Enforced disappearances constitute a set of particularly invidious violations of human rights, not only for the victims, who are deprived of their liberty, frequently tortured, and in fear for their lives, but also for their families and friends, who are left in ignorance regarding the fate of their disappeared loved one. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlaws the practice, as do the two UN Covenants: the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Other international human rights instruments take up the issue of enforced disappearances, as well.

Historical Background and International and Regional Reaction

Human rights groups are said to have first coined the term "disappeared" ("desaparecido") in 1966, referring to the victims of secret governmental crackdowns on political dissidents in...