- Category: Statements
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), calls on newly-elected Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo to appoint Cabinet officials with clean human rights record in keeping with his election promise of addressing the justice claims of victims of human rights violations in the past.
AFAD is aware of the various interest groups that are now lobbying President Jokowi for key posts in his Cabinet. Based on the experiences of AFAD member-organizations from other Asia countries, addressing impunity for human rights violations proved difficult when representatives of groups responsible for human rights violations in the past are appointed to key positions in government because they block whatever measures undertaken to investigate and prosecute those from among their ranks.
- Category: Statements
Today, 10 October 2014, is the 20th anniversary of Odhikar. Odhikar was established by a group of young people who strongly believed in democracy, human rights and rule of law; who protested and fought against the autocratic regime of Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad. Ershad was toppled by a mass movement in December 1990, mainly triggered by left leaning student organisations. In the 1990’s the people of Bangladesh believed that their dream of constituting a democratic state, based on equality, human dignity and social justice, would be realised. However, Bangladesh became trapped in dynastical, confrontational politics where human rights violations, impunity, nepotism and corruption persists; and where rule of law is constantly ignored.
- Category: Statements
The fifth Congress of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), held in Manila from 22-25 September and attended by participants from ten countries – Bangladesh, Indonesia, Jammu and Kashmir in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Thailand and Timor-Leste renewed its commitment to fight against impunity and build a world without disappearances.
AFAD is strengthened by the solidarity messages of Mr. Ariel Dulitzky, Chair of the (UNWGEID) and Mr. Emmanuel Decaux, Chair of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance (UNCED) and friends from various regional and international organizations who recognized the significant contribution of AFAD in the fight against enforced disappearances in various ways.
- Category: Statements
Conference Statement
September 17-20, 2014, Manila, Philippines - We, the participants in the conference on “Sharing Best Practices in Advocating for Legislation Against Enforced Disappearances” coming from organizations from Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and the United States of America are convened in Manila, Philippines, the first and only Asian country that has enacted a law against enforced disappearances, but has not yet signed and ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
- Category: Statements
Asian Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (AFAD), gathered in Manila for the fifth congress is deeply shocked to hear that the government of Nepal forced Nanda Prasad Adhikary to die for continuously denying justice for the abduction and brutal killing of his beloved son Krishna Prasad Adhikary. AFAD is also seriously concerned about the critical state of Gangamaya Adhikary’s health and requests the Government of Nepal to take all the measures including the arrest and prosecution of those involved in the killing of her son. The couple was on hunger strike for more than 333 days for demanding credible investigation and prosecution of those involved in the killing of their son. Even after making repeated promises, the Government did not conduct credible investigation that could lead to the prosecution of those involved. The Government protected the perpetrators and condoned the attack on human rights activists who raised their voices for justice for the Adhikary couple.
- Category: Statements
Ten years ago today, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearance (AFAD) lost its former Chairperson, Munir Said Thalib who died of arsenic poisoning while on board a Garuda Airways flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Two civilians were convicted – Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, a Garuda pilot and part-time intelligence agent who served the poisoned orange juice to Munir and Indra Setiawan, the former CEO of Garuda Airlines who ordered off duty pilot Pollycarpus to board the plane and execute the plan to murder Munir. Rohainil Aini, deputy of Indra Setiawan was later on acquitted.
However, AFAD believes the real masterminds of Munir’s untimely death remain scot free.
- Category: Statements
AFAD STATEMENT FOR THE 2014 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE DISAPPEARED
Asian peoples are the most victimized by the practice of enforced disappearance over the past years. The practice is still continuing with 14 Asian states out of 21 asked to respond to 93 new cases lodged at the UN
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID), as contained in its August 4, 2014 report to the UN Human Rights Council. These Asian states are Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Urgent appeals were also sent by the UNWGEID to 16 States, eight of these from Asia (Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Iraq, Kazakhstan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Syrian Arab Republic and United Arab Emirates) concerning the whereabouts of persons who were arrested, detained or feared to have been disappeared or at risk of disappearance. Communications concerning allegations of harassments of human rights defenders and relatives of disappeared persons were also sent to 12 states, five of these are from Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand).
- Category: Statements
FOLLOW THE DESAPARECIDOS,
DEFEND DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE
It was only three years ago that the United Nations declared August 30 as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance. For years, however, the families of desaparecidos across continents marked the day as the International Day of the Disappeared to pay tribute to their missing kin.
Today, as the world observes the Day of the Disappeared, FIND and AFAD celebrate the sterling lives of the desaparecidos as defenders of freedom and democracy and as catalysts of developmental change. In this light, we invite President Aquino to train his warning against pseudo-reformists not only on his critics but on himself and his cohorts in government first. In paying tribute to past and present-day heroes on August 25, National Heroes’ Day, the President cautioned against “those who only pretend at reform.”
The genuine pro-people struggles of the desaparecidos for societal change should inspire self-declared reformists within and without government to tread the oft-invoked but yet to be walked straight path. And the people must be vigilant against the resurrection of a dictatorship that stifles political dissent with unrestrained enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
The long road to EDSA 1 was paved by the blood and sweat of courageous political activists, at least 878 of whom have been forcibly disappeared. These include: student activist Rizalina Ilagan, college professor Charlie del Rosario, public accountant Romeo Crismo, labor and human rights lawyer Hermon Lagman, labor leader Victor Reyes, Benedictine deacon Carlos Tayag, Redemptorist priest Rudy Romano.