BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Enforced disappearances: Impunity must end

Two families were finally able to get a sense of justice, 23 years after their beloved ones disappeared. The United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) has indeed rendered two new decisions regarding cases of enforced disappearances filed by TRIAL.

Fadil Ičić and Husein Hamulić were last seen in June and July 1992 in the hands of State agents, in life-threatening circumstances. Ever since, no one has ever heard of their fate and whereabouts, their disappearance being shrouded by impunity. In 2010, TRIAL filed complaints before the UN on behalf of the two men’s mothers and the sister of Mr. Hamulić.

The indifference shown by BiH authorities as well as their failure to shed light on those crimes has lead the HRC to consider that the relatives of the two men should also be regarded as victims of inhumane treatment.

The Committee also found BiH responsible for the violation of several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and urged BiH to compensate both families, offer them medical care, conduct an investigation into those crimes and bring the perpetrators to court.

Bosnia and Herzegovina now has to inform the United Nations of the steps taken to give justice to the Ičić and Hamulić families – the country has no more than 180 days to take action.

Chakra Bahadur Katwal, Tej Bahadur Bhandari and Gyanendra Tripathi are three names out of more than 1,300 disappeared during the Nepalese armed conflict (1996-2006).

What differentiates them from the many others? Their cases were heard by the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), which established the responsibility of Nepalese authorities for these disappearances, and urged that adequate reparation be given to their relatives.

These decisions sent a message of hope to the families of all victims of enforced disappearances in the country. But how do they translate into practice? The obligation of transforming these decisions into tangible measures relies on the Nepalese government. No such measures have been taken to date, placing the victims again away from justice.

“If Nepal wants to be perceived as a country governed by the rule of law, it must swiftly implement these decisions. A democratic State cannot remain mute over sorrows of its citizens marred by impunity”, says Philip Grant, Director of TRIAL.

Following the August 30 International Day of the Disappeared, TRIAL remembers all the disappeared during the Nepalese armed conflict and urges the Nepalese government to take every necessary measure to implement the HRC decisions with no further delay.