The world is witnessing a new and very worrying practice of extraterritorial abductions by states, a UN expert told the UN General Assembly yesterday, highlighting the case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Bernard Duhaime, Chair of the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, expressed outrage at the actions of states who continue to resort to enforced disappearance.

“Whether it is used to repress political dissent, combat organised crime, or allegedly fight terrorism, when resorting to enforced disappearance States are actually perpetrating a crime and an offence to human dignity,” he said.

“Now we are witnessing with outmost concern a new and very worrisome practice of the extraterritorial abductions of individuals in foreign countries through undercover operations, as also highlighted in our latest annual report.

“These abductions occur with or without the acquiescence of the host state, and while in most cases the victims reappear in detention after a short period, in other cases they remain disappeared – as in the recent shocking case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” he said, reiterating a call for an independent international investigation into the events, and the identification and prosecution of the perpetrators.

An interim report on standards and public policies for an effective investigation was presented by the Working Group to the Human Rights Council, which will be followed by an in-depth study on the practical implementation of the obligation to investigate enforced disappearances.

The Working Group invited all states, as well as families of the disappeared, civil society, UN mechanisms or agencies and other interested stakeholders to provide any relevant inputs that may contribute to the study.

Duhaime urged all Member States to ratify, without delay, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.