TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Republic of Congo: Ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearance

Enforced disappearances continue to affect families and destroy people's lives in the Republic of Congo. In 2007, the Republic of Congo Government signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearance but did not ratify it. In 2018, on the occasion of its United Nations' Universal Periodic Review, the Congolese Government agreed to ratify this international convention. The government has delayed this ratification since 2019. But cases of disappearances continue. Between 2021 and 2022, at least a dozen cases of enforced disappearances have been documented.

On the occasion of the Day of the Disappeared, Amnesty International, the Center for Development Action (CAD) in the Republic of Congo, and others urge the government to officially ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearance by August 30, the Day of the Disappeared. If not possible, let’s urge the government to accelerate the ratification process and announce the ratification publicly.

Together, let's push Congolese authorities to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons against Enforced Disappearance. by signing this open letter to be sent to the Minister of Justice Aimé Ange Wilfrid Bininga.

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Sir

Aime Ange

Wilfrid Bininga

Republic of Congo

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OPEN LETTER: RATIFICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF ALL PERSONS AGAINST ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE

Fifteen years ago, in February of 2007, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearance was opened to signatures, before entering into effect three years later. As enforced disappearances continue to affect many families in the Republic of Congo, we, the undersigned individuals and human rights organizations for the defense of human rights, call on the Congolese authorities to ratify the Convention.

Under Article 2 of the Convention “enforced disappearances” are defined as  arrests, detention, kidnapping, or any other form of deprivation of freedom by agents of the state or by persons or groups of people acting with the authorization, the support, or the acquiescence of the state, followed by the denial of recognition of the deprivation of freedom or a dissimulation concerning the disappeared person or the place where they are located, thus removing them from the protection of the law.

The consequences of enforced disappearances are horrendous for the victims and their families. Such a person might reappear after several months of detention, but just as likely might turn up dead. That person might have experienced physical and psychological abuse. For the families, the consequences are multiple. On an emotional level, not knowing where to find someone close to you, and not knowing whether they are living or dead, is a veritable cause of deep suffering. To this, one must add the possible socio-economic consequences. For example, the partners of enforced disappearance victims might be ostracized and without a means of looking after themselves.

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearance took effect in 2010. It aims to prevent enforced disappearances, to bring out the truth of the facts, and to ensure that the victims and their families obtain justice, truth, and reparations.

In 2011, in the report from its last mission to the Congo, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances recommended the ratification of the Convention.

In 2018, the report of the United Nations Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of the Congo listed 194 recommendations, including the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of Persons Against Enforced Disappearances. The government of the Congo signed the Convention in 2007 and accepted the recommendation of its ratification from other states.

However, no steps to ratify the Convention have been undertaken by the authorities to date. Given the importance of the right to life, we make the following recommendations to the Congolese authorities:

1. Ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearance, immediately and unconditionally;

2. Recognize the authority of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, so that it can receive and examine communications presented by individuals or on behalf of individuals concerning their jurisdiction who complain that they are victims of a violation of the terms of the Convention due to the Congolese state concerning the Convention’s terms;

3. Adopt all necessary measures to ensure the integration of the terms of the Convention into the domestic laws of the Congo.

This request is in line with the spirit of Article 8 of the Congolese Constitution, which proclaims that all persons have "the sacred right to life.”

In ratifying this Convention, the Congolese government will demonstrate the importance it gives to respect for human rights and will lend its support to this international treaty

Kind regards,
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