The 1980 U.N. Commission on Human Rights and the Disappeared

When the public debate began at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on the question of disappeared persons, the atmosphere in the huge assembly hall was tense and expectant. The public gallery was jammed with the wives and families of those persons who had been disappeared - arrested, tortured, imprisoned, or possibly killed by governments which refused to admit any knowledge or responsibility. The concerned audience came from all over the world. A few had even been disappeared themselves, but had managed to escape