Non-conflict Non-lethal Violence (Part 1): Enforced Disappearances

This article is part one of a series focusing on the prevalence of non-conflict, non-lethal violence.

Violence. What comes to mind is a fight, a gunshot… loud, in-your-face, aggressive action. Yet sometimes, violence is quietly slipping through the shadows, not noticed by a larger audience.

Non-conflict, non-lethal violence is a quiet violence. This category includes incidents such as enforced disappearances, kidnapping, and human trafficking. The descriptor “non-conflict” distinguishes these incidents from others which are related to wars or conflicts in the present or the past, and “non-lethal” is used to differentiate these incidents from homicides or other deadly, non-conflict acts of violence.

In countries such as Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Turkey, Mexico, India, Philippines, Colombia, and many others, state officials often make inconvenient people simply “go away.” The term for this is enforced disappearances. Officially, enforced disappearances occur when “agents of the State” or those “persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of the State” arrest, detain, abduct, or otherwise deprive someone of their liberty and then refuse to acknowledge that liberty has been deprived or conceal “the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person” thereby putting that person “outside the protection of the law” [1].

Imagine the mysterious disappearance of someone taken by an anonymous government force, that person gone without a trace, only remembered by a few family and friends left behind. It sounds like the introduction to a spy movie, but it is actually happening around the world. Real people are being abducted, taken from their homes and families by agents of their own governments, with no repercussions and no justice.

Image from ProPakistani- https://propakistani.pk/2019/01/24/govt-to-criminalize-enforced-disappearances-shireen-mazari/

A Double-edged Sword

There are two sides to the harm inflicted by enforced disappearances. The first is the obvious harm done to the person being abducted, but the second side is the harm inflicted on those they leave behind. The family and friends of the disappeared are left to suffer, hoping for the victim’s safe return, not knowing what happened to them or if they are even dead or alive [2]. This is how enforced disappearances are used as a tool to terrorize communities. States take advantage of the fear and feelings of insecurity created by the disappearances, using them as a way to oppress the population down and discourage them from opposing the state [3].

The people in the most danger of being victims of enforced disappearances usually fall into two categories: activists/journalists and political opposition [4]. These people are in the spotlight, bringing attention to issues and actions that certain governments might not want highlighted for the rest of the world, or even just for their general population, to see. However, sometimes there is no reason behind the disappearances, the victims being taken for no other reason than being in the wrong place at the wrong time [5].

The people left behind by enforced disappearances have no legal avenues to take their cases, as authorities will either not take their claims seriously or be unable to do anything about them [6]. Families are left in limbo, unable to get help from the traditional sources or claim any of the social assistance that would be available if the disappeared had died, though the chances are high that they will never know what happened to them. This can leave families in dire situations, especially if the disappeared person was the main financial provider [7].

Real Time Cases

Demonstrations being held against enforced disappearances in Pakistan, 2019

Image from Amnesty International- https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2019/03/pakistan-enduring-enforced-disappearances/

Egypt

Human Rights Watch has documented 39 cases of enforced disappearances in Egypt from 2014–2018. In these cases, authorities did not show warrants for arrest or tell anyone where they were taking the detainees. No information was given and those left behind would often be too intimidated to inquire about the victims through any direct channels of authority, instead choosing to suffer in the dark rather than put themselves or the rest of their families at risk of becoming the next victim [8].

Bangladesh

Since 2013, Bangladeshi authorities have been detaining and disappearing opposition activists at alarming rates. In the year 2016 alone, human rights organizations documented at least 90 cases of enforced disappearances. However, during all of this, families of those who have been forcibly disappeared are often not allowed to file a General Diary (GD) (the best way to report a crime to police authorities) if it in any way implicates state officials. This requires families to only file a missing persons GD, but some are so upset that they do not file anything at all [9].

Colombia

From 1956 to 2018 the Observatory of Memory and Conflict of the National Center for Historical Memory (CNMH) recorded 83,000 cases of forced disappearances in Colombia, the highest number in Latin America [10]. While many of these occurred during Colombia’s internal insurgencies over the last 50 years, enforced disappearances remain a current issue. There were 190 cases of suspected disappearances in the year 2012 alone [11]. Despite Colombia’s 1991 constitution prohibiting forced disappearances and the country ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) in 2010, the prohibition is rarely enforced and forced disappearances continue to occur at alarming rates [12].

Thailand

There have been 82 cases of enforced disappearances recorded by the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in Thailand since 1980. The most visible of these cases was arguably the disappearance of Somchai Neelapaijit, a prominent Muslim lawyer, and the only enforced disappearance case to be brought before a Thai court. However, the case was doomed from the start as enforced disappearances are not even recognized as a criminal offense in Thailand. Despite the Thai Government’s continual promises of signing the ICPPED and passing their draft legislation, Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearances Act, concrete action is yet to be taken and families of the disappeared are left to fight for justice on their own [13][14].

