International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance

States parties to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED) are obliged to prevent, prohibit and criminalise enforced disappearance. The Convention considers "enforced disappearance" as any form of deprivation of liberty, which is carried out by agents or with the authorization of a state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty and the whereabouts of the person concerned.

Under the Convention, states parties must inter alia:

• criminalise enforced disappearances under all circumstances and without exception,

• ensure that the conditions, competences and procedures for lawful detention are foreseen by law,

• ensure that there is a register or official records that include a minimum amount of information on detained persons,

• guarantee that relatives of the victim and other persons directly affected obtain basic information concerning the whereabouts of the detained person,

• provide reparations and information concerning the fate of the victim.

The Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December 2006 and came into force on 23 December 2010. Switzerland ratified the Convention on 2 December 2016, where it came into force on 1 January 2017.

Each State Party must, within two years of the ratification date, submit to the Committee a (single) report on the measures taken to give effect to its obligations under the Convention. Switzerland presented its report in December 2018. In October 2019, the Committee requested additional information from Switzerland, in list form, in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Convention. Switzerland submitted its response in December 2019.

In April 2021, Switzerland presented its full report to the committee as part of a constructive dialogue on the implementation of the Convention at the domestic level. In its concluding observations, the committee asked Switzerland to provide further information in three areas. Switzerland submitted this information to the committee in spring 2022.