A/HRC/RES/21/4 Deeply concerned in particular by the increase in enforced or involuntary disappearances in various regions of the world, including arrest, detention and abduction, when these are part of or amount to enforced disappearances, and by the growing number of reports concerning harassment, ill-treatment and intimidation of witnesses of disappearances or relatives of persons who have disappeared, Recalling that the Convention sets out the right of victims to know the truth regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance, the progress and the result of the investigation and the fate of the disappeared person, and sets forth State party obligations to take appropriate measures in this regard, Recalling also that no exceptional circumstance whatsoever may be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearance, Recalling further that no one shall be held in secret detention, Recognizing that enforced disappearance has special consequences for women and vulnerable groups, especially children, as they most often bear the serious economic hardships that usually accompany a disappearance and, when they are subjected to disappearance themselves, they may become particularly vulnerable to sexual and other forms of violence, Acknowledging the fact that acts of enforced disappearance may amount to crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, I. International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 1. Recognizes that the implementation of the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance will be a significant contribution to ending impunity and to the promotion and protection of all human rights for all; 2. Welcomes the entry into force of the Convention on 23 December 2010, as well as the work achieved by the Committee on Enforced Disappearances during its two first sessions, and encourages all States parties to the Convention to support and promote the Committee’s work and to implement its recommendations; 3. Calls upon all States that have not yet signed, ratified or acceded to the Convention to consider doing so as a matter of priority, and to also consider the option provided for in articles 31 and 32 of the Convention regarding the Committee on Enforced Disappearances; 4. Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue their intensive efforts to assist States in becoming parties to the Convention, with a view to achieving universal adherence; II. Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 5. Recognizes the importance of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as a body of principles for all States designed to punish enforced disappearances, to prevent their commission and to help victims of such acts and their families to seek fair, prompt and adequate reparation; 6. Notes that 2012 marks the twentieth anniversary of the adoption by the General Assembly of the Declaration; 7. 2 Urges all States to promote and to give full effect to the Declaration;