 All over the world, people are seized and detained in secret, deprived of the protection of the law and their right to fair trial. They may be ill-treated, perhaps tortured or killed. Their families and communities suffer unending uncertainty and anguish. They may never know why their loved ones disappeared. Enforced disappearance is practiced by states in every region of the world, and non-state actors are increasingly adopting similar practices. Ten years ago, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance came into force. It prohibits enforced disappearances in every circumstance. Whether the goal is fighting terrorism, combating the illegal narcotics trade or caution criticism or activism, no authority may ever arrest, detain and abduct individuals without acknowledging and justifying that deprivation of liberty. For the tenth anniversary of this landmark treaty, we have launched a campaign to double the number of states ratifying the convention by 2022 in five years time. I am asking all of you to join this campaign. Stand up for human rights wherever you are. Check if your country has ratified the convention. Ask your governments to take action. No woman, man or child should be erased from the face of this earth.