new standards and strengthens others that were already stated in the Declaration. The inclusion in the Convention of a monitoring body is also a major difference between both instruments. The Convention is divided into three parts. Part I contains the substantive provisions and focuses primarily on the obligations of States parties to prevent and punish such crimes. Part II establishes the Committee on Enforced Disappearances. Finally, Part III contains the formal requirements regarding signature, entry into force, amendments and the relationship between the Convention and international humanitarian law. It also notes that any provisions which are more conducive to the protection from enforced disappearance found in international or domestic laws should be applied. The Convention represents significant progress in international law, in particular by defining the non-derogable right not to be subjected to an enforced disappearance.4 According to article 2, “‘enforced disappearance’ is considered to be 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.” The Convention affirms that enforced disappearance constitutes a crime against humanity when practised in a widespread or systematic manner. It creates an obligation on States to make the offence of enforced disappearance punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account its extreme seriousness. Regarding the statute of limitations, the Convention states that the term of limitation begins from the moment when the disappearance ceases, taking into account its continuous nature. Among the measures intended to prevent enforced disappearances, the Convention includes the express prohibition of secret detention and calls on States to guarantee minimum legal standards around the deprivation of liberty, such as the maintenance of official registers of persons deprived of liberty with a minimum of information and the authorization A non-derogable right is a right that may not be restricted or suspended, even in times of war or other public emergency. For instance, the right to life and the right to be free from torture are non-derogable. 4 8