Guide to International Human Rights Mechanisms - Brookings

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Thematic Roadmap
Widespread arbitrary detention may amount to a crime against humanity, punishable by the
International Criminal Court (page 144).
Note that issues concerning poor living conditions during detention do not fall under this category,
and should instead be addressed by mechanisms concerned with torture and cruel or inhuman
treatment (page 31) or more generally considering the rights to adequate food, shelter and other
necessities of life (page 36).
DISAPPEARANCES.AND.MISSING.PERSONS
IDPs have the right to be protected against “disappearances” (Guiding Principle 10). A person is
“disappeared” under human rights law when he or she is detained by governmental authorities, or
by others acting with governmental consent or acquiescence, after which the government denies
the detention and/or refuses to state what has happened to the person or reveal where he or she
is located.
Disappearances may generally be brought to the attention of the Working Group on Enforced
and Involuntary Disappearances (page 76) at the universal level, and to the Inter-American
Commission (and Court) on Human Rights (page 171) (citing the Inter-American Convention on
Forced Disappearances of Persons), on the regional level.
They might also be brought to the mechanisms available for communications concerning arbitrary
killing if it appears that the victim has been killed (page 30) and/or arbitrary detention (page 34).
Disappearances on a massive scale may be appropriate for the mechanisms described in the section
on Large-Scale Violations of Human Rights (page 25). Disappearances may amount to a crime
against humanity punishable by the International Criminal Court (page 144).
In situations of armed conflict, humanitarian law requires the parties to facilitate efforts to trace
missing persons (Guiding Principle 16). The International Committee of the Red Cross (page 142)
offers a central tracing service in many such situations.
RESPECT.FOR.FAMILy.LIFE,.FAMILy.UNITy.AND.PRIVACy
IDPs have the right to respect for their family life. This means, among other things, that family members
should not be involuntarily separated and, if they do become separated, authorities should assist
them to reunify (Guiding Principle 17). This right also extends to privacy in family relations. Thus, for
example, shelters for IDPs that unnecessarily impinge on family privacy violate this right.
Issues concerning respect for family life may generally be brought to the attention of:
Guide to International Human Rights Mechanisms
for Internally Displaced Persons and their Advocates