Disappearances 28. An ‘enforced disappearance’ is defined in Article 2 of the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICCPED)239 as the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law. 29. The prohibition on enforced disappearances is absolute240 and the widespread or systematic use of enforced disappearance is a crime against humanity.241 30. Parties to the Convention undertake to:  investigate acts of enforced disappearance and bring those responsible to justice;  ensure that enforced disappearance constitutes an offence under its criminal law;  establish jurisdiction over the offence of enforced disappearance when the alleged offender is within its territory, even if they are not a citizen or resident;  cooperate with other states in ensuring that offenders are prosecuted or extradited, and to assist the victims of enforced disappearance or locate and return their remains;  respect minimum legal standards around the deprivation of liberty, including the right for imprisonment to be challenged before the courts;  establish a register of those currently imprisoned, and allow it to be inspected by relatives and counsel;  ensure that victims of enforced disappearance or those directly affected by it have a right to obtain reparation and compensation. 31. Enforced disappearances can engage a number of other rights including the right to life, right to liberty, protection from torture,242 due process rights and the right to a remedy. 32. Even where there is no direct evidence that a person has been abducted and detained by agents of the State, where the State fails to investigate properly a disappearance, this will amount to a failure to guarantee human rights, including protection from torture and the right to life.243 Similarly, a ‘refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the 239 Adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December 2006, entered into force on 23 December 2010. 240 Article 1, ICCPED. 241 Article 6, ICCPED. 242 Human Rights Committee, Communication 449/91, Mojica v. Dominican Republic, 15 July 1994 .243 Inter-American Court, Velasquez Rodriguez v Honduras, judgment of July 29, 1988, Series C, No. 4. 57