“Disappearances” and political killings: human rights crisis of the 1990s: a manual for action

This report is part of a campaign launched by AI to combat “disappearances” and political killings all over the world. Chapters 1-6 of this report are case studies, describing patterns of “disappearance” and extrajudicial execution in Iraq, Colombia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Morocco. Chapter 7 discusses the concepts of “disappearance” and political killings and analyzes how they are carried out, giving examples. Chapter 8 describes the development of international human rights instruments which prohibit these abuses and chapters 9-11 deal with prevention, investigation and bringing the perpetrators to justice. The work of the UN and other intergovernmental organizations to tackle these violations is discussed in chapter 12. AI’s policy on and action against killings by armed opposition groups is discussed in chapter 13 and chapter 14 discusses the work of relatives, human rights organizations and other governments to stop “disappearances” and political killings.

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