Question of enforced or involuntary disappearances.

UN Commission on Human Rights (41st sess. : 1985 : Geneva), Question of enforced or involuntary disappearances., E/CN.4/RES/1985/20, UN Commission on Human Rights, 11 March 1985, https://www.refworld.org/legal/resolution/unchr/1985/en/7022 [accessed 10 November 2025]
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1985/20. Question of enforced or involuntary disappearances[1]66

The Commission on Human Rights, Bearing in mind General Assembly resolution 33/173 of 20 December 1978, in which the Assembly requested the Commission on Human Rights to consider the question of disappeared persons with a view to making appropriate recommendations, and all other United Nations resolutions concerning missing or disappeared persons, Convinced of the importance of continuing the implementation of the provisions of General Assembly resolution 33/173 and of the other United Nations resolutions on the question of enforced or involuntary disappearances, with a view to finding solutions for cases of disappearance and contributions to the elimination of such practices, Recalling its resolution 20 (XXXVI) of 29 February 1980, by which it decided to establish, for a period of one year, a working group consisting of five of its members to serve as experts in their individual capacity, to examine questions relevant to enforced or involuntary disappearances of persons, and its resolution 1984/23 of 6 March 1984, Recalling General Assembly resolution 39/111 of 14 December 1984, in which the Assembly welcomed the decision taken by the Commission on Human Rights to extend for one year the term of the mandate of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, as laid down in Commission resolution 1984/23 , Profoundly concerned about the persistence, in certain cases, of the practice of enforced or involuntary disappearances, Expressing its profound emotion at the anguish and sorrow of the families concerned, who should learn of the fate of their relatives, Conscious of the need for the Working Group to develop further its methodology in the light of the discussions held during the present session, Having considered the report of the Working Group,[2]67

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances for the work it has done and to those Governments which have co-operated with it;

2. Decides to extend for one year the Working Group's mandate, as laid down in Commission on Human Rights resolution 20 (XXXVI), and to study at its forty-second session the possibility of extending the term of the Working Group's mandate for two years;

3. Requests the Working Group to submit to the Commission, at its forty-second session, a report on its work, together with its conclusions and recommendations, and to bear in mind the obligation to discharge its mandate with discretion, so as, inter alia, to protect persons providing information or to limit the dissemination of information provided by Governments;

4. Requests the Working Group, in its efforts to help eliminate the practice of enforced or involuntary disappearances, to present to the Commission all appropriate information it deems necessary and all concrete suggestions and recommendations regarding the fulfillment of its task;

5. Reminds the Working Group of the need to observe, in its humanitarian task, United Nations standards and practices regarding the receipt of communications, their consideration, their transmittal to Governments and their evaluation;

6. Renews its request to the Secretary-General to appeal to all Governments concerned to extend to the Working Group their full co-operation, which is indispensable in solving cases of disappearance;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to invite the Governments of countries in which there are numerous cases of disappearance to envisage the establishment of a national body for investigations into disappeared persons and to answer requests for information addressed to them by the Working Group in connection with the measures they have taken in application of General Assembly resolution 33/173 .

8. Encourages the Governments concerned to consider with special attention the wish of the Working Group, when such a wish is expressed, to visit their country, thus enabling the Working Group to fulfil its mandate even more effectively;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the Working Group receives all necessary assistance, in particular the staff and resources it requires to perform its functions in an effective and expeditious manner, so as to reduce to the minimum any discontinuity in the activities of the Working Group;

10. Decides to consider this question at its forty-second session under a subitem of the agenda entitled "Question of enforced or involuntary disappearances".


[1]66 Adopted at the 51st meeting, on 11 March 1985, without a vote. See chap. X. [2]67 E/CN.4/1985/15 and Add.1.
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