Remembering Fr. Rudy Romano: Reckoning the Past and Breaking the Silence

The eleventh of July is a special day for victims of enforced disappearance in the Philippines. It is a day of remembering the well-loved Redemptorist priest, Fr. Rudy Romano, who disappeared in Cebu City on July 11, 1985. A staunch defender of human rights during the Marcos dictatorship, Fr. Rudy became the voice of the voiceless farmers, workers and urban poor. He championed their issues in the many organizations that he headed: as executive secretary of the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace; chairperson of the Coalition Against People’s Persecution; vice chairperson for the Visayas of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and Cebu Oust Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism and Democracy, among others.

AFAD Statement on Traffic Police Abuses Experienced by Parvez Imroz, Council Member from Jammu and Kashmir

The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) denounces the ill treatment and physical manhandling by a traffic officer against AFAD Council member and Advocate Parvez Imroz, Chair of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday.

Based on accounts by APDP, on 2 July 2013 at 10:30 in the morning, Mr. Imroz was driving into the High Court complex in Srinagar with his nephew when DSP (traffic) police Riyaz Halwai approached his vehicle. He and his nephew were ordered to move in a different direction. Before allowing them the reasonable time to do so, DSP Riyaz was abusive and threatening, which was questioned by Parvez Imroz. As the policemen in Kashmir are not accustomed to being questioned and behaving decently with Kashmiris, DSP Riyaz got further infuriated, lost control, increased his abuses and physically manhandled Parvez Imroz. Perturbed with this behavior, Parvez Imroz protested and remarked that he will not remain silent on this abusive behaviour. DSP Riyaz then tore his shirt to fabricate and falsely implicate Parvez Imroz.

No to Torture! Punish the Perpetrators!

The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) calls on all States to STOP the practice of TORTURE and punish the perpetrators as it supports the commemoration of the United Nations’ International Day in Support of Victims of Torture Held every 26^th of June, this day is dedicated to create awareness and seek support to stop the practice of torture, considered by the UN as one of the vilest acts perpetrated by human beings to fellow human beings. The systematic and widespread use of torture is a crime against humanity. The International Day for Torture Survivors coincides with the entry into force 26 years ago today, of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It has been ratified by 153 countries as of June 25, 2013. Yet, its practice is still widespread.

AFAD@15: An Arduous Journey Under a Crystal Clear Sky

AFAD 15th Anniversary Statement

4 June 2013 - A decade and a half have passed since the founding of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD). Many Asian governments continue the practice of making people disappear while past cases remain unresolved. While they fail to hold the perpetrators accountable, victims and their families continue to suffer from this abominable scourge, which violates a number of human rights. Much as it wants itself to be rendered irrelevant, AFAD remains to be relevant.

The birth of AFAD had given voice to the voiceless, power to the powerless and presence to the disappeared in the Asian region. It has provided flesh and blood to solidarity which endeavors to transform shared aspirations into common actions towards a unified vision.