United States

Even democratic countries like the United States (U.S.) are guilty of enforced disappearances. There have been at least 39 cases of enforced disappearances believed to have been perpetrated by the U.S. during their ‘War on Terror’ which were documented by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations. Three of these individuals have been formally acknowledged by the U.S. Government, two from the 9–11 Commission Report and one from a dispute over custody between the FBI and CIA, however, they have not been released and no further information concerning them is available. The other 36 cases remain unacknowledged and have been pieced together from witness testimonies, reports from local authorities (who sometimes collaborate with U.S. Intelligence Agencies to apprehend and question suspects), individuals being removed from U.S. terrorist lists, and evidence of prisoner transfers to different locations. All of these individuals are still missing and no further information has been released concerning their whereabouts [15].

What is being done about it?

The most recent legal document concerning enforced disappearances is the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) which took effect in 2010. It asserts that enforced disappearances are a crime against humanity according to the definition given in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [16]. As of June 2019, only 98 states have signed the convention, still leaving 95 states that have taken no official action against enforced disappearances [17].

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are two international non-governmental organizations working to stop enforced disappearances. There are also many smaller, local organizations that work to end enforced disappearances in their own countries such as ENSAAF working in India and the Campaign for the protection of the disappeared in Turkmen prisons with their “Prove they are alive!” initiative in Turkmenistan. Feel free to visit their websites by clicking their names to learn more about their work and the different ways to get involved in efforts to end enforced disappearances.

International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances is August 30 every year. Remember the victims, and get involved in efforts to stop enforced disappearances everywhere. You can learn more information about this UN day here.

Image from Amnesty International- https://www.amnesty.ca/our-work/issues/international-justice/enforced-disappearances

Stay tuned for the next blog in this series exploring types of non-lethal, non-conflict violence.

References:

1. “International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance” Opened for signature February 6, 2007, United Nations Treaty Series vol. 2716: 3. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/CTC/Ch_IV_16.pdf
2. Ganguly, Meenakshi. “Families Beg for Answers on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.” Human Rights Watch, August 27, 2018. https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/27/families-beg-answers-international-day-victims-enforced-disappearances
3. United Nations. “International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 30 August”. Accessed June 25, 2019. https://www.un.org/en/events/disappearancesday/
4. Amnesty International. “Enforced Disappearances”. Accessed June 26, 2019. https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/disappearances/
5. Human Rights Watch. “If You Are Afraid For Your Lives, Leave Sinai!” May 28, 2019. Accessed June 25, 2019. https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/05/28/if-you-are-afraid-your-lives-leave-sinai/egyptian-security-forces-and-isis#page
6. Amnesty International. “Enforced Disappearances: Q&A” Amnesty International, 2011. https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/32000/ior510102011en.pdf
7. Amnesty International. “Enforced Disappearances”. Accessed June 26, 2019. https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/disappearances/
8. Human Rights Watch. “If You Are Afraid For Your Lives, Leave Sinai!” May 28, 2019. Accessed June 25, 2019. https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/05/28/if-you-are-afraid-your-lives-leave-sinai/egyptian-security-forces-and-isis#page
9. Human Rights Watch. “We Don’t Have Him”: Secret Detentions and Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh. United States of America: Human Rights Watch, 2017.
10. “Latin America: The region with the highest number of enforced disappearances”. Latin American Post. September 11, 2018. https://latinamericanpost.com/23187-latin-america-the-region-with-the-highest-number-of-enforced-disappearances
11. Human Rights Watch. “Enforced disappearances still an appalling reality in the Americas”. August 29, 2013. Accessed July 26, 2019. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2013/08/enforced-disappearances-still-an-appalling-reality-in-the-americas/
12. “Forced Disappearances in Colombia”. Council on Hemispheric Affairs. November 1, 2011. Accessed July 26, 2019. http://www.coha.org/forced-disappearances-in-colombia/
13. Amnesty International. Thailand: Treaty ratification must be followed by domestic action to combat enforced disappearances. Amnesty International, 2017. https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/ASA3958622017ENGLISH.pdf;
14. Sunai Phasuk. Thai Lawyers ‘Disappearance’ Unsolved 15 Years On. Human Rights Watch. March 11, 2018. Accessed July 26, 2019. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/11/thai-lawyers-disappearance-unsolved-15-years
15. Amnesty International. Off the Record: U.S. Responsibility for Enforced Disappearances in the “War on Terror”. Amnesty International, 2007.
16. “International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance” Opened for signature February 6, 2007, United Nations Treaty Series vol. 2716: 3. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/CTC/Ch_IV_16.pdf
17. United Nations Treaty Collection. “16. International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance”. Last modified June 25, 2019. Accessed June 25, 2019. https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-16&chapter=4&clang=_en