to be the victim of violations by this State Party to the provisions of this Convention. The Committee shall not accept any communication relating to a State Party which has not made such a declaration.
2. The Committee shall declare any communication inadmissible if
a) It is anonymous;
b) constitutes an abuse of the right to file such communications or is incompatible with the provisions of this Convention;
c) The same issue is being treated in another international instance of examination or arrangement of the same nature; or if
d) The available effective internal resources have not been exhausted. This rule does not apply if the appeal procedures exceed reasonable time limits.
3. If the Committee considers that the communication meets the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article, it shall forward it to the State Party concerned and ask it to provide it, within a period to be fixed by the Committee, of its comments and comments.
4. At any time after having received a communication and before reaching a decision on the substance, the Committee may, for the purpose of its urgent examination, direct the State Party concerned to take the necessary precautionary measures. with a view to preventing any irreparable damage to the victim or victims of the alleged rape. The exercise of this power by the Committee does not imply any judgment on the admissibility or on the substance of the communication.
5. The Committee shall hold its meetings behind closed doors when it examines the communications provided for in this Article. The Committee shall inform the author of the communication on the replies provided by the State Party concerned. Where the Committee decides to terminate the procedure, it shall communicate its opinion to the State Party and the author of the communication.
Each State Party to this Convention may at any time declare that it recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and examine communications in which a State Party claims that another State Party does not comply with its obligations. imposes this Convention. The Committee shall not accept any communication relating to a State Party which has not made such a declaration, nor a communication submitted by a State Party which has not made such a declaration.
1. If the Committee receives reliable information revealing serious violations of the provisions of this Convention by a State Party may, after consultation with that State, request one or more of its members to pay a visit to the and inform you about it without delay.
2. The Committee shall inform the State Party in writing of its intention to make a visit, indicating the composition of the delegation and the purpose of the visit. The State Party shall give its reply within a reasonable time.
3. In response to a reasoned request from the State Party, the Committee may decide to postpone or cancel the visit.
4. If the State Party grants its agreement to the visit, the Committee and the State Party shall cooperate in defining the modalities of the visit and the State Party shall provide all the facilities necessary for its development.
5. The Committee shall inform the State Party of its observations and recommendations as a result of the visit.
If the Committee receives information which, in its opinion, contains well-founded indications that the enforced disappearance is practised in a generalised or systematic manner in the territory under the jurisdiction of a State Party, and after having applied for the State Party concerned all relevant information on this situation may, as a matter of urgency, bring the matter to the attention of the United Nations General Assembly, through the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
1. The Committee's competence only extends to enforced disappearances which have been initiated after the date of entry into force of this Convention.
2. If a State becomes a Party to this Convention after its entry into force, its obligations in respect of the Committee shall only extend to enforced disappearances which have begun after the entry into force of the Convention for that State.
1. The Committee shall present an annual report on its activities under this Convention to the States Parties and to the United Nations General Assembly.
2. The publication in the annual report of an observation relating to a State Party must be previously announced to that State, which shall have a reasonable period of reply and may request the publication of its comments or observations in the report.
Nothing in this Convention shall affect the provisions that are most conducive to the protection of all persons against enforced disappearances that may be collected at:
a) The right of a Party State; or
b) The current international law with respect to that State.
1. This Convention shall be open for signature by all Member States of the United Nations.
2. This Convention shall be subject to ratification by all Member States of the United Nations. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
3. This Convention shall be open for accession by all Member States of the United Nations. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the 30th day following the date on which the 20th instrument of ratification or accession by the Secretary-General of the United Nations has been deposited.
2. For each State ratifying or acceding to this Convention after the deposit of the 20th instrument of ratification or accession, this Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date on which the Convention is ratified or acceded to it. State has deposited its instrument of ratification or accession.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall communicate to all Member States of the United Nations and to all States that have signed or acceded to this Convention:
a) The signatures, ratifications, and accessions received in accordance with Article 38;
b) The date of entry into force of this Convention in accordance with Article 39.
The provisions of this Convention shall apply to all constituent parts of the Federal States, without limitation or exception.
1. Any dispute arising between two or more States Parties with respect to the interpretation or application of this Convention, which is not settled by negotiation or through the procedures expressly provided for in this Convention Convention shall be submitted to arbitration at the request of one of the States concerned. If, within six months from the date of filing of the request for arbitration, the parties are unable to agree on the organization of the arbitration, either party may submit the dispute to the Court of Justice. International Justice, by means of an application filed in accordance with the Statute of the Court.
2. Each State Party may, at the time of signature or ratification of this Convention or its accession to it, declare that it is not considered bound by paragraph 1 of this Article. The other States Parties shall not be bound by that paragraph to any State Party which has made such a declaration.
3. Each State Party which has made the declaration provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article may withdraw it at any time by notifying the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
This Convention is without prejudice to the provisions of international humanitarian law, including the obligations incumbent upon the High Contracting Parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977, or of the possibility for each State Party to authorize the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the places of detention in cases not provided for by international humanitarian law.
1. Each State Party to this Convention may propose amendments or deposit them with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall communicate the proposed amendments to the States Parties to this Convention, asking them to notify him if they wish a conference of States Parties to be convened in order to examine the proposals and submit them to the voting. If, within four months of the date of the communication, a third at least of the States Parties declare in favour of such a call, the Secretary-General shall organise the conference under the auspices of the United Nations.
2. Any amendment adopted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted by the Secretary-General to all States Parties for acceptance.
3. An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article shall enter into force when it has been accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties to this Convention, in accordance with their respective procedures. constitutional.
4. When they enter into force, the amendments shall be binding on the States Parties which have accepted them, while the other States Parties shall remain bound by the provisions of this Convention and by the previous amendments which they have adopted. accepted.
