Call for Papers: Disappearance Studies Conference, Abstract Deadline: March 20, 2026

August 30 – September 1, 2026 INCORE, Ulster University Derry-Londonderry Campus, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

INCORE (International Conflict Research Institute, Ulster University), in collaboration with the Journal of Disappearance Studies, invites contributions for its conference, scheduled to take place from August 30 to September 1, 2026, on the Derry-Londonderry Campus of Ulster University.

The Journal of Disappearance Studies, published since 2025 by Bristol University Press and edited by scholars affiliated with the University of Bristol, Durham University, and Ulster University, offers an interdisciplinary platform to examine the phenomenon of disappearance worldwide.

The conference will convene scholars, practitioners, policymakers, artists, families of the disappeared, and advocacy organisations to explore the socio-political, cultural, and economic dimensions of disappearance.

We welcome a wide range of contributions from all regions and disciplines. Formats can include academic papers, roundtable proposals, artistic works, and policy-oriented discussions that engage with the following themes:

● Disappearances as a Human Rights Violation

● State Responsibility for Disappearances by Non-State Actors

● Legal frameworks: Domestic regimes, International Humanitarian Law, and International Human Rights Law;

● Forensic techniques in the search for the disappeared;

● Transitional justice and victims’ rights to justice, truth, and reparation;

● Historical and contemporary perspectives on disappearances;

● Psychological, social, and political impacts of disappearances;

● International solidarity, activism, and resistance;

● Gender and feminist perspectives;

● Emerging dynamics of disappearance;

● Technologies of disappearance;

● Artistic and philosophical approaches to understanding disappearances.