afad 2013 annual report

8/10/2019 AFAD 2013 Annual Report

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/afad-2013-annual-report 1/31

Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)

Standing Strong Against

DisappearancesAFAD 2013 Annual Report

The Voice



AFAD 2013 Annual Report | page 2

Table of Contents

Message from the Secretary-GeneralWhat is AFAD?

Campaign and Lobby

• Bangladesh

• Jammu & Kashmir - India

• Indonesia

• Nepal

• Philippines

• Sri Lanka

• South Korea

• Thailand

• Timor-LestePublic Campaign & Info Dissemination

International Lobbying

Research & Documentation

Psychosocial Rehabilitation

Organizational, Administrative & Finance Management

Conclusion

Editor-in-Chief: Mary Aileen D. Bacalso

Editor and Graphic Artist: Kevin Mandrilla

345

17

18

20

24

26

30




What is AFAD?

The Asian FederationAgainst Involuntary Disappearances(AFAD) is a federation of humanrights organizations workingdirectly on the issue of involuntary

disappearances in Asia. Envisioninga world without desaparecidos, theFederation was founded on June 4,1998 in Manila, Philippines.

The Federation was establishedbased on the common phenomenaof enforced or involuntary

disappearances in many Asiancountries and the imperative ofregional and international solidarityin order to strongly respond to theproblem.

The perpetrators, being agents ofstates, are so powerful that an equally

strong response is needed to effect ahuge impact. Since it is a violation of anumber of basic human rights, civil andpolitical as well as economic and social.Enforced disappearance is the cruelest

form of human rights violation.

A Federation, whose own strength isdrawn from the intrinsic strength of itsmember-organizations, is imperativein order to respond to the needs of thefamilies of the disappeared. It intendsto facilitate their empowerment which

is necessary for the realization of aworld without desaparecidos.

AFAD is guided by the principles ofmutual support among member-organizations, transparency within theFederation and with other regionalformations, and sustainability of efforts.



| 5

Campaign

and LobbyThe establishment of a politico-legal

environment that is favorable to victims

and families of the disappeared and to

the greater society.




Bangladesh

AFAD member, Odhikaractively participated in the UniversalPeriodic Review of Bangladesh lastApril in Geneva and worked on a jointreport with the Asian Legal ResourceCenter (ALRC). While in Geneva,Odhikar conducted meetings withother organizations to present the

worsening human rights situation ofBangladesh.

ICAED's country-of-the-monthcampaign for Bangladesh was jointly coordinated by ICAED FocalPoint, ICAED members and Odhikarduring the UPR period, in which 15

organizations from ICAED and AFADwrote lobby letters to the government.Skills training on fact-finding, report

writing, and advocacy were alsoconducted, wherein skills learnedwere useful in actual fact-findingmission.

The year 2013 was a very difficult

year for Bangladesh in view of thearrest and detention of its Secretaryand AFAD Council Member, AdilurRahman Khan, the consequent raidof its office and the persecutionof other constituents, e.g. theDirector and the staff. AFAD wrotetwo statements on this and

submitted these to the UN WorkingGroup on Enforced or InvoluntaryDisappearances (UN WGEID).

There were efforts on the part ofthe AFAD Council to join missionsto Bangladesh organized by theOMCT and the Forum Asia, butfor one reason or another, thesewere not made possible. In as faras AFAD is concerned, the physicalparticipation of Odhikar memberswere constrained and in fact, it wasnot able to physically participate inthe AFAD Council meeting held in Timor Leste.

AFAD member since 2010

AFAD joins the call to free Mr. Adilur Khan



| 7

Kashmir - India

In February 2013, AFAD

member organization in Jammu andKashmir (J&K) condemned Police Bill2013, a Bill which was aimed to furtherempower police agencies, whichhave already been largely involved incommitting human rights violations.In its condemnation, the Associationof Parents of Disappeared Persons

(APDP) indicated that the state istrying to legalize repression.

The association observed that theinitial reading of the Draft Jammuand Kashmir Police Bill, 2013,suggests that the Government seeksto formalize previous draconian

practices and activities. The APDPalso consistently struggled to buildpressure on the government of Indiato put an end to the phenomenon ofED and also to deliver justice to thevictims and their families.

