Dear members of the Asian Federation Against
Involuntary Disappearances,
I write in my capacity as Chairperson-Rapporteur of the
United Nations Working Group on Enforced or involuntary Disappearances to
warmly and wholeheartedly congratulate the Asian Federation Against
Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) on its eleventh anniversary of its
struggle against enforced disappearances.
I
wish to salute the exceptional contribution of the AFAD to the promotion
of the rights of those who disappeared and their families in the past 11
years. The AFAD’s commitment to facilitate the search for the disappeared
has been evident in its continuous cooperation with the Working Group on
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. Throughout the years, it has been
an invaluable source of information of the Working Group, acting not only
as the source for individual cases of disappearances, but also providing
us with information of the situation concerning enforced disappearances
throughout Asia.
It is somewhat difficult for us to believe that more
than 60 years after the Nazi regime in Europe and 30 years after the dirty
wars in Latin America, the practice of enforced disappearances is still so
widely carried out. This is largely because enforced disappearances are
indeed, a tool of social control, through terror, that still pays off for
those who commit it. For the perpetrators, it does not matter if behind
each case of enforced disappearance, there is a family and community
suffering profound and sustained pain. They do not care if the families of
the disappeared go through continuous emotional and material hardship and
years of uncertainty as to the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones.
With enormous courage, some of these families have
decided to try to move ahead with their lives and while searching for
their loved ones, to pursue also truth and justice. The AFAD took the lead
in Asia in this journey to a world without disappeared people, which,
although too slowly for those who are searching for the missed ones,
starts bringing results.
The AFAD was also one of the most active networks of
non-government organizations in lobbying on Governments for the adoption
of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearances, and continues its tireless efforts for ensuring
its entrance into force as soon as possible. This landmark international
human rights treaty has been adopted within four years only from the
beginning of the negotiations, entered into force in December 2006 and has
now reached eleven out of twenty ratifications needed for entering into
force. This remarkable achievement is the outcome of an outstanding
cooperation among Governments, international organizations and civil
society in which the AFAD played a crucial role.
It is therefore an honor for me to send this message of
solidarity to the AFAD on this important occasion.
Please accept my best wishes for the continued success of the AFAD’s
activities and for this important commemoration.
With warmest regards.
Saludos y un fuerte y afetuoso abrazo.
SANTIAGO CORCUERA
Chairman-Rapporteur
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
United Nations
