Sunday, July 02, 2006

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance

New UN body approves disappearance treaty

Geneva - The United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday unanimously approved an international treaty that would ban states from abducting perceived enemies and hiding them in secret prisons or killing them.

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance would require states to keep registers of detainees and tell their families the truth about their disappearance, as well as paying compensation.

It still has to be adopted in the UN General Assembly, and then individual governments would need to approve it.

Rights experts say the United States, in the spotlight over allegations that it has been transferring terrorism suspects to secret jails in other countries, is not expected to ratify the pact.

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