The Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance: Moving Human Rights protection ahead

Abstract

The entry into force of the Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance at the end of 2010 signified the most important step in the struggle against enforced disappearances and marked a development in international human rights law. This article provides a historical overview of the phenomenon and tracks the background of the Convention’s adoption. It analyses and evaluates the definition adopted by the Convention. It also probes into practices applied against terrorism and suggests that they should be classified as enforced disappearances under the Convention. Overall, it is argued that the Convention’s application can be expected to cement detainees’ protection.