On 15-16 January, the Department for the Execution of Judgments participated in the World Congress on Enforced Disappearances, held in Geneva for the first time.
The Congress was co-organised by the Convention against Enforced Disappearances Initiative, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The main aim of the event was to promote intergovernmental dialogue and exchange on best practices in the fight against enforced disappearances. Speeches were delivered by representatives of several States, including Council of Europe member States (Armenia, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, and Switzerland), and of international organisations, by academics, victims, and representatives of civil society. Representatives of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly also intervened.
The Department submitted, as a written contribution, its Memorandum of December 2024 on the characteristics of possible mechanisms to search for persons who disappeared during the conflicts in the Chechen Republic and neighbouring areas (H/Exec(2024)18), which will be annexed to the report to the Congress.
This memorandum has been prepared in the framework of the Committee of Ministers’ (CM) examination of the group of cases Khashiyev and Akayeva v. Russia. At the last examination in December 2024, the Committee underlined the importance of the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which provides for a comprehensive legal framework for addressing enforced disappearances, and of co-operation with UNWGEID.
In line with the Committee of Ministers’ strategy for the supervision of the execution of the cases against the Russian Federation (CM/Del/Dec(2024)1514/A3, § 5), the Department established or further developed working contacts and held informal exchanges with the staff of several international bodies (including WGEID, OSCE, a UN Special Rapporteur) and non-governmental organisations (including EHRAC, Memorial, OVD-Info, Russian Justice Initiative) with regard to the execution of the judgments against the Russian Federation – in particular, concerning the conflicts in the Chechen Republic and neighbouring areas. Informal exchanges were also held with victims of enforced disappearances from the Chechen Republic and Ukraine.
Last CM decision in the group Khashiyev and Akayeva v. Russia (Notes)
