Stichting De Facto Justice Submits Report to the United Nations on Enforced Disappearances in Transnational Repression

Date: January 2026

Stichting De Facto Justice has submitted a comprehensive report to the United Nations addressing enforced disappearances carried out in the context of transnational repression. The submission highlights patterns of cross-border abductions, secret detention practices, and structural accountability gaps that continue to enable serious human rights violations.

The report examines how enforced disappearances are used as one of the most severe forms of transnational repression, where states or their proxies target individuals living abroad to silence dissent, restrict civic engagement, or eliminate perceived opposition. It provides an in-depth legal and institutional analysis of how such violations occur and identifies deficiencies in national, regional, and international mechanisms designed to prevent and prosecute these crimes.

A significant focus of the report is the pattern of enforced disappearances linked to Türkiye’s transnational repression practices, particularly following 2016. The report documents multiple cases involving extraterritorial abductions, informal security cooperation between states, secret detention, and subsequent criminalization of victims under broadly interpreted counterterrorism laws.

The submission also identifies groups most at risk, including Hizmet volunteers in public roles, diaspora activists, individuals with insecure migration status, and family members of targeted persons. According to the report, these groups face disproportionate risks due to their visibility, community engagement, or lack of adequate legal protection.

The report highlights the severe human rights consequences of enforced disappearances, including violations of the right to liberty and security, denial of due process, psychological trauma, and erosion of trust in international protection mechanisms. It further evaluates existing accountability mechanisms such as UN treaty bodies, the European Court of Human Rights, and mutual legal assistance frameworks, emphasizing their limitations in addressing transnational cases.

Stichting De Facto Justice calls for urgent reforms to close accountability gaps. Among its key recommendations are the establishment of mandatory extraterritorial investigations, stronger judicial oversight of intelligence services, binding human rights safeguards in security cooperation agreements, and the creation of international monitoring and reporting mechanisms specifically addressing transnational enforced disappearances.

Through this submission, Stichting De Facto Justice aims to contribute to global efforts to combat impunity, strengthen international accountability frameworks, and ensure effective protection, truth, justice, and reparation for victims and their families.