PRACTICE NOTE 5 19 WHAT IS ENFORCED DISAPPERANCE? STRATEGIC LITIGATION OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES IN AFRICA Enforced disappearance is a complex crime that involves the violation of a wide range of fundamental human rights. While the list of rights breached is not exhaustive, enforced disappearance often violates or threatens to violate the following rights: • Right to life • Right to liberty • Right not to be subjected to torture and ill-treatment • Right to recognition of the legal status of the victim before the law • Right to economic, social and cultural rights. Victims of enforced disappearance. According to the ICPPED, “victims” are those who have disappeared as well as any individual who has suffered harm as a direct result of an enforced disappearance. Victims include: • Those disappeared • Relatives • Friends and possibly others, including: • Lawyers, activists and those assisting victims • Communities, peoples and groups to which the disappeared belongs • Others that have suffered harm as a direct result of the crime.