The spokesman of 'Defence for Human Rights' (DHR), Khalid Khwaja, expressed dismay over the callous attitude of the rulers towards the miseries of the missing people's relatives. "It is unfortunate that the new government, claiming to be people's government, is not ready to release the missing persons or tell their relatives about their whereabouts", he told Business Recorder here on Saturday.
The human rights organisations and families of disappeared people around the globe had to mark August 30 as 'International Day of the Disappeared'. On the day, they would have called on their heads of state and governments to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances. But the day passed unnoticed in Pakistan as no function was arranged.
About reason for not holding any function Khalid said that it was unfortunate that Pakistan was dragged into power game and no one was ready to talk about the missing people. "Even media were not prepared to pay any heed to the plight of the families of missing people", he added. He said that political leadership and government were busy in power game and making constitutional amendments.
But the matter regarding the release of the missing persons needed no constitutional amendment or judgement, he said, adding that voice of relatives was crushed in the noise of power politics. Defence for Human Rights (DHR) is an organisation striving for recovery of the disappeared people. More than 600 people belonging to all walks of life were missing.
He said that the number of missing people was more than 5000, but people from Balochistan and tribal areas were not coming to the organisation. "More than 600 people are registered with us and many are not gathering courage to come out or financial constraints are keeping them away from raising voice", he added.
Forced disappearance is one of the most serious violations of human rights and it is an international crime. The disappeared person is deprived of all his/her rights and he/she remains totally defenceless in the hands of his/her torturers without protection given by the law of the land.
Forced disappearance means by itself the denial of being human and this practice causes severe sufferings the relatives and friends of the disappeared. The eternal wait for his/her return and the constant uncertainty about the fate and whereabouts of the loved ones is an ongoing torture for mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, partners, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters of the disappeared person.
Since 1981, associations of relatives of disappeared people, non-governmental organisations, governments and international organisations have made all-out efforts to end the inhuman practice as per the United Nations threats against enforced disappearance. Finally, on 20 December 2006, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted by consensus the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
All states of the world must assume as a priority the prompt entry into force of the Convention and its effective implementation. Indeed, the full implementation of its provisions will constitute a critical development in strengthening human rights and the rule of law, both locally and internationally.