Rights groups condemn enforced disappearances in MENA region

Human rights organisations have marked the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances by issuing a stark warning about the scale of the crime across the Middle East and North Africa, where it has become a "systematic tool of repression" used to silence opponents and intimidate societies.

In a joint statement released on 30 August, international and MENA organisations described enforced disappearance as a deep wound in the human rights landscape of the region. They said it is no longer an isolated incident but a widespread political weapon, entrenched by impunity and weak rule of law.

The statement highlighted Egypt as one of the worst-affected countries, where rights groups estimate nearly 19,000 people have been subjected to enforced disappearance since 2013.

The fate of around 300 remains unknown, while hundreds of new cases are documented each year, including journalists, students and political activists.

Akmal Qortam, head of Egypt’s Conservative Party, urged the government to pass laws prosecuting those who conceal such crimes.

"The spread of the phenomenon requires strong accountability to confront all cases of enforced disappearance that citizens are subjected to," he said in a statement.

The report also cited other states where enforced disappearance has become entrenched.

In Algeria, thousands who went missing during the 'Black Decade' of the 1990s remain unaccounted for, amid official denial of justice. In Iraq, sectarian militias have left vast numbers disappeared during years of conflict. In Libya, the practice persists amid armed group rivalries and security chaos. In Yemen, the Houthi movement and factions backed by the UAE have been accused of operating secret prisons to hide opponents.

Syria remains one of the most notorious cases, with tens of thousands disappeared in the prisons of the now deposed Assad regime. Rights groups say their fate is still unknown despite political shifts in the country.

In the Gulf, the statement described the UAE and Saudi Arabia as presenting "a world of injustice and absence of justice behind a façade of development," where prisoners of conscience and political dissidents face intimidation and repression.

The organisations stressed that enforced disappearance is a crime that does not lapse with time and can constitute a crime against humanity.

They urged Arab governments, especially those mentioned in the report, to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, establish independent national mechanisms to investigate cases, and guarantee families their right to truth, justice and redress.

The statement also called on the international community to exert effective pressure on governments, support relevant UN mechanisms, and activate universal jurisdiction to prosecute perpetrators.

"Silence over these crimes prolongs the suffering of victims and their families," the statement concluded, insisting that confronting enforced disappearance requires genuine political will, independent justice and a more resolute international response.

The statement was signed by 10 organisations including Justice for Human Rights (Istanbul), Victims of Torture Organisation (Geneva), IFAV International (Belgium), Alkarama for Human Rights (Geneva), Human Rights Monitor (London), Cedar for Human Rights (Lebanon), Tawasol for Human Rights (The Hague), Free Voice for Human Rights (Paris), Egyptian Rights Council (Geneva), and Solidarity for Human Rights (Geneva).

The UN General Assembly designated 30 August as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances in 2010, to raise awareness of the practice, defined as the arrest or detention of a person by state agents or groups acting with state support, followed by a refusal to disclose their fate or whereabouts.

The UN says the crime is a grave human rights violation and may amount to a crime against humanity when widespread or systematic.