E nforced Disappearance (“ED”) is 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 authorisation, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by an absence of information or the refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, thereby placing them outside the protection of the law.1 recent years as the African Commission has taken a number of decisive steps to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of this practice, as well as the need to eradicate it in the region. Based on the findings of this report, we make the following recommendations: • The relevant United Nations bodies should engage and follow up on ED in Africa, possibly by way of a thematic report by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (“WGEID”) given the invisibility of the practice. ED has been used as a tool of oppression all over the world in the context of internal armed conflicts, to oppress the population, to silence opposition and dissent, and to discriminate against minorities, among other things. • The African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights (“ACHPR”) should take steps to adopt as soon as possible guidelines for African States on the necessary measures to prevent and protect against ED. The use of ED in Africa can be traced back to colonial times when many colonial governments disappeared freedom fighters in order to silence them. Today, many African States use ED in a range of contexts against different groups of people, from human rights defenders to ethnic minorities, migrants and opposition leaders. • The ACHPR, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“AfCHPR”), and the ECOWAS Court should adopt a practice of considering existing international standards, commentary and jurisprudence when dealing with cases of ED and when carrying out their other promotion and protection activities. While it is clear that ED has been prevalent in the continent, the precise scale of the practice is difficult to assess. Many African States refuse to acknowledge the occurrence of ED, do not keep an official record of the crime and the victims, and are reluctant to investigate when it takes place. Many victims decide not to report the disappearance for fear of reprisals, lack of independence and due process of the authorities in the country, and insufficient awareness of the legal remedies available at the national, regional and international levels. • African States should consider the ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (“ICPPED”) and take all measures necessary to prevent and protect against ED in accordance with international and national guidelines. • African States should empower victims and those organisations assisting them to strengthen their capacity to seek justice, truth and reparations, and to enhance their ability to co-ordinate with other victims to conduct advocacy nationally and regionally. The absence of political will and awareness among African States to address ED is also reflected in the lack of adequate legal frameworks at the national level to prevent and protect against this crime. As a result, victims in Africa are left to face the consequences of the crime with no prospect of securing redress. • Civil Society Organisations, victims’ groups and their representatives should promote solidarity networks with the aim of strengthening regional platforms to assist victims in their advocacy and efforts to seek justice and reparations. Solidarity can maximise impact at the regional level to eradicate ED in Africa. At the regional level, ED has historically not featured prominently on the agenda of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the continent’s principal human rights body. Yet, this has changed in 1 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance ("ICPPED"), Article 2; Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 7; Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, Article II. 8