Basic Information about Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances
International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances is observed on every year August 30. The aim is to protect all persons from enforced disappearance.
Observed on: August 30
Organized by: UN
Introduced in: 2010 (UN Resolution)
Observed: Worldwide
About International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances
Enforced disappearance has become a global problem and is not restricted to a specific region of the world.
On 21 December 2010, by its resolution 65/209 the UN General Assembly expressed its deep concern, in particular, by the increase in enforced or involuntary disappearance in various regions of the world, including arrest, detention and abduction, when these are part of or amount to enforced disappearances, and by the growing number of reports concerning harassment, ill-treatment and intimidation of witness of disappearances or relatives of persons who have disappeared.
By the same resolution the Assembly welcomed the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, and decided to declare 30 August the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, to be observed beginning in 2011.
The Latin American Federation of Associates for Relatives of the Detained – Disappeared (FEDEFAM), an association of delegates from associated member states and regional groups working against secret imprisonment and forced disappearances, led the campaign for the day.
Enforced Disappearance
An enforce disappearance occurs when some took one or members of the family giving no reasons, producing no arrest warrant. The victims are frequently tortured and in constant fear for their lives. The families and friends of the victims, experience slow mental anguish, alternate between hope and despair. They are undergoing a serious violation of human rights.
Activities and Programs on International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances
To spread the awareness many exhibition of photographs and the screening of several short films are conducted. Activists, NGOs, courts and international organizations have increasingly sought to prevent enforced disappearances and obtain retroactive justice for victims.
Number of international bodies and organizations in the fields of human rights activism and humanitarian aid are working against secret imprisonment. Some institutions are Amnesty International, International Committee of the Red Cross and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The International Day of the Disappearances is used as an opportunity to highlight these institutions work, increase public awareness, and to call for donations and volunteers.