Vucic: The term "forcibly disappeared" emphasizes the circumstances under which someone disappeared

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, in the attached signed statement to the Declaration on Missing Persons, stated that the term "forcibly disappeared", which was normally used in the declaration, was not strictly a legal term, but rather emphasized the circumstances under which a person had disappeared, regardless of different legal qualifications according to international and national laws, RTV reports.

"This clarification is provided to avoid any misunderstanding or interpretation of the term 'forcibly disappeared' as 'enforced disappearance' which has a clear legal meaning defined by the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (2006)," the statement signed by Vucic said.

He added that a person could "forcibly disappear" as a result of an act committed by an individual, military, paramilitary, political, or other group or organization associated with the conflict.