- Category: Statements
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and its member organisations mark the International Week of the Disappeared 2026 under the banner “Memory is Resistance: Carrying Hope, Demanding Truth.” The theme reflects the collective realities faced by organizations across the region in 2025, a year characterized by a volatile mix of grassroots mobilization and intensified state repression. As AFAD has noted, “Memory is our strength, and justice remains our demand”. It reflects the harsh realities organizations faced across Asia in 2025 and the power of collective remembrance to challenge silence and impunity. Memory, then, is the discipline through which families and defenders refuse the State’s preferred ending silence.
- Category: Statements
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) expresses its profound horror and outrage following the devastating medical update regarding human rights defender Andrie Yunus, whose eyes are reportedly melting due to the severity of a targeted acid attack. Andrie, the Deputy Coordinator for External Affairs of our member organization KontraS, remains in critical condition with chemical burns covering 20% of his body.This barbaric assault, which took place on 12 March 2026, was clearly premeditated, occurring immediately after Andrie participated in a public discussion regarding remilitarism and the expansion of military influence in Indonesia.
- Category: News
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) proudly celebrates Brito Fernando, President of our member organization Families of the Disappeared in Sri Lanka, for being awarded the Swedish Government's international prize for human rights and democracy.
- Category: Statements
Ngayong ika-25 ng Pebrero, 40 na taon mula noong EDSA People Power Revolution, ating inaalala ang lahat ng biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao, kabilang na dito ang mga sapilitang iwinala, sa ilalim ng diktadurang Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Binalot ng kadiliman ang buong bansa sa ilalim ng batas militar ni Marcos Sr. Sa loob ng 14 na taon, libu-libo ang matatalang paglabag sa karapatang pantao. Sa panahon na ito, ayon sa Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND), may naitalang 1,034 na biktima ng sapilitang pagkawala – 626 sa bilang na ito ay hindi pa rin nalilitaw. Marami sa mga ito ay mga kabataan, lider-manggagawa, mamamahayag, at kritiko ng gobyerno na ninakawan ng kinabukasan.
- Category: Statements
As Bangladesh approaches its historic February 12 election, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) stands in solidarity with the people of Bangladesh in their pursuit of a peaceful, transparent, and inclusive democratic process. This election, the first since the “Monsoon Revolution” of July 2024, represents a critical turning point for a nation transitioning from authoritarian rule.
- Category: Statements
This statement addresses the grave deterioration of judicial independence and due process in Pakistan, as reflected in the case of Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha. At the epicenter of this crisis is the case of human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha, whose arbitrary arrest on January 23, 2026, and subsequent 17-year prison sentence on January 24, 2026, represent a watershed moment for the rule of law in South Asia . This case is not merely a localized legal dispute; It demonstrates the use of criminal law to silence human rights defenders. The sentencing of Mazari and Chattha to a combined 17 years in prison was facilitated by the strategic deployment of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), specifically as modified by the draconian 2025 amendments .
- Category: Statements
AFAD recently concluded a series of deeply moving meetings in Nepal with human rights defenders (HRDs) and the families of victims of enforced disappearances (ED). As the country navigates a "second transition" following recent Gen-Z protests, we are here to ensure that emerging political issues do not drown out the calls for transitional justice.
- Category: Statements
The 27th Constitutional Amendment (PCA) proposes sweeping changes to Pakistan’s political and institutional framework. It will restructure Article 243 to create a new position for the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), granting the army chief overarching command over all military branches and abolishing the post of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee[1]. The amendment also confers lifetime criminal immunity upon five-star officers, allowing them to retain their rank, privileges, and uniform indefinitely.