Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The year 2005 will soon end with AFAD’s deep sense of fulfillment over the approval of the text of United Nations Draft International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

Together with other organizations of families of the disappeared, AFAD celebrates the well-deserved victory. It was the greatest achievement of the international movement against involuntary disappearances of which AFAD is an integral part.

For the Asian families of the disappeared, there can be no other apt response to the continuing phenomena of enforced or involuntary disappearances in the region than the approval of the Convention’s text by the United Nations inter-sessional open-ended Working Group to draft a Legally-Binding Instrument for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. AFAD, who bore the brunt of persecution of its own human rights defenders, continues to work in the context of Asia’s intensifying human rights violations.

What has AFAD done during the year in order to concretize the three components of its work, e.g. lobby; campaign and public information; solidarity? Administratively, what was the situation that contributed to and/or hindered the Federation’s attainment of its mission, vision and goals?

International Solidarity

AFAD, together with its sister-federations and organizations, declared 2005 as the year of the Convention. Lobbying for the Convention has been AFAD’s central task for 2005. Thus, the Federation’s time and resources were allotted to lobbying efforts. All the other efforts complemented the attainment of the central objective.

AFAD, through its Secretary-General, participated in the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. It was an opportunity to reiterate, in an oral intervention and direct lobbying with governments, the alarming phenomena of enforced or involuntary disappearances in Asia and the Federation’s appeal on all governments to support the draft convention. It was also an opportunity to present to the international community AFAD’s video production and book entitled, “ Healing Wounds, Mending Scars.”

On the occasion of the 75th session of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. In between sessions during the training, the AFAD member-organizations and its Secretary-General took turns in presenting individual cases and general situations to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. Actual lobbying efforts with the Thai Senate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were collectively done.

To put into immediate action the knowledge acquired from the training, the AFAD Council decided to conduct an Asian lobby tour.  Similar to the European tour held in November 2004, the Asian tour was intended to visit government offices, foreign embassies and strategic NGOs in selected Asian countries, e.g. Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. He ld on the last week of July to the first week of August,  the tour was conducted by AFAD Secretary-General, Aileen Bacalso; IKOHI Chairperson, Mugiyanto; OPFMD Legal Adviser  Kumarage. In the Philippines  where both FIND and the AFAD Secretariat are based, FIND Secretary-General Louie Crismo and the AFAD Secretary-General tried its best to convince the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the Convention.  The tour enabled AFAD to present  to the above-mentioned government authorities its appeal for support.

The Asian tour resulted in a promise by the Sri Lankan government, through its former Prime Minister and now president of the country, to support the Convention. The rest of the governments, except the Philippines, were present during the final session of the United Nations Inter-sessional Open-ended Working Group to Draft a Legally Binding Normative Instrument for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary disappearances. Thailand maintained a silent position, while Indonesia, which is presently the Chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, was not supportive, to say the least. Despite efforts to invite the Philippine delegation, it was absent during the final session. While AFAD could only do so much in terms of convincing Asian states to support the convention, it hopes that Asian governments will eventually support the Convention or at least, not oppose it.

On the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared on August 30, 2005, the envisioned Solidarity Concert, with a theme, “Seeking,” was organized by AFAD. Performed in the context of enforced or involuntary disappearances in Asia and the imperative of an international treaty, popular and progressive Philippine artists sang songs that depict the day-to-day situation of the families of the disappeared. About seven hundred people joined the concert. An AFAD theme song, entitled Desaparecidos. Another resolution of the said Training Seminar is to create public awareness by holding a concert. Indeed, was launched.

Ever-consistent in following the sessions of the inter-sessional open-ended Working Group to Elaborate a Draft Legally-Binding Normative Instrument for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, AFAD attended both sessions – in January and September. Through its Secretary-General and during the final session, with the presence of its member-organizations from India (Kashmir), Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, AFAD echoed the voice of the families of the disappeared through its active participation during the sessions and ensuring that provisions of the draft treaty would not contradict the very purpose of the international instrument.

