Manila, 30 August 2016 – On this day, the International Day of the Disappeared (IDD), the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) pays tribute to the thousands of disappeared people in Asia and all over the world, and to their families.

This day was first commemorated 36 years ago by the Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared-Detainees (FEDEFAM) and was later adopted by similar formations in other parts of the world. Recognizing that the crime of enforced disappearance has reached a global scale, the United Nations officially declared this day as the International Day of the Disappeared in 2011.