A/80/302 lawfully conclude any agreement the foreseeable consequences of which would undermine the right of migrants not to be subjected to torture and ill -treatment. 74 G. Right to life 35. Externalization measures risk violating the right to life, which is protected in article 6 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The obligation to respect and ensure the right to life extends to reasonably foreseeable threats and life-threatening situations that can result in loss of life. States may violate the right to life even if such threats and situations do not result in loss of life. Specifically, States are also required to respect and protect the lives of all individuals on marine vessels and aircraft registered by them or flying their flag, as well as those individuals who find themselves in a situation of distress at sea, in accordance with their international obligations regarding rescue at sea. 75 36. Most frequently, arbitrary deprivation of life can arise as a result of excessive use of force in the context of border control measures, including pushbacks, pullbacks and interceptions. Leaving boats in distress, delayed search and rescue, pushbacks to the high seas without water or food and expecting that another State will bring assistance are tantamount to a life-threatening situation, violating the right to life. 76 Even when a situation does not result in loss of life, States can be in violation article 6 of the Covenant. There have also been cases of unlawful death in the third State after transfer or return. 77 H. Prohibition of enforced disappearance 37. The Special Rapporteur has already observed that the growing externalization of migration governance is one of the reasons for the increase in the risk of being subjected to enforced disappearance. Enforced disappearance constitutes multiple human rights violations, including of the rights to life and security of the person, to be protected from torture and ill-treatment, to receive information, to be recognized as a person before the law and to an effective remedy. 78 Enforced disappearance is prohibited in absolute terms under article 1 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Under article 2 of the Convention, enforced disappearance is considered to involve arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons acting with the acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person. 38. Pushback policies may lead to the disappearance of migrants owing to delayed search and rescue, criminalization of other actors providing emergency rescue, failure to register incoming migrants and removal of communication channels. 79 Specifically, when pushbacks involve the deprivation of liberty of migrants and the concealment of their fate or whereabouts, they amount to enforced disappearance regardless of the duration of the deprivation of liberty. 80 Deportations carried out __________________ 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 14/23 A/HRC/37/50, paras. 11 and 14. Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 36 (2019), paras. 7, 13 and 63. A/72/335, paras. 23, 25 and 33; and United Nations Support Mission in Libya and OHCHR, “Detained and dehumanized”, 2016. OHCHR, “Nowhere but back”, pp. 7–8. A/HRC/59/49, para. 20. A/HRC/59/49, paras. 6, 29, 32, 43–46 and 49. Committee on Enforced Disappearances, general comment No. 1 (2023), paras. 35 –36. 25-12609