AFAD 25 Years Video Teaser

This AFAD video teaser is an opening salvo of the yearlong campaign and fight Against Enforced Disappearances and for the Protection, not Persecution, of Human Rights Defenders, across Asia.

a continuing crime
a disappearing act

What's Happening

Manila: It has been eight years since the disappearance of Sombath Somphone, a community development worker from Laos. The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) continues to stand in solidarity with Sombath’s family, friends, and other human rights defenders who struggle to know the whereabouts of Sombath.

On the International Human Rights Day and commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the precursor of landmark international human rights instruments, human rights defenders (HRDs) have reasons to celebrate. Today, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) hails its members who have courageously and steadfastly protected and promoted human rights and fundamental freedoms particularly the right not to be subjected to enforced disappearance (ED).

A Joint Statement on International Human Rights Day, 2020

(Bangkok, Geneva, Hong Kong, Manila, New York, Washington D.C., December 10, 2020) – The international community should take a strong stand for the protection of human rights in Bangladesh, seven human rights groups said on International Human Rights Day. As Bangladeshis grapple with the impact of Covid-19, the ruling Awami League has used the pandemic to tighten the screws on critics and the free press, further entrenching authoritarian rule.

Institutional Transformation Urgently Needed for Protection of Rights

Dhaka, 9 December 2020: International Human Rights Day heralds the universal call for protecting rights of all human beings without any form of discrimination. The protection of human rights is necessitated more than ever while a global pandemic hits the life and liberties of the citizens.

The Federation

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