On the Occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance
(August 30th)
Justice for Human Rights (JHR)
19 August 2026
To shed light on a crime that its perpetrators seek to keep buried in silence and denial — and whose victims they seek to keep absent, when in truth they are forcibly disappeared inside undisclosed places of detention — and as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance approaches, Justice for Human Rights (JHR) launches tomorrow, Thursday 20 August 2026, a campaign against enforced disappearance titled “Where Are They?”, under the slogan: “They Are Not Absent — They Are Disappeared.”
Enforced disappearance in Egypt is no longer a matter of individual violations that can be overlooked. It has become an institutional policy that strips citizens of their legal protections, denies their families the right to know their fate, and entrenches a permanent state of impunity.
Most alarmingly, Egyptian authorities use enforced disappearance as a strategic instrument to instill fear within society. The sense of insecurity generated by this practice does not affect only the relatives of the disappeared — it extends to society as a whole.
Despite continuous human rights documentation, official attempts to circumvent reality persist — either through outright denial, or through claims of “voluntary disappearance” or the characterization of cases as mere “isolated exceptions.”
The campaign aims to confront the policy of official denial, to pressure for compliance with international standards, to refute claims of isolated incidents through the systematic documentation of the pattern of violation, and to support and stand in solidarity with the families of victims of enforced disappearance.
Principal Demands of the Campaign:
- Immediate signature and accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, without reservations that would strip its provisions of legal content.
- Immediate disclosure of the fate and whereabouts of all forcibly disappeared persons, enabling them to communicate with their families and lawyers, and referring them to independent judicial authorities or releasing them without delay.
- Serious compliance with the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism on enforced disappearance issued in January 2025, and an end to the ongoing dismissal and disregard of UN mechanism reports.
- Opening of independent and impartial investigations into all documented complaints and testimonies regarding enforced disappearance, and the accountability of those involved — to end the policy of impunity and ensure non-recurrence.
The campaign includes the publication of visual posters featuring images of some victims of enforced disappearance, so that their faces and names rise above the cold numbers and data.
We call upon:
- Journalists and media outlets: to cover the dimensions of this crime and to report on the campaign’s outputs — legal documents and testimonies.
- Diplomatic missions and UN mechanisms: to take firm positions pressing Egyptian authorities to honor their international commitments.
- Activists and the public: to participate and show solidarity by posting under the official campaign hashtags: #Where_Are_They and #Enforced_Disappearance
Disclosing the whereabouts of the forcibly disappeared and holding those responsible for their disappearance accountable are the necessary first steps toward restoring the rule of law and protecting the security of society.
Justice for Human Rights (JHR)
