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Statements of AFAD
AFAD FOURTH
CONGRESS
1-5 June 2010
AFAD Second Congress
Remembering Munir
AFAD Second Congress
August 26-30, 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand
AFAD’s Mid-Year Report
Ding Zilin's
Message To
Hong Kong
Again, The KONTRAS – IKOHI Office Was Attacked
“ If they are dead, tell us”!
My sons, where are they? |
Statement of AFAD on the 1st Anniversary of the
entry into force of UN Convention Against Enforced Disappearance
23 December 2011
A Gift to Humanity, A Hope for the Future
Last year, the world received one of the best
Christmas gifts when the International Convention for the Protection of
All Persons from Enforced Disappearance entered into force, 30 days
after the deposit of the 20thinstrument of ratification by Iraq on 23
November 2010.
This new treaty is a gift to humanity as it
recognizes that enforced disappearance is a global phenomenon that must
be addressed globally. It is a major human rights concern of more than
90 countries based on the 2010 report of the UN Working Group on
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID), a thematic UN body
created in 1980 to monitor cases of enforced disappearances worldwide.
Asia is the continent that has the highest number of disappearance
cases.
The international treaty against enforced
disappearances is also a gift to the families of the disappeared as it
acknowledges that enforced disappearance brings havoc to the lives not
only of the direct victims who are forcibly taken by agents of the
States and denied access to legal safeguards by removing them from the
protection of the law but also to the victims’ families, who endlessly
suffer from the uncertainty of knowing the fate and whereabouts of their
loved ones.
It is no doubt a gift to every human person as it
guarantees the right not to be subjected to enforced disappearance.
It provides that enforced disappearance can never be
justified under any circumstances. The effective creation of a universal
jurisdiction is one of the most important parts of the Convention. It
also obliges States Parties to enact domestic laws that sanction
enforced disappearances as a distinct crime.
This important treaty is especially valuable for the
Asian region which is bereft of strong regional mechanisms for redress
and of distinct laws criminalizing this odious practice. As of this
time, 90 states have signed it and 30 are States-Parties. It is also
important that the competence of the newly established Committee on
Enforced Disappearances that accepts individual and inter-state
communication be recognized by as many states as possible. The Committee
on Enforced Disappearances can serve as a
vehicle to ensure full implementation of the anti-disappearance treaty.
In cooperation with the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances, it can go a long way towards the attainment of truth and
justice and ending impunity.
Today, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary
Disappearances joins the families of the disappeared and human rights
advocates around the world in commemorating the 1st anniversary of the
entry into force of this International Convention Against Enforced
Disappearance –a grand step in the fight against this global scourge.
For the families of the disappeared who struggled for years to make it a
reality, it is a gift and an inspiration to steadfastly make enforced
disappearance disappear from the face of the earth. In the words of the
late French Ambassador Bernard KessedjianBernanrd, “… make this huge
hope of yesterday, the reality of tomorrow.”
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MUGIYANTO |
MARY AILEEN
D. BACALSO |
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Chairperson |
Secretary-General |
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