On April 1st, 2025, Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) organized an important side event at the 58th Human Rights Council session at the United Nations in Geneva. The event was moderated by GHRD’s Charlotte Zehrer and featured several expert panelists: Isabelle Wachsmuth from WHO, Jamal Baloch, human rights activist from Balochistan, Ammarah Balouch, UN Women UK representative and human rights activist from Sindh, and Anwar Mehmood Rehman, Swiss politician and activist for the Ahmadiyya community.

GHRD, just last week, has released a report exposing the systematic use of enforced disappearances in Pakistan, particularly targeting ethnic and religious minorities such as Balochs, Sindhis, Hindus, Christians, and Ahmadis. Speaking on the findings, Charlotte Zehrer highlighted that enforced disappearances are used to suppress political dissent, silence activists, and exploit minority communities, with victims often vanishing without a trace while their families face intimidation, psychological distress, and economic hardship. The report underscores Pakistan’s failure to uphold international human rights obligations and the continued impunity of perpetrators, as domestic efforts to address the crisis remain inadequate. With at least 619 cases recorded in Balochistan alone in 2024, GHRD warns that the situation is worsening. On behalf of the organization, Charlotte Zehrer therefore called for urgent legal reforms, independent investigations, judicial accountability, support for victims’ families, and greater civil society involvement to combat this grave human rights violation.

Isabelle Wachsmuth, who serves as project manager at the WHO and has herself been to Pakistan, highlighted the highly traumatic impact that enforced disappearances have on victims and their families. From depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, to loss of self-worth and confidence – individuals who have been direct victims of enforced disappearances as well as their family members suffer even years after the occurrence of such traumatic events. Mrs Wachsmuth greatly emphasized the need to be solution-oriented, especially when it comes to delivering psychosocial support to victims and families. As an artist herself, she highlighted the role that art can play in therapy but also in awareness-raising all over the world, as it serves as a reminder for humanity and the shared struggle between oppressed people. She concluded by stressing that it is essential that organizations on the ground, in Balochistan and other regions, who provide therapeutic and support service are supported and their capacity enhanced by other states and the international community.

Jamal Baloch who is part of the human rights arm of the Baloch National Movement provided some more insights into the grim reality of the people in Balochistan. Balochistan is a region rich in resources, yet, its people continue to see little of the economic revenue. Any protest against the exploitation of the region or against the increasing numbers of enforced disappearances is met with brutal crackdown and even more enforced disappearances. Jamal Baloch highlighted the case of a mother who had already lost two of her sons to enforced disappearances by the Pakistani military forces and who kept returning every time a body was found to verify whether it was her third son who was still considered missing. Such fates are no single, tragic incidents in Balochistan, they are part of a widespread pattern of suppression of political dissidents and ethnic cleansing of Baloch people from their homeland. Mr Baloch concluded on a strong quote, saying that “everybody who has lived this, will agree that it is a genocide” and appealed to the United Nations to intervene and protect the people of Balochistan.

The next panelist, Ammarah Balouch, highlighted a gender-specific aspect of the cruel practice of enforced disappearances in Pakistan: the forced conversion and marriage of Sindhi girls. In 2024 alone, over 1,200 cases of forced conversions were documented in Pakistan, with nearly 850 occurring in Sindh, where young girls, some as young as 14, are abducted, forcibly converted, and married against their will. Beyond these horrors, Sindhi women face pervasive gender-based violence, honor killings, limited access to education, and early marriages, with over 2 million girls out of school in the region. Ammarah Balouch stressed that this constitutes a grave violation of human rights, particularly the CEDAW convention. She strongly urged the Pakistani government, civil society, and the international community to take immediate action by enforcing legal protections, ensuring access to education, and supporting survivors to break the cycle of oppression and injustice.

Anwar Mehmood Rehman, as the last panelist, stressed the precarious situation of Ahmadiyya Muslims in the state of Pakistan. Ahmadis face relentless persecution and enforced disappearances simply due to their religion. Through the Pakistani constitution and other decrees, they are forbidden from labeling themselves as Muslims, to have places of worship and to engage in Muslim traditions and prayers such as the Salat. Disobedience is punishable by death, which has instigated mob violence and vigilante justice against Ahmadis across the country. Mr Rehman highlighted a series of incidents that had occurred just a day before on the Muslim holiday of Eid, the end of the Ramadan month. Thousands of Ahmadi Muslims across Pakistan, but mainly in the capital, were prevented from entering places of worship and from celebrating this important holiday and were met with police forces when trying to enter buildings or even streets. Additionally, amplified by political hate speech, houses and properties belonging to Ahmadis were vandalized, with graffities citing the persecution laws and openly calling for the death of all Ahmadis.

All panelists stood united in one central demand: Enforced disappearances and the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities in Pakistan must end immediately. The culture of impunity must end, and accountability for perpetrators must finally be ensured. The United Nations and the international community play a crucial role in this cause. They must amplify the voices of the oppressed and must not forget their daily struggle. And they must apply pressure, both diplomatically and financially, on the state of Pakistan with a view to bringing to an end their horrendous practices as soon as possible. Their call for justice was met with applause in the room – whether it will be met with action now remains crucial.