AFAD was able to witness the long-awaited victory, which is the approval of the text of the United Nations Draft Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. It has proven that its consistent presence and active participation in all the sessions of the Working Group for the Draft Convention has shattered the myth propagated by not-sofriendly governments that enforced or involuntary disappearance is a past issue that solely belongs to Latin America. It has helped convinced governments of the need for an international legally-binding instrument to protect people from this despicable crime.

Corollary to the efforts to achieve an international covenant is the local lobbying in the Philippines so that the present bill criminalizing enforced disappearances will finally be enacted into law. AFAD had been present in many meetings in the House of Representatives to discuss and finalize the text. Already, the final version of the proposed law was approved by the Technical Working Group of the House of Representatives. Efforts in the Senate will still have to be stepped up in order to give birth to a national law.

The AFAD Secretariat continues to relate with the diplomatic community by responding to its invitations for participation to their different functions. It has attended functions of embassies based in Manila, e.g. Royal Netherlands Embassy, Swiss Embassy, French Embassy, Canadian embassy and the European Union.

Campaign and Public Information

To complement the work of lobbying, AFAD simultaneously carried out its campaign and public information work. Thus, in the first quarter of the year, in the month of February, AFAD launched its second book, entitled “Healing Wounds, Mending Scars.” Funded by the Swiss Embassy in Manila, the book contains testimonies of family members of the disappeared in Asia and in other continents who attended the First Sharing of Experiences of Asian Families of the Disappeared. The book was distributed to the government delegations at the UN; foreign embassies based in different Asian countries; government agencies, NGOs, families of the disappeared, etc. The embassy of Switzerland commented that its partnership with AFAD vis-à-vis the book project was excellent.

A video version of “Healing Wounds, Mending Scars,” funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy, was also launched on February 28, 2005 in order to present moving images of family members of the disappeared who attended the Jakarta  Conference and to depict the commonality of the pain and struggle of the families of the disappeared world-wide. Funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the video was presented at the United Nations in Geneva and Bangkok and in the Netherlands. It will continue to serve as a material to project both the issue of enforced or involuntary disappearances and AFAD as a Federation.

Its bi-annual publication, The Voice has consistently been released twice during the year. It served as the voice of the Federation. Almost 100 percent of the copies were distributed to people interested in the issue and other sectors of society. It has received good feedbacks from interested readers in different countries.

On April 20, 2005, the AFAD  Secretariat, in cooperation with the local human rights community, commemorated the first death anniversary of Aasia Jeelani, APDP volunteer and editor of Voices Unheard who was killed in a landmine blast on the same date last year. Held in theBantayog ng mga Bayani or Monument of Heroes, the activity was done in a form of a film presentation on the life of Aasia and a reflection session that gave tribute to the martyr.

The AFAD Secretariat also in cooperation with the local human rights community, commemorated the first death anniversary of Munir on September 7, 2005.  The activity was attended by representatives of different NGOs and staff members of FIND. In an earlier press conference, together with KontraS and IKOHI, AFAD announced that it would hold simultaneous pickets in front of the Indonesian embassies in different countries if the case of Munir would not have been resolved. Indeed, on that day, simultaneous activities to protest against the Indonesian government’s utter failure to resolve the case were held in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. A statement was issued to this effect

It was the second picket held by the AFAD Secretariat, in cooperation with the local human rights community to press the Indonesian government to officially respond to the call for the resolution of the case. But in both occasions, the embassy did not respond.

On June 4, 2005, the AFAD Secretariat commemorated AFAD’s 7th anniversary in a liturgical celebration held at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. The commemoration was done in a form of a liturgical celebration and attended by representatives of The Royal Netherlands Embassy, the Swiss Embassy in Manila, representatives of the local human rights community and members of FIND.

Throughout the year, AFAD issued statements both to commemorate traditional events and to respond to specific cases related to enforced disappearances.

