A top UN-appointed human rights panel issued an appeal on Tuesday for faster progress towards finding the remains of those who disappeared during deadly violence that split the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, decades ago.
The ‘horrendous’ practice of enforced disappearances can affect entire communities by creating an atmosphere of fear and chaos.
That’s according to Santiago Corcuera, a member of the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED).
A forced disappearance is an act committed by the state in the form of abduction, arrest, detainment or any other violation of one’s rights, which is then denied or concealed.
The detention of people, often without cause, is a repressive technique which violates fundamental human rights and is often used to spread terror within society.
That is the message connected to the UN’s International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, observed annually on 30 August.
According to the United Nations, a “forced disappearance” qualifies as a crime against humanity and gives victims' families the right to seek reparations.
