According to the United Nations Convention for the Protection of All
Persons from Enforced Disappearance,
“Enforced disappearance is considered to be
the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of
liberty committed by agents of the State or by persons or groups of
persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the
State, followed by the refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty
or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person,
which place such a person outside the protection of the law.”
In Asia, involuntary disappearances are widespread. All these are
exacerbated by the present war against terrorism- as an aftermath of the
September 11, 2001 tragedy, for which the Asian region bears the brunt of
it. The consequent shift towards totalitarianism in a number of Asian
countries is a cause for alarm and a signal for an increase in future
cases of involuntary disappearances.
While the human rights movement in the Asian region has advanced, it is
threatened by the effects of the war against terrorism, one possible form
of which is involuntary disappearances. Thus, in the face of all these
atrocities and the imminent threat of future human rights violations, it
is imperative to strengthen the organizations of families of victims on
the national, regional and international levels and to ensure their
cooperation with similar formations in other parts of the world.
The majority of the families of the disappeared in the region come from
the marginalized sectors of society, who rarely have means to pursue their
cases. Unlike their Latin American counterparts who have made
breakthroughs in the fight against impunity and have achieved relatively
concrete gains in achieving truth, justice and redress and historical
memory, the families of the disappeared in Asia have not yet achieved
significant inroads in the fight against impunity.
What makes their situation all the more difficult is the absence of strong
regional human rights mechanisms which are necessary means especially when
local remedies are exhausted.
In Asia, existing organizations for the disappeared are conducting serious
investigations and campaigns for justice in their respective countries.
Unified in a regional level, these organizations gradually bring about
concrete results in projecting enforced disappearances as a regional
problem, in the fight for accountability and the end to impunity.
Considering the gravity of the situation of disappearances in Asia and the
richness of experiences obtained by national organizations working on this
issue, it is imperative that a distinct Asia-wide federation of
organizations of families of the disappeared be established and developed
further in order to project the particularities of the phenomenon of
disappearances in the Asia region.
The birth of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
on June 4, 1998 is a concrete organizational response to the regional
phenomenon of involuntary disappearances. So far, AFAD has performed the
task of highlighting the issue of disappearances in Asia and providing
pressure on Asian governments to respond to demands of accountability. The
resolution of past cases and the prevention of future ones can eventually
be facilitated through the strengthening of this existing regional unity
in the fight against impunity. Its struggle should be linked to the
struggle of civil society and grassroots organizations to ensure maximum
impact.
The experience of the Latin American Federation of Associations of
Relatives of the Disappeared-Detainees (FEDEFAM) and the concrete
victories it has garnered in more than twenty years of its existence are a
proof that regional cooperation indeed, effects a strong impact. The
situation of enforced disappearances in Asia is widespread but not widely
known due to the strict government control over related information. The
birth of AFAD has brought about a unified Asian voice on the issue. In
recent years, AFAD, together with FEDEFAM, the Euro-Mediterranean
Federation of Families of the Disappeared (FEMED), the We Remember-Belarus
and the International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED)
have been lobbying for the ratification of the United Nations
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances. The AFAD continues to speak strongly on the issue of
disappearances in Asia, therefore, has been heard nationally, regionally
and internationally. The AFAD's presence in international venues on the
issue of enforced disappearances is a voice loud enough to be heard by the
Asian governments who implicitly say that the problem of involuntary
disappearances belongs only to Latin America. Another value of AFAD's
formation is that the federation has facilitated an on-going process of
formulation of Asian particularities in relation to involuntary
disappearances- both in terms of political situation and organizational
response. Organizations within Asia are at different stages of
development because of varying internal and external factors and because
of their unique experiences. Thus, learning from the experiences and
expertise of organizations from other countries is necessary for mutual
enrichment. Strengthening cooperation ensures each and every member's
sustainability in this long-drawn struggle for justice for the
disappeared. The strength of the whole federation is the strength of each
member and vice versa. It is a known fact that we are in an era of
globalization. Governments are forming their own regional and
inter-regional entities for cooperation. Non-governmental organizations of
common concerns shall also unite and organize in order to confront the
increasing challenges of human rights work.
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances is a reaffirmation
to the families of the disappeared in countries across Asia as well as
other continents that they are not alone in the struggle. By forming an
Asian group of organizations focused on disappearances, it is important to
note that many countries in the region have repressive regimes, preventing
the existence of organizations focused on the issue of disappearances. One
big challenge for the federation is to facilitate the formation of
organizations focused on disappearances in countries that have none in
order to expand its reach to those families of the disappeared in other
countries who equally need support.
One particularity of Asia is the fact that Asian countries, unlike those
of Latin American countries have different languages, religions and
cultures. While this language and religio-cultural diversity is a
practical difficulty, this should pose as a challenge for enriching
further the solidarity.
I. Nature and Name of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary
Disappearances
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances is a federation of
human rights organizations and human rights advocates working directly on
the issue of involuntary disappearances in Asia. The federation was
established based on the common phenomena of enforced or involuntary
disappearances in many Asian countries and the imperative of regional and
international solidarity in order to strongly respond to the problem. The
perpetrators, being agents of states, are so powerful that a strong
response is needed to effect a huge impact. Since it is a violation of a
number of basic human rights, civil and political as well as economic and
social, the AFAD considers enforced disappearance as the cruelest form of
human rights violation.
The establishment and growth of a federation, whose own strength is drawn
from the intrinsic strength of its member-organizations and their
constituencies who are the families of the disappeared, is imperative in
order to respond to the latter’s needs. It intends to facilitate their
empowerment which is necessary for the realization of a world without
desaparecidos.
II. Guiding Principles of the AFAD
The AFAD is guided by the principles of mutual support among
member-organizations, transparency within the Federation and with other
regional formations, and sustainability of efforts.
The Federation adheres to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
the United Nations Convention for the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearance, the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Convention Against Torture and other
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment. The AFAD, who gave
its concrete contribution to the adoption of a new international treaty
which recognizes, among other things, the right to truth and the right not
to be subjected to enforced disappearances, adheres to and promotes the
ratification, entry into force and universal implementation of the
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance.
The AFAD likewise adheres to the principles of gender equality, care for
the environment and nature and non-discrimination.
III. Objectives of AFAD
AFAD, through its member-organizations, facilitates the search for the
disappeared with the intention of rescuing lives. The Federation’s general
objectives are:
1.
Promote and forge international solidarity among organizations of the
families of the disappeared in Asia and with similar formations in other
continents;
2.
Provide assistance to member-organizations in ensuring a stronger
response to the phenomena of enforced disappearances;
3.
Conduct campaign and lobby work in addressing the issue of enforced
disappearances in Asia, thus ensuring the attainment of truth, justice,
redress and the reconstruction of the collective memory of the
disappeared;
4.
Strengthen the capacity of the federation and its member-organizations
through various forms of empowerment and capacity-building activities.