Enforced disappearances: Rights groups press Islamabad on UN convention’s ratification
Rights groups have called upon the Pakistan government to take immediate steps to eliminate instances of enforced disappearances.
In a statement issued at the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has urged the government to immediately ratify the UN Convention against enforced disappearance.
“While it is encouraging that the instances of enforced disappearances have reduced in Balochistan, the number of such cases has increased in Khyber-Pakhtunkwa (K-P) and Sindh,” the HRCP is reported as telling BBC Urdu.
Meanwhile another rights organisation, Defence of Human Rights (DHR) has said that Pakistan is unique in the world as it has promulgated two distinct laws in the last three years to provide legal cover to the practice of enforced disappearance and to provide impunity to the perpetrators of this crime.
“These laws are in stark contrast to the provision of international conscience as depicted by the UN Convention,” it said in a statement.
It said the DHR registered and brought into the notice of authorities 2,060 cases of enforced disappearances with the consent of the families of missing person.
“The actual number of disappearances could be much higher than 10,000 as numerous complaints reach us where families are reluctant to take any legal action for fear of reprisals,” it said.
The DHR said that apart from the cases of disappearances registered by the organisation, the government has declared another set of more than 2,500 names, which are detained in newly formed internment centres under Action in Aid of Civil Power Ordinance.
“As per the DHR, these declared people are no better than missing persons because they remain imprisoned in tribal areas, where civil administration and courts have no jurisdiction,” it added.
The DHR said the authorities had apparently set a policy to terminate most of these interned persons and claimed that every other day one or two dead bodies were shipped out of these secret prisons.
“The DHR Pakistan has recorded 94 deaths of these interned persons so far. This is a state of emergency and demands immediate attention of courts and local and international human rights bodies,” it said.
The rights group, however, acknowledged the role of the superior judiciary for its efforts to provide relief to the victims of enforced disappearance.
“Political forces of the country have also failed miserably to play its role. Most political parties render great verbal support and stand beside the victims when in opposition. But as soon as gains power they forget their commitments shamelessly and close their eyes and pose as if there is everything in this country but no enforced disappearance,” it said.
On December 21, 2010, the UN General Assembly expressed its deep concern, in particular, by the increase in enforced or involuntary disappearances in various regions of the world.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2014.
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The Government needs to stop enforced disappearances.
If people want justice, they must learn to practice justice and make this practice widespread among the masses. People will achieve every virtue, if they practice virtue. People will achieve every virtue when they will come join hands with each other to organise to make justice and virtue a commonly found commodity. If people at large will not take this course they will keep on suffering all sorts of crimes and injustices. So as the philosophical saying is: " Insaaf tayray haath hay ilzaam oothaalay Upnay pay bharosah hay to yeh dao laga lay."
It means that justice is in your own hands, provided you are ready to accept the allegations. If you trust your self then you must take this course of action. Making justice and virtue a commonly found commodity is the responsibility of the masses. The very masses who suffer crimes and injustices.