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The Committee on Enforced Disappearances

Ariel E. Dulitzky
April 24, 2026

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) is the newest human rights treaty body. The CED was created by the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (Convention) and initiated activities in 2011. The Convention, in addition to the traditional functions of other human rights treaty bodies, grants the Committee innovative powers. Those tools, such as Urgent Actions and interventions in case of crimes against humanity, theoretically could help it respond more effectively to the specific characteristics of forced disappearances. CED’s birth and functionality during its first decade offer a great opportunity to assess the needs of new treaty bodies, the complementarity among different UN and regional human rights organs, and the effectiveness of old and new tools given to the Committee.

Full Citation

Ariel E. Dulitzky. “The Committee on Enforced Disappearances.” In The Oxford Handbook of the UN Human Rights System, Page 672 - 693 (April 24, 2026). View online.