General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

23 December 1994

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

                                                A/RES/49/193
                                                94th plenary meeting
                                                23 December 1994
 
            49/193. Question of enforced or involuntary disappearances
 
      The General Assembly,
 
      Reaffirming the obligation of States under the Charter of the United
Nations, in particular Article 55, to promote universal respect for, and
observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms,
 
      Recalling its resolution 33/173 of 20 December 1978 concerning
disappeared persons, and its resolutions 46/125 of 17 December 1991 and 47/132
of 18 December 1992 on the question of enforced or involuntary disappearances,
 
      Recalling also its resolution 47/133 of 18 December 1992 proclaiming the
Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as a
body of principles for all States,
 
      Emphasizing that, in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the
World Conference on Human Rights welcomed the adoption of the Declaration on
the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and called upon all
States to take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other
measures to prevent, terminate and punish acts of enforced disappearance,
 
      Noting that the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
considers the adoption of the Declaration to be the most encouraging
development since its establishment in respect of efforts to combat enforced
disappearances, especially in so far as it recognizes that the systematic
practice of such acts is of the nature of a crime against humanity,
 
      Expressing concern that, according to the Working Group, the practice of
a number of States can run counter to the Declaration,
 
      Convinced of the need to continue implementing the provisions of its
resolution 33/173 and of the other United Nations resolutions on the question
of disappeared persons, with a view to finding solutions for cases of
disappearance and eliminating enforced disappearances, duly taking into
account the provisions of the Declaration,
 
      Convinced also that further efforts are needed to promote wider
awareness of and respect for the Declaration,
 
      Deeply concerned about the persistence of the practice of enforced
disappearances in the world,
 
      Concerned about the growing number of reports concerning harassment,
ill-treatment and intimidation of witnesses of disappearances or relatives of
persons who have disappeared,
 
      Bearing in mind Commission on Human Rights resolution 1994/39 of 4 March
1994,
 
      1.    Reaffirms that any act of enforced disappearance is an offence to
human dignity and a grave and flagrant violation of the human rights and
fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
and reaffirmed and developed in other international instruments in this field,
as well as a violation of the rules of international law;
 
      2.    Recalls that all acts of enforced disappearance are offences
punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their extreme
seriousness under criminal law;
 
      3.    Reiterates its invitation to all Governments to take appropriate
legislative or other steps to prevent and suppress the practice of enforced
disappearances, in keeping with the Declaration on the Protection of All
Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and to take action at the national and
regional levels and in cooperation with the United Nations to that end;
 
      4.    Calls upon Governments to take steps to ensure that, when a state
of emergency is introduced, the protection of human rights is ensured,
particularly as regards the prevention of enforced disappearances;
 
      5.    Reminds Governments of the need to ensure that their competent
authorities conduct prompt and impartial inquiries in all circumstances,
whenever there is reason to believe that an enforced disappearance has
occurred in territory under their jurisdiction;
 
      6.    Recalls that, if allegations are confirmed, perpetrators should be
prosecuted;
 
      7.    Once again urges the Governments concerned to take steps to
protect the families of disappeared persons against any intimidation or ill-
treatment to which they might be subjected;
 
      8.    Encourages States, as some have already done, to provide concrete
information on measures taken to give effect to the Declaration, as well as
obstacles encountered;
 
      9.    Requests all States to consider the possibility of disseminating
the text of the Declaration in their respective national languages and to
facilitate its dissemination in the national and local languages;
 
      10.   Notes the action taken by non-governmental organizations to
encourage implementation of the Declaration, and invites them to continue to
facilitate its dissemination and to contribute to the work of the
Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities;
 
      11.   Expresses its appreciation to the Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances for its humanitarian work;
 
      12.   Requests the Working Group, in the continued exercise of its
mandate, to take into account the provisions of the Declaration and to modify
its working methods if necessary;
 
      13.   Invites the Working Group to identify obstacles to the realization
of the provisions of the Declaration and to recommend ways of overcoming those
obstacles, taking into account the discussions of the Subcommission;
 
      14.   Furthermore encourages the Working Group to continue to consider
the question of impunity, in close collaboration with the rapporteur appointed
by the Subcommission and with due regard for the relevant provisions of the
Declaration;
 
      15.   Requests the Working Group to pay the utmost attention to cases of
children subjected to enforced disappearance and children of disappeared
persons and to cooperate closely with the Governments concerned to search for
and identify those children;
 
      16.   Appeals to the Governments concerned, particularly those which
have not yet replied to the communications transmitted by the Working Group,
to cooperate fully with it and, in particular, to reply promptly to its
requests for information so that, while respecting its working methods based
on discretion, it may perform its strictly humanitarian role;
 
      17.   Encourages the Governments concerned to give serious consideration
to inviting the Working Group to visit their countries so as to enable the
Working Group to fulfil its mandate even more effectively;
 
      18.   Expresses its profound thanks to the many Governments that have
cooperated with the Working Group and replied to its requests for information,
and to the Governments that have invited the Working Group to visit their
countries, asks them to give all necessary attention to the Working Group's
recommendations and invites them to inform the Working Group of any action
they take on those recommendations;
 
      19.   Calls upon the Commission on Human Rights to continue to study
this question as a matter of priority and to take any step it may deem
necessary to the pursuit of the task of the Working Group and to the follow-up
of its recommendations when it considers the report to be submitted by the
Working Group to the Commission at its fifty-first session;
 
      20.   Invites the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-first session
to consider extending for three years the term of the mandate of the Working
Group, as defined in Commission resolution 20 (XXXVI) of 29 February 1980,
while maintaining the principle of annual reporting, and requests the Working
Group to continue to fulfil its mandate in a rigorous and constructive
fashion; 
 
      21.   Renews its request to the Secretary-General to continue to provide
the Working Group with all the facilities it requires to perform its
functions, especially in carrying out missions and following them up;
 
      22.   Requests the Secretary-General to keep it informed of the steps he
takes to secure the widespread dissemination and promotion of the Declaration
;
 
      23.   Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to it at its fifty-
first session a report on the steps taken to implement the present resolution;
 
      24.   Decides to consider the question of enforced disappearances, and
in particular the implementation of the Declaration, at its fifty-first
session under the sub-item entitled "Human rights questions, including
alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights
and fundamental freedoms".