Enforced Disappearances

‘The practice of enforced disappearances is one of the most brutal violations of various human rights, not only of the direct victims but also of their relatives, who are often left for decades between hope and despair. This book provides an excellent overview of the universal challenges of fighting the crime of enforced disappearances through evolving international human rights standards and mechanisms. Grazyna Baranowska and Milica Kolakovic-Bojovic have curated a remarkable and important publication at the frontier of academic research and practitioners’ experience on enforced disappearances.’ Manfred Nowak, Secretary General of the Global Campus of Human Rights; former UN Expert on Disappearances (2001-06), former Member of the UN Working Group on Involuntary or Enforced Disappearances (1993-2001) and former UN Expert in Charge of the Special Process on Missing Persons in the Former Yugoslavia (1994-97)‘This collection of essays could not have come at a better time as the first ever World Congress on Enforced Disappearances is to be held in Geneva in January 2025. It benefits from the immense knowledge but also the unvaluable experience of the editors and the authors, who have all been associated to the work of international expert bodies in the field. Must-read.’ Olivier de Frouville, Professor of international law at Paris-Pantheon University and President of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances‘From its introduction, the book edited by Baranowska and Kolaković-Bojović sets the framework for the compendium through the testimonies of the families of the disappeared: desperation, uncertainty, the need -and right- to search tirelessly, the psychosocial impact. It is the correct way to tackle the crime of enforced disappearance, the necessary starting point for a kind of study that cannot remain in the coldness of the law. The book overwhelmingly exposes the current scenario on enforced disappearances at local, regional and universal levels. And it does so through former and current members of the specialized international mechanisms and high-level researchers, which makes it an essential resource not only for academics, but also for practitioners.’ Luciano Hazan, former member of the CED and the WGEID, and the coordinator of the legal team of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo

Grażyna Baranowska is a Senior Researcher at the Hertie School, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and member of the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances. Her first book Rights of Families of Disappeared Persons (2021) examined how international bodies in Europe address the needs of the families of forcibly disappeared persons.

Milica Kolaković-Bojović, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research, Belgrade and the Vice President of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances. Her research interest and fields of expertise are focused on criminal justice, justice system reform, human rights and harmonization with international standards. Since 2021 she is also a member of the ICC Advisory Committee on nomination of judges of the International Criminal Court.