The convention's most important clauses include:

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• Definition and Absolute Prohibition (Articles 1-2): ICED establishes an absolute prohibition on enforced disappearance, which is defined as the arrest, detention, or abduction of a person by state agents, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or to reveal the person's fate or whereabouts. No exceptional circumstances, such as a state of war or a public emergency, can justify this act.

• Criminalization (Articles 4-6): States are obligated to make enforced disappearance a crime under their domestic law, punishable by appropriate penalties. The convention also establishes the concept of command responsibility, meaning that a superior who knew or should have known about an enforced disappearance by a subordinate can also be held criminally responsible. It also recognizes that a widespread or systematic practice of enforced disappearance constitutes a crime against humanity.

• Jurisdiction and Non-Refoulement (Articles 3, 8-11): States must take measures to investigate acts of enforced disappearance committed by state or non-state actors. The convention establishes a system of universal jurisdiction, requiring a state to prosecute or extradite a suspect found within its territory, regardless of the suspect's nationality or where the crime was committed. Most importantly, it contains a non-refoulement clause, which prohibits states from extraditing, returning, or surrendering a person to another state where they would be in danger of being subjected to enforced disappearance.

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Rights of Victims and Protection

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The Convention provides a comprehensive framework for protecting victims and their families.

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• Rights of Victims (Article 24): The convention defines victims not only as the disappeared person but also as any individual who has suffered harm as a direct result of the enforced disappearance. Victims have a right to justice, and an enforceable right to reparation, including compensation, restitution, rehabilitation, and guarantees of non-repetition. They also have the right to know the truth about the circumstances of the disappearance and the fate of the disappeared person.

• Prevention and Safeguards (Articles 17-21): To prevent disappearances, the convention mandates states to maintain official registers of all persons deprived of liberty and to guarantee that they are held only in officially recognized and supervised places. It also ensures that a person's family, lawyer, or a judicial authority has access to this information. Secret detention is absolutely prohibited.

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Implementation and Monitoring

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• Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) (Articles 26-42): The convention established the CED, a committee of independent experts responsible for monitoring the implementation of the treaty. The CED reviews periodic reports from State Parties, considers requests for urgent action, and can receive and consider individual or inter-state complaints, provided the states involved have made the necessary declarations.