UN Event Marks 20th Anniversary of Enforced Disappearances Convention with New Victim-Centred Initiative

GENEVA — Relatives of disappeared persons, diplomats, and United Nations officials gathered at the Palais des Nations on 16 October 2026 to mark the 20th anniversary of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and launch a new initiative focused on supporting victims' families.

The new campaign, titled "We Are Still Here: Putting Victims at the Centre of the Human Rights Movement," operates under the Global Alliance for Human Rights. Supported by France, the initiative aims to address the daily administrative, legal, and financial challenges relatives face following a disappearance, including frozen bank accounts, identity documentation barriers, and inheritance issues.

Between now and December 2028, the initiative plans to consult families across multiple regions, document the generational impacts of disappearances, and create practical guidelines and recommendations for public and private institutions.

Opening the event, Juan Pablo Albán Alencastro, Chair of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, emphasized the need for implementation over mere observance of the treaty. "We must not confuse adopting a Convention with complying with it, and with making it transform people’s lives," Albán Alencastro said.

Speakers at the event included relatives of the disappeared from Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Thailand. Alejandra Cartagena López, representing 39 victims' collectives, spoke about navigating the ongoing search alongside daily survival. Other speakers included Thai Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit and Pakistani advocates Amina Masood Janjua and Talia Khan Khattak, who detailed the systemic obstacles relatives encounter when institutions lack legal procedures to recognize the status of a disappeared person.

UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Awa Dabo stated that administrative authorities, healthcare systems, and banks often rely on procedures that fail to account for the circumstances surrounding a disappearance, reiterating that human rights responses must be shaped alongside victims and their families.

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