Message on International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

强迫失踪受害者国际日致辞

30 August 2014

2014年8月30日

The enforced disappearance of individuals by States constitutes an unacceptable violation of human rights. Acts tantamount to enforced disappearance of individuals by armed and terrorist groups also constitutes a gross abuse of human rights. This abhorrent practice places people outside the protection of the law, and thus potentially in great danger of physical violence and sometimes barbaric execution. In addition to causing unimaginable worry and anguish for the victims and their loved ones, this creates a generalized climate of fear and terror across entire societies.

国家强迫人员失踪是侵犯人权的行为，令人无法接受。武装团伙和恐怖团伙相当于强迫个人失踪的行为，也是严重侵犯人权的行为。这种令人憎恶的做法使人无法得到法律保护，因此很可能遭受人身暴力甚至野蛮行刑。除了对受害者及其亲人造成难以想象的焦虑和痛苦之外，这会在整个社会产生一种普遍的恐惧和恐怖的气氛。

Enforced disappearance was once employed mainly by military dictatorships. Increasingly it has become a tool of many States around the world – some operating under counter-terror strategies, or fighting organized crime, and others seeking to quash dissent and human rights activism.

强迫失踪曾经主要是军事独裁统治采用的做法。这种做法日益成为世界各地许多国家采用的一种工具——一些国家是在反恐战略或打击有组织犯罪的名义下采用的，另外一些国家是为了压制异议和人权活动而采用的。

On this solemn day, I reiterate in the strongest possible terms that under international law, no one should be kept in secret detention. Any person deprived of his or her liberty must be held safely in officially recognized and supervised locations that observe the rule of law. States should provide full information about the whereabouts of persons who have been disappeared. And they must effectively implement the right to the truth, justice and reparation for all victims and their families. Enforced disappearance is a practice that cannot be tolerated in the 21st Century.

在这个庄严的日子，我以最强烈的措辞重申，根据国际法，任何人均不应被秘密关押。任何被剥夺自由的人必须被关押在经官方承认和监督的安全法治地点。各国应提供失踪者下落的充分资料。而且，它们必须有效落实所有受害者及其家属了解真相权利，以及获得正义和赔偿的权利。 强迫失踪是在21世纪不能容忍的做法。

To date, the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which entered into force in December 2010, has been signed by 93 States and ratified by 43. It provides a sound foundation for fighting impunity, protecting disappeared persons and their families and strengthening the guarantees provided by the rule of law – including investigation, justice and redress.

《保护所有人免遭强迫失踪国际公约》于2010年12月生效，迄今为止，有 93个国家已经签署，并得到43个国家的批准。该《公约》提供了一个坚实基础，能打击有罪不罚现象，保护失踪人员及其家属，加强法治提供的保障——包括调查、司法和补救措施。

I urge all Member States to sign and ratify the Convention without delay. It is time for the universal ratification of the Convention and a final end to all enforced disappearances.

我敦促所有会员国不再拖延签署和批准该《公约》。现在该是普遍批准该《公约》和最终结束所有强迫失踪做法的时候了。