There is almost no public information on the recurrence of this practice nationally or at the regional level. Many governments have for years denied the use of enforced disappearances. However, African governments can no longer hide behind the cloak of denial.
The recent moral outrage caused by the latest disappearances in Sudan, Zimbabwe and Libya, may finally be the step needed to force governments to admit to the use of this devastating practice.
The relatives of the victims, as well as civil society organisations, have been publicly shaming the governments, demanding to know the whereabouts of their loved ones and seeking accountability. The use of social media and other tools has provided a better understanding of the crime of enforced disappearance, and an empowered civil society has been working to demand justice for the victims of this crime.
Last month the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights discussed, at a session organised jointly by REDRESS, the practice of enforced disappearances in Africa during one of its main sessions.
Zainabou Sylvie Kayitesi, chairman of the commission, highlighted that there is no regional treaty tackling the problem of enforced disappearances in Africa. This distinguishes the African and American continents, where the Organization of American States adopted the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons in 1994 as a way to tackle a crime that had been widespread during the authoritarian regimes of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Kayitesi also noted that at a global level, only 16 out of 54 African countries have either signed or ratified the International Convention on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the main international treaty on enforced disappearances.
The African Commission should seize the current momentum around the issue of enforced disappearances to ensure that the plight of victims is heard. One way of doing this would be by adopting comprehensive guidelines for African states to prevent, investigate and prosecute the crime of enforced disappearance in the continent, and to provide reparations to victims.
The efforts of the African Commission should trigger Member States of the African Union to work towards the drafting and eventual adoption of a regional treaty that shows political commitment to eradicate this grave crime in the continent.
Only by acknowledging that enforced disappearances are happening in their territories will African states will prove that they are serious about eradicating this practice and providing justice and reparations to those that suffer from it.
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