Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai
Chairman
World Forum for Peace & Justice

March 17, 2026

When the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) opened its thirtieth session in Geneva on March 9, 2026 (will continue until March 19, 2026), it did so under a powerful and urgent slogan: “Victims First. Immediate Action.” The theme could not have been more timely. Across many regions of the world, enforced disappearances continue to devastate families and undermine the rule of law. For thousands of families in Kashmir, however, these words carry a particularly profound meaning — because for them the search for truth has lasted not years but decades.

The Committee on Enforced Disappearances is the body of independent experts responsible for monitoring the implementation of the ‘International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance’, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly twenty years ago. Composed of ten independent experts serving in their personal capacities, the Committee represents the international community’s recognition that enforced disappearance is one of the gravest violations of human rights.

Opening the current session, the Committee’s Chairperson Professor Juan Pablo Albán Alencastro and Ecuadorian Jurist reminded the world why the Convention was created in the first place. Twenty years ago, the international community affirmed unequivocally that no person may be removed from the protection of the law, and that enforced disappearance constitutes one of the most serious human rights violations imaginable. The Convention was meant to stand as a tribute to the dignity of victims and as a safeguard against the recurrence of such crimes.

Yet the Chairperson also warned that the global context in which the Convention now operates is increasingly troubling. Conflicts have multiplied, authoritarian tendencies have strengthened in many parts of the world, and narratives that seek to undermine the universality of human rights are gaining traction. In such circumstances, international mechanisms such as the Committee on Enforced Disappearances remain among the few instruments available to victims, seeking justice and accountability.

Professor Antti Korkeakivi, Chief of the Human Rights Treaties Branch at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, echoed this concern in his opening remarks. He noted that the Convention remains the only universal treaty specifically dedicated to preventing and eradicating enforced disappearances. At its core lie the rights of victims to truth, justice, and reparation. Yet he also warned that the human rights system itself faces unprecedented institutional and financial constraints, even as violations continue across the globe.

The Committee’s urgent action procedure has become one of the most important tools available to victims. Through this mechanism, families can bring cases directly to the United Nations when a person has disappeared, prompting the Committee to request immediate clarification from governments and to press for concrete steps to locate the missing. The existence of such a mechanism demonstrates that enforced disappearances are not relics of the past — they remain a daily reality in many regions of the world.

Unfortunately, Kashmir is among those regions where the pain of disappearance continues to haunt thousands of families.

According to Amnesty International, at least 8,000 people disappeared in Kashmir between 1989 and 2012. The United States Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices similarly noted that between 8,000 and 10,000 persons disappeared in Jammu and Kashmir between 1989 and 2006, according to human rights organizations. For the families left behind — mothers, fathers, spouses and children — the uncertainty has become a lifelong torment.

One of the most painful aspects of enforced disappearance is precisely this uncertainty. The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has repeatedly emphasized that disappearance is a continuing violation of human rights as long as the fate or whereabouts of the missing person remains unknown. In other words, the suffering does not end with the disappearance itself; it continues day after day, year after year, for as long as the truth remains concealed.

In Kashmir, families of the disappeared have often encountered formidable legal and political obstacles in their search for answers. Laws such as the ‘Armed Forces Special Powers Act’ (AFSPA) provide broad immunities to security forces, making prosecution in civilian courts extremely difficult without prior authorization from the central government. Human rights organizations have long argued that such provisions create a climate of impunity that discourages meaningful investigations.

Reports by civil society groups and international organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about arbitrary detention, torture, and disappearances in the region. A joint report by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) documented hundreds of testimonies describing torture and ill-treatment by security forces over several decades. Other investigations have uncovered unmarked and mass graves, some believed to contain the remains of those who disappeared during the conflict.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has also noted credible information regarding enforced disappearances and the urgent need for independent investigations into alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. The absence of accountability, according to the OHCHR, remains one of the most serious obstacles to justice.

The work of local human rights defenders has been central in documenting these abuses. Among the most prominent figures is Khurram Parvez, a Kashmiri human rights activist, coordinator of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society and Chairperson of Philippines-based ‘Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances’. Parvez and his colleagues helped produce a landmark 799-page report titled “The Structure of Violence,” documenting patterns of human rights violations in the region. Hard copies of the report were delivered to numerous international institutions, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office of the UN Secretary-General by Khurram Parvez himself.

Ironically, Parvez himself later became the subject of international concern. In November 2021, he was arrested under India’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a law that allows individuals to be detained for extended periods without formal charges. Amnesty International described his arrest as another example of the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation to silence human rights defenders and suppress dissent. Professor Mary Lowler, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders said, ‘Khurram Parvez is not a terrorist. He is a human rights defender.’ Khurram is considered to be one of the 100 most influential people of the world by US-based Time Magazine in 2022.

Parveena Ahanger, founder of Kashmir-based ‘Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, (APDP)” known in Kashmir as ‘iron lady ‘was awarded Norway’s Rafto Prize for international recognition to her work regarding disappeared persons in Kashmir, including her own son.

As the UN experts warned in recent statements, excessive security measures that violate human dignity may ultimately deepen divisions rather than resolve them.

This is precisely why the theme adopted by the Committee on Enforced Disappearances this year — “Victims First. Immediate Action.” — is so significant.

For the mothers of the disappeared in Kashmir who have marched silently for decades holding photographs of their missing sons, the demand is painfully simple: truth. They want to know what happened. They want the right to mourn with certainty rather than live with perpetual doubt.

The international community cannot claim to honor the Convention against Enforced Disappearance while ignoring the unresolved cases that continue to haunt Kashmir. Independent investigations, transparency, and accountability are not acts of hostility toward any state; they are essential steps toward justice and reconciliation.

Twenty years after the adoption of the Convention, the promise it embodied remains unfinished. The thirtieth session of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances offers the world an opportunity to reaffirm that promise.

For the thousands of families still waiting in Kashmir, the message must be clear: their voices matter, their suffering is recognized, and the search for truth will not be abandoned. Only then will the words “Victims First. Immediate Action.” become more than a slogan — they will become a reality.

Dr. Fai is also the Secretary General
World Kashmir Awareness forum.
He can be reached at: WhatsApp: 1-202-607-6435 or gnfai2003@yahoo.com
www.kashmirawareness.org