So far, the government is reluctantto constitute an impartial enquirycommission under the Commissionsof Enquiry Act 1957 to probe into allthe cases of enforced or involuntary


disappearances in J&K and does seemto be in a disposition to ratify theConvention. The Indian state is also

still in denial of conducting impartialinvestigations into unmarked andmass graves despite constant callsand pressure from internationalinstitutions. A process of engagement withforeign governments, including theEuropean Union was initiated. Thesegovernments have and will continueto be urged to blacklist and takeaction against any personnel of thearmed forces or police who have beenresponsible for human rights violationsin J&K.




A landmark study of 214 cases of human rights violations was carried out. IPTKKashmir and APDP submitted cases to Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial,Summary, and Arbitrary Executions. A general allegation was also forwardedby the APDP on the presence of unknown, unmarked graves in Jammu andKashmir was submitted to UNWGEID.

The APDP, in April, campaigned against the Indian states' claim of a permanentseat in the UN Security Council and its unconcerned approach about thealarming issue of ED and mass graves in J&K.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, Foreign AffairsMinister, Mr. Marty Natalegawa metfor the first time with the AFADChairperson and Secretary Generalin March. The Minister reiterated

its commitment to work towardsthe ratification of the InternationalConvention for the Protectionof all Persons from EnforcedDisappearances (Convention) andstated that it has been preparing thenecessary documents on this matterto be forwarded to the President.

A meeting with the DeputyChairperson of the Office of theOmbudsman, Republic of Indonesia(ORI), Mrs. Azlaini Agus withrepresentatives of AFAD members, The Commission for the Disappearedand Victims of Violence (KontraS) and

Indonesian Association of Familiesof the Disappeared (IKOHI) as wellas AFAD Chairperson and SecretaryGeneral was done in March. It wasmeant to follow-up on the progressof two clarification letters sent bythe ORI to the President in relation

AFAD and its members also had ameeting with the Minister of Foreign

Affairs which resulted in the latter'sindication of support to the effortsto ratify the Convention. Also, somemembers of government wereengaged as resource persons duringthe launching of results of researchon best practices in its advocacy





| 9

students' groups from differentuniversities, in support of theenforcement of human rights inIndonesia and the settlement ofgross human rights violations inpast, including ED cases.

against ED.

The Indonesian Coalition AgainstEnforced Disappearance metin January and agreed to focus

on tracking the progress ofgovernment's moves towardsratification of the Convention.

The coalition has a long-term activitythat will document and update anyprogress on the ratification and isintended to hold lobby meeting withthe Parliament and other government

agencies related to the issue. It wasable to coordinate with “Pita HitamCoalition” composed of various




Nepal

In Nepal, the governmentmerged, in March, the much-awaited TJ commissions - Truth andReconciliation Commission (TRC)and Commission on the Inquiry ofthe Disappeared (COID) – into oneand brought an ordinance, whichaims to grant immunity to theperpetrators. Some organizationswelcomed it but AFAD members,Advocacy Forum (AF) and ConflictVictims Society for Justice (CVSJ),leaders and members of whichwere arrested for the OccupyBaluwatar Movement, opposedit. Their stance created somemisinterpretations that AF and

CVSJ had to organize severalrounds of meetings among the keyhuman rights defenders and theinternational diplomats to clarify.Both organizations also noted thelack of consultations especiallyamong civil society and victims'

organizations.

Meanwhile, the political situationin the country continues todeteriorate. In late January, thegovernment started to use forceagainst protesters, mostly women, in

CVSJ





|11

the Occupy Baluwatar Movement(Baluwatar Satyagrah) that calledfor justice for victims of rape andother gender-based violence andwho camped out for a month

in front of Baluwatar, the PrimeMinister's residence.Related incidents of tortureand arrests sparked interest in Transitional Justice mechanisms,given the public outcrydemanding prosecution of allegedperpetrators. Col. Lama was

arrested in the United Kingdomin early 2013 under UniversalJurisdiction and government ispressed to act on this case.

A series of lobby meetings related tothe Ordinance on Transitional Justicemechanisms and for ratifying theinternational anti-disappearance treatