Every year on 30 August, the world observes the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances – a day of remembrance and reckoning. It asks: What happens when a person disappears, authorities refuse to acknowledge what happened, and a family is denied the right to know whether their loved one is alive or dead? For Manipur, this is neither distant nor theoretical. Behind the statistics are names, families, photographs, unanswered petitions and mothers still waiting for sons and daughters who never returned.
The UN has chosen “Victims first. Actions now.” as the 2026 theme. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the only universal treaty specifically addressing enforced disappearance. It places victims’ and families’ rights to truth, justice and reparation at the centre of the observance.
International law does not regard enforced disappearance simply as a person going missing. It involves deprivation of liberty by State officials, or those acting with State support, authorisation, consent or acquiescence, followed by refusal to acknowledge it or disclose the person’s fate or whereabouts. The victim is thereby placed outside the protection of law. Unlike death, disappearance leaves families suspended between hope and grief, causing prolonged psychological, economic and social suffering. Women often become the principal searchers and may face intimidation or reprisals. Disappearance therefore violates not only the individual but also the family and society, and has often been used to spread terror.
Manipur has endured a long shadow of disappearance amid armed conflict, militarisation, allegations of arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings. The disappearance of C. Daniel and C. Paul, examined by the Supreme Court in Sebastian M. Hongray v. Union of India, became an important episode in State accountability. Yumlembam Sanamacha, a 15-year-old boy who disappeared in 1998, remains another emblematic case. Human Rights Watch documented allegations of disappearances, unlawful detention and extrajudicial executions, while the Families of Involuntarily Disappeared Association, Manipur (FIDAM) continues to seek justice for cases dating from 1980 to 2012.
The crisis that erupted on 3 May 2023 added another painful chapter. More than 30 people from Imphal were reported missing. Among the most traumatic cases were Phijam Hemanjit Singh and Hijam Linthoingambi, who disappeared in July 2023; images apparently showing them emerged months later. By April 2026, the High Court of Manipur had taken cognisance of litigation concerning enforced disappearances and at least 32 missing persons. A missing person does not automatically constitute enforced disappearance under international law, but every credible allegation involving unlawful detention, abduction or State involvement demands an effective, independent and impartial investigation.
The right to know the truth belongs to the disappeared, their families and society. The search for missing persons is therefore a legal obligation, not charity. India signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on 6 February 2007 but has not ratified it. Adopted on 20 December 2006 by the UN General Assembly and in force since 23 December 2010, the Convention provides a framework for prevention, investigation, accountability and protection. India should reconsider non-ratification, strengthen domestic law, investigate historical cases, protect families and witnesses, identify human remains and provide reparations.
Impunity cannot be the final answer. Families, human-rights defenders, witnesses and lawyers must be protected. Whether the alleged perpetrator is a State agent, armed group or another actor, deprivation of liberty followed by concealment of fate cannot be normalised.
Established by UN General Assembly Resolution 65/209 (2010), 30 August should be a day of action: demand a verified register of unresolved cases, reopen inadequate investigations, establish whereabouts, provide reparations and urge India to ratify the Convention. The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances provides an additional avenue, without requiring exhaustion of domestic remedies.
The disappeared can disappear twice – first physically, then from collective memory through silence, delay and forgetfulness. The second disappearance is preventable. We can remember names, preserve records, listen to families and demand accountability.
For Manipur, 30 August must therefore be more than remembrance. It is a demand: Find them. Tell us what happened. Give us justice.
Behind every disappearance is a human being; behind every human being is a family. Until the question “Where are they?” is answered, the story remains unfinished. Until truth, justice and reparation are delivered, 30 August must remain a day of resistance against silence, impunity and forgetting.
The disappeared must not disappear from history!!!
Leader Writer: MC Meetei
