News on the topic: forced disappearance
31.08.2007 Enforced Disappearances Have No Time Limitation
30 August is the international day of victims of enforced disappearances. Its establishment was initiated by the working group on enforced and involuntary disappearances of the UN Commission on Human Rights. At present the group consists of five experts. They consider the reports about the missing that are sent by their relatives or human rights organizations and take appropriate reaction. In addition, in December 2006 there was adopted the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Pitifully enough, the Republic of Belarus still has not ratified this document, despite the fact that this problem is a daily one for our country, where hundreds of people disappear every year.
30.08.2007 UN Commission Pays Interest to Investigation of Zakharanka’s Disappearance
The UN Commission on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance resumed its interest in the case of the former interior minister Yury Zakharanka who had disappeared in 1999. A couple of days ago a corresponding UNO claim was received by the Zkharankas’ lawyer Aleh Volchak. According to him, the UN Commission is to gather at its extraordinary meeting for considering the record of investigations of the disappeared policymakers’ cases in Belarus. The Commission is eager to learn the viewpoints of all the sides involved in the process.