Enforced disappearances in Bastar

In the context of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) forthcoming thematic report on enforced disappearances occurring in the context of the defense of land, environment and natural resources, to be presented to the Human Rights Council in September 2025 and at the General Assembly in October 2025, InSAF India along with Foundation the London Story, India Justice Project, and Indian Alliance Paris in collaboration with London Mining Network and Coal Action Network (UK) made a submission.

The submission addresses the pervasive issue of enforced disappearances in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India, where Indigenous Adivasi communities face systematic human rights violations by focusing on the challenges faced by Indigenous Adivasi HRDs in the Bastar Division of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. We outline the contributing factors, patterns, and impacts of these abuses, alongside recommendations for accountability and prevention, and case studies with analysis of the violations within the framework of international human rights obligations, including the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The systemic patterns of enforced disappearances in Bastar is part of a broader trend of state repression of Indigenous resistance movements against the militarization of Bastar and forcible takeover of ancestral lands for police camps, and mining and industrial projects.