DISAPPEARANCE COMMON IN MANY LANDS – by Jim McDonald 

You could be taken at any time, day or night—at home, at work, while walking on the street.  Your captors, in uniform or civilian clothes, could forcibly take you away, providing no reason or legal warrant.  When relatives ask about your whereabouts, the same officials deny having arrested you or knowing your fate.  You are now a victim of enforced disappearance. 

This is just what happened to Sivasubramanium Raveendranath, Vice-Chancellor of Eastern University in Sri Lanka. He "disappeared" while at a science conference on December 15, 2006, and has not been heard from since. 

A few months before Raveendranath's "disappearance," the kidnappers demanded his immediate resignation in exchange for the release of his colleague, Dr. Bala Sugamar. Raveendranath resigned, and Sugamar was released. The university, however, would not accept his resignation. Working from the major Sri Lankan city of Colombo—since it was not safe enough at the university—he received several threats before his "disappearance," though it is still not clear from whom.  

Raveendranath was last seen by colleagues during a tea break between conference sessions. Reports suggest he was abducted by captors acting on behalf of the military. He suffers from heart disease, putting his life in even greater danger.  

Raveendranath's "disappearance" is not an isolated incident. On the contrary, there are 5,749 outstanding cases of enforced disappearance in Sri Lanka being reviewed by United Nations officials. Since 2005, hundreds have been forcibly "disappeared" by Sri Lankan security forces or armed opposition groups.  

Sri Lanka is hardly the only country where enforced disappearances take place; Algeria, Colombia, Nepal, the Russian Federation, and the former Yugoslavia also know such crimes. In the war on terror, the United States has also carried out enforced disappearances of terror suspects with the complicity of other governments. 

Neither do these crimes represent a new phenomenon. The first recorded use of enforced disappearance on a large scale was in Nazi Germany, when a 1941 decree provided for the secret transfer from occupied territories of individuals believed to be participants in resistance movements. Since then, hundreds of thousands more people throughout the world have been victims in this way. 

Enforced disappearance is a grave human rights violation and a crime under international law. "Disappeared" persons are denied the right to a proper arrest and to a fair trial.  They may be tortured, detained in poor conditions and eventually killed.   

The families of the "disappeared" persons become victims as well. They suffer anguish every day, not knowing what has happened to their loved one. They often encounter social isolation, as other relatives and neighbors are too afraid to offer aid or support.  If the "disappeared" person was the main breadwinner for the family, then the family can also suffer economic hardship. 

Responding to victimized families and the outcry from organizations like Amnesty International, the U.N. General Assembly adopted the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances (the Disappearances Convention)—a valiant promotion of human rights. Yet many countries, including the United States, have not yet ratified the treaty. They have not pledged to make enforced disappearance a crime under their national laws, nor to prosecute anyone responsible for the crime. 

Addressing the problem of enforced disappearances should not disappear from the agenda, especially after President Bush and other world leaders this week stressed the importance of human rights at the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York. 

National governments must take action to guarantee that victims of enforced disappearances are released or charged with a recognizable crime and given a fair trial. They must also bring the perpetrators of enforced disappearances to justice. Amnesty International urges the United States, Sri Lanka and other governments to ratify the Disappearances Convention.   

Governments should promote human dignity and the rule of law to ensure that Raveendranath's story does not remain the norm.