A major initiative of AFAD in the aspect of public information is the establishment of a resource center for Munir. Funded by The Royal Netherlands Embassy, the construction of the resource center and the acquisition of materials for the resource center is going on in an additional office space rented by the Federation in the same building of the Philippine Social Science Center. The center is expected to be launched on the first quarter of 2006.

b) Solidarity

AFAD’s main effort during the year in the aspect of regional solidarity is the series of national conferences to echo

the First Sharing of Experiences of Asian Families of the Disappeared, with the theme, “Healing Wounds, Mending Scars.” These were serious efforts at empowering families of the disappeared and instilling in them the global phenomena of enforced disappearances and the importance of international solidarity. These activities were already conducted in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia and are expected to be duplicated in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Kashmir in 2006.

Moreover, to respond a bit to the economic dislocation brought about by the loss of their loved ones, preparations for the continuation of the scholarship program in Kashmir and a start of a scholarship program in Indonesia are on-going. These efforts are made possible through the support of OAK Foundation.

To expand itself, AFAD is starting its groundwork to expand its network to Nepal, the country which has the highest number of cases of disappearances. Mugiyanto, AFAD Council member from Indonesia is scheduled to visit Nepal in January 2006. 

In the international level, AFAD continues its cooperation with FEDEFAM and recently with an organization called, We Remember in Belarus. It also cooperates with Linking Solidarity in this regard and in the aspect of Capacity-Building activities. 

In solidarity with other organizations working on the issue of enforced disappearances, AFAD responds to invitations for participation in international conferences. The May 18 Memorial Foundation invited the AFAD Secretary-General to attend an international human rights conference to be held in Gwangju, South Korea on December 7-10, 2005. On the same dates, AFAD will also be represented by Mr. K.D.C. Kumarage in an international conference on international justice to be held in Bosnia, Herzegovina.

Administration and Finance

After seven years of working for the cause of the disappeared, AFAD takes a serious look of its own outputs as well as outcomes, both organic and political in order to harness further its strengths in facing the increasing challenges of the work against disappearances in particular and human rights work in general. Concretely, it conducted a Participatory Evaluation, the result of which enabled the Federation to appreciate its capacities and potentials concretized into outputs and outcomes.

The vacuum of the absence of a Chairperson caused by the murder of Munir never deterred the Federation from fulfilling the tasks it professes to do for the sake of the disappeared and their families. While opting  not to elect a new Chairperson until the convening of its next Congress in 2006, the AFAD Council agreed to exercise collective leadership in order to support the leadership of the Secretary-General.

The AFAD Council took serious effort to improve communication with the minimum cost by holding series of electronic conferences using yahoo messenger. But it is important to note that this should not deter the AFAD member-organizations from continue using email as a means of updating each other and improving bilateral communications not just between the members and the AFAD secretariat, but also among members.

Significant to note is that AFAD received positive responses for funding for different projects from OAK Foundation, Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED), United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Manila. HIVOS, AFAD’s principal source of funds, agreed to give funds for the Federation for the next four years.

AFAD and FEDEFAM will meet with Linking Solidarity and its partner, PSO for the Capacity-Building Projects in The Netherlands on December 12-14, 2005. The meeting will serve as the final groundwork to be able to start the project implementation in 2005.

In view of the establishment of a Resource Center in honor of Munir and other martyrs, and owing to the increasing demands of the work, AFAD moved to a bigger space in the Philippine Social Science Center Building. From Room 316, it moved to Rooms 310-311 of the same building.

The AFAD Secretariat is beefed up with the hiring of a new full time Campaign Officer who already started working in November. A new Librarian to manage the AFAD Resource Center will start working in January.

With all these developments, AFAD braces itself for more challenges ahead as it strengthens the Federation at all levels so that it can respond better to the ever-increasing developments of the work.

Note: This report was written on the first week of December, thus, it is possible that there will still be additional information on the situation of AFAD in December at the beginning of 2006.