AFAD Statement on
Commemoration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
10 December 2010
The Right to Defend Human Rights
Everyone has rights. Defending one’s rights and that of others is in
itself a right as well as an obligation. This is the life-preserving
message of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted
on 10 December 1948 by the
United Nations General Assembly in response
to the horrors of the past. This document has become a basic foundation
for building a just, peaceful and humane world.
Sixty-two years since its adoption, its message remains relevant as
human rights violations continue unabated in all nooks and cronies of
the world. Millions of people all over the world are relentlessly made
to suffer from the curtailment of their basic right to life and liberty.
Enforced disappearance is one of the gravest forms, if not the gravest
of human rights violations ever known in history. It is a deprivation of
life and freedom and a furtive manner of taking away a person without a
trace. Its traumatic effects undoubtedly extend to the victims’ next of
kin as it produces severe anguish of not knowing the fates and
whereabouts of the victims because of the continuous refusal of the
state to acknowledge the disappearance of the person. Especially in the
context of poverty in many Third World countries and where most of those
who were made to disappear were men, the sufferings of the victims’
families are aggravated by economic hardship brought about by the sudden
loss of breadwinners.
Since the period when enforced disappearances were first committed on
a gross and systematic scale by Nazi Germany during the 2nd
World War under the
Nacht und Nebel Erlass
(Night and Fog Decree), lamentably, enforced disappearance persists in
many countries the world over. It then spreads throughout the globe,
first in Latin America in the 70s under the iron hands of military
regimes and later became evident in many other countries.
It is used as the most convenient tool of states to quell dissent and
eliminate political opposition.
Precisely due to its seriousness, it is considered a crime against
humanity under international law.
The adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All
Persons from Enforced Disappearance by the UN General Assembly in 2006
and its entry into force on 23 December 2010 following the deposit of
the instrument of ratification by Iraq is a
strong global response to end the phenomenon of enforced disappearance.
The Convention is a concrete legal measure, which when put in place and
complemented with domestic legislation, can be an effective tool to help
strengthen governments' capacities to prevent disappearances, punish the
perpetrators and provide justice and redress to victims and their
families.
While Asia is the continent which has the highest cases of
disappearances reported in recent years to the UN Working Group on
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance (UNWGEID), most Asian countries
are not yet signatories and parties to this very important human rights
treaty. Enforced disappearance is continuously carried out in this
region with impunity allowing perpetrators to escape accountability
while victims and their families continue to suffer from the lack of
mechanisms for redress.
Today, as we commemorate the International Human Rights Day, the Asian
Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) once again strongly
urge all Asian governments to promote, protect and fulfill the Asian
peoples’ fundamental rights by signing and ratifying
the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearance. By doing so, they can contribute in making human
rights a reality in the region
where there is no
law combating enforced disappearance and a strong
regional mechanism for human rights protection.
Today, we also pay tribute to the great men and women who treaded the
arduous path in defense of human rights and had sacrificed their lives
for the cause of the disappeared and all other victims of human rights
violations. They will always serve as our inspiration to continue
working for and defending human rights at all cost. By following their
example, we recognize that defending human rights is not simply a choice
but a mission for all humanity.
Signed and authenticated by:
 |
 |
|
MUGIYANTO |
MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO |
| Chairperson |
Secretary-General |
