The Convention established the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) to monitor the implementation of the Convention by its State Parties. It held its first session in 2011. The Committee on Enforced Disappearances is currently composed of 10 independent experts who are elected for a term of 4 years by States Parties.
Each State Party is required to submit, through the UN Secretary-General, a report to the Committee “on the measures taken to give effect to its obligations under this Convention, within two years after the entry into force of this Convention for the State Party concerned.” The Committee examines each report and address its concerns and recommendations to the State Party in the form of concluding observations.
In addition, a State Party may declare “that it recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals subject to its jurisdiction claiming to be victims of a violation by this State Party of provisions of this Convention.” A State Party may also declare “that it recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications in which a State Party claims that another State Party is not fulfilling its obligations under this Convention.”
Upon receiving reliable information of a serious violation of the Convention by a State Party, the Committee that a State Party may, “after consultation with the State Party concerned, request one or more of its members to undertake a visit and report back to it without delay.” Then, if “the Committee receives information which appears to it to contain well-founded indications that enforced disappearance is being practised on a widespread or systematic basis in the territory under the jurisdiction of a State Party, it may, after seeking from the State Party concerned all relevant information on the situation, urgently bring the matter to the attention of the General Assembly of the United Nations, through the Secretary-General of the United Nations.”
The Committee meets in Geneva and normally holds two sessions per year.
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances coexist side by side and seek to collaborate and coordinate their activities with a view to strengthen the joint efforts to prevent and eradicate enforced disappearances.
With respect to Canada, because it has neither signed nor acceded to the Convention, it is not impacted by any international monitoring created by the treaty.
In 2006, Canada assured the UN General Assembly that it is “pleased to support” the Convention. However, in response to the 2009 Universal Periodic Review of human rights in Canada, under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council, the Canadian Government stated that Canada is not considering becoming a party to CED.
One writer speculated in 2009 that a possible reason for Canada’s refusal to sign the Convention was that Canadian personnel were responsible for enforced disappearances in Afghanistan.