Introduction

In the year 2014, AFAD entered its 16th year of trials and triumphs to attain its mission for a world without desaparecidos. During this Congress, the Defence for Human Rights from Pakistan was accepted as a new member of AFAD. Also earlier during the year, Shui Meng Ng, wife of disappeared development worker in Laos, Sombath Somphone, was accepted by AFAD as an individual member. This acceptance of individual membership an exceptional case because no organization could exist in Laos because of repression.