The Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) is the body of independent experts which monitors the implementation of the Convention for the Protection of all Persons against Enforced Disappearance by the States parties.

The Committee and its Secretariat work daily to support victims, civil society organizations, National Human Rights Institutions and States to search for and locate disappeared persons, eradicate, punish and prevent this crime, and repair the damage suffered by the victims. Learn more.

Key documents

Guiding Principles for the search for disappeared persons

Guidelines to prevent and address intimidation and reprisals against individuals and groups cooperating with the Committee (PDF)

Guiding Principles on Enforced Disappearances in the context of COVID-19 (PDF)

Status of reports by country (Excel)

HTMLCountry4 Upcoming Events 21^st session : The 21^st session of the Committee is scheduled from 13 - 24 September 2021. The provisional agenda includes the following activities (subject to change depending on the COVID-19 pandemic): List of Issues : Costa Rica, Mali and Mauritania. Examination of initial reports under article 29(1) of the Convention: Panama and Brazil Examination of additional information under article 29(4) of the Convention: France and Spain Details on how to contribute to the work of the Committee and deadlines for written contributions are available in “21th session – Information note for Victims, Civil Society Organizations and NHRIs”	HTMLCountry5 Recent events and activities 20^th session (online): The 20^th session of the Committee took place from 12 April to 7 May 2021. During the session, the Committee adopted its Report on requests for urgent action submitted under article 30 of the Convention. It also adopted its Guidance for the submission of a request for urgent action to the Committee During the session, the Committee held interactive dialogues on the initial report of Switzerland (see videos: part 1, part 2 and part 3) and Mongolia (part 1, part 2 and part 3), and on the additional information submitted by Colombia (part 1 and part 2) and adopted a list of issues in the absence of a report (LOIAR) for Zambia. Joint Webinar by CED/WGEID/ICAED: ‘Sharing experiences and positive outcomes of actions taken to promote the ratification of the Convention and way forward’ 3 March 2021 Time to act (video): ‘No State is immune from the risk and corrosive effects of enforced disappearance.’ 24 December 2020 The CED welcomes its new member, Mr. Matar Diop. In compliance with article 26(5) of the Convention, Mr. Diop replaces Mr. Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Coulibaly who resigned on 16 October 2020. 19th session (online): Watch the summary and the public closing meeting. Featuring the Committee’s first ever online dialogue with a State party on 5 October and 7 October 2020, to examine the additional information submitted by Iraq under article 29(4) of the Convention.
HTMLCountry6 Latest News UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances publishes findings on Switzerland, Colombia and Mongolia 11 May 2021 Committee on Enforced Disappearances Closes Online Twentieth Session after Adopting Concluding Observations on Reports of Mongolia, Switzerland and Colombia 7 May 2021 In dialogue with Mongolia, Committee on Enforced Disappearances asks about the state’s definition of enforced disappearance and judicial proceedings 23 April 2021 In Dialogue with Colombia, Committee on Enforced Disappearances Asks about the Number of Victims and Missing Persons and about the Definition of Enforced Disappearance 20 April 2021 Committee on Enforced Disappearances Asks Switzerland about Legal Definitions, Adoptions from Sri Lanka and the National Human Rights Institution 15 April 2021	HTMLCountry7 Status of ratifications To date, 63 of the 193 UN Member States have ratified the Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The most recent accessions or ratifications of the Convention are by Oman (2020), Norway (2019), Fiji (2019) and Dominica (2019). CED ratification, including all declarations and reservations Ratification status map
Contact information Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Palais Wilson - 52, rue des Pâquis CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland) Mailing address: OHCHR-UNOG 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneve 10, Switzerland Email: ced@ohchr.org For individual complaints and urgent actions Petitions and Inquiries Section/Committee on Enforced Disappearances Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneve 10, Switzerland Email: petitions@ohchr.org