Guide: Litigating cases of enforced disappearances of a short duration

You can download our guide to Litigating cases of enforced disappearances of a short duration in English, Russian and Ukrainian.

There has been a documented increase in the practice of enforced disappearances of a short duration. These are cases where persons are disappeared for hours, days, or a few weeks, before being released, their detention being recognised or their location and fate made known.

The spread of enforced disappearances of a short duration in recent decades, seems to mark an expansion on the practice of enforced disappearance from what could perhaps be referred to as the “classic paradigm” of enforced disappearance that dominated the 1970s through the 1990s, when victims were typically held in secret detention for years and often executed extrajudicially with their relatives never knowing their whereabouts or fate. Reports of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances [“WGEID”], for example, have shown that enforced disappearances of a short nature have been documented across a wide geographical range, such as Bahrain, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, United States, Kenya and Venezuela. EHRAC’s own partners have documented a high number of cases of enforced disappearances of a short nature perpetrated by Russian forces in occupied areas of Ukraine with some disappearances lasting just a few hours.

Disappearances of a short-term nature have proliferated largely in times of political instability, in the context of “counter-terrorism” measures, in the follow-up to mass protests, in migration settings and as an extreme form of gender-based violence and repression. The Committee on Enforced Disappearances [“CED”] and the WGEID have noted patterns in which authorities acknowledge detaining individuals for “investigative purposes”, to “determine identity”, or to maintain “public order” during protests or States of emergency. Often, these types of disappearances are justified by States as temporary security measures. In some cases, States have denied the detentions outright; in others, they have claimed that the temporary incommunicado detention was permissible under domestic law or necessary for national security. Such justifications frequently accompany broader State narratives of combating terrorism, organised crime, or threats to public institutions. The WGEID has underscored that these trends are not isolated but reflect a systemic tactic by which States play with duration to avoid accountability. Experts have further warned that such disappearances, even when temporary, erode the rule of law and normalise the use of disappearance as a tool of governance.

Yet international standards make clear that no exceptional circumstance may be invoked to justify enforced disappearances of any duration, including national security or emergency situations. The International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances [“ICPPED”] and the Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance [“Declaration”] make the prohibition on enforced disappearances absolute and unqualified thereby prohibiting any derogation from the Convention or restriction or limitation from the obligations contained therein even in the most exceptional circumstances. While, as is outlined in this guide, enforced disappearances of a short duration unequivocally qualify as enforced disappearances, they pose distinct challenges for victims and advocates including in the course of litigation. Consequently, these cases are frequently underreported and invisible, perpetuating cycles of impunity and unacknowledged suffering for victims.

This guide lays out international human rights jurisprudence and standards relating to enforced disappearances of a short duration. It also seeks to provide practical advice for how to litigate cases of enforced disappearance of a short duration. While evidentiary, procedural and legal standards will vary among jurisdictions, the foundational legal principles outlined in the guide should be seen as applying to all States.

This guide has been written by Elba Bendo, Lawyer (International Advocacy), and Charlotta Blomqvist (Legal Officer), with guidance from Jessica Gavron (Co-Director, Head of Legal). The authors have also benefited from the invaluable input provided by partners working on cases of enforced disappearances in Ukraine and the North Caucasus regions. For more legal resources on the topic of enforced disappearances visit EHRAC’s Enforced Disappearance Legal Database.