A Comparative Study of the States’ Obligations under “the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance” and the Iranian Law

Protecting people against enforced disappearances was briefly enshrined in some international human rights treaties and instruments, including UN General Assembly resolutions. Until the "International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance" was opened for signature in Paris on February 6, 2007 and entered into force on 23 December 2010. The main focus of this article is to examine the obligations of member states, including the criminalization of disappearances, the prosecution and trial of those accused of committing this crime, the lack of secret detention and transparent information about protected persons and compliance with these laws and regulations of Iranian domestic law. From the present study, it is concluded that in most cases, Iranian law is not in conflict with the above obligations and vice versa in many cases there is compliance. Specifically, similar laws apply to the human rights requirements set out in the Convention, including the absence of secret, unlawful and arbitrary detention, the need for a fair trial free from torture, the right to family information and the right of access to a lawyer and compensation in Iran. There are, but specifically and directly, no laws have been enacted regarding the criminalization of this offense and the prosecution of offenders. Finally, with proper legislation, the necessary alignment with the obligations set out in the Convention can be established.