The United Nations defines "enforced disappearance" as "the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty of persons by persons or groups of persons working for the State or acting with the authorization, support or knowledge of the State; such persons or groups subsequently deny the deprivation of liberty or conceal the whereabouts and circumstances of the disappeared person, with the result that the disappeared person is outside the protection of the law." Even if the ultimate outcome of an enforced disappearance is not death and the victim survives the enforced disappearance, the physical and psychological scars of such an experience are likely to remain for the rest of his or her life. In addition, the disappeared, whose fate remains uncertain, and perpetrators protected by a culture of impunity prevent the families of victims from healing their wounds.

In order to draw attention to enforced disappearances, which have become a global crime beyond being a violation of human rights, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared August 30 as the "International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances" with its resolution 65/209 on December 21, 2010. The day, which will be held for the 11th time this year, commemorates the victims of enforced disappearance, which is a direct violation of the right to life, and draws attention to the call of the families of the victims to learn the fate of their disappeared relatives.

The United Nations General Assembly first adopted and proclaimed the "Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance" with its resolution 47/133 at its meeting of 18 December 1992 in order to protect persons against enforced disappearances and to establish an international regulation in this field. According to the Declaration: "All persons deprived of their liberty shall be held in an officially recognized place of detention, where an updated official register of all persons deprived of their liberty shall be kept (Art.. 10/1, 10/3).  Information on the detention, transfer and place of detention of such persons should be communicated promptly, unless the persons concerned request otherwise, to their family members, advisers or any other person with a legitimate interest in the information (Art. 10/2) and there should be penalties for officials who refuse to provide such information without a lawful reason (Art. 12)."

The "International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance" was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December 2006, 24 years after the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which aims to protect people against enforced disappearance. Entered into force on 23 December 2010, the Convention aims to prevent all enforced disappearances, including in situations of actual war, threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, and to combat the condoning of this crime with impunity. This international convention is the most effective treaty on enforced disappearance because of its specific protection and monitoring mechanism. Türkiye is not yet a party to the Convention, which has been signed by many UN member states.

As the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye, on this important day, we attach importance to revealing the perpetrators of the crime of enforced disappearance, which fundamentally undermines human rights, and we share the pain of the victims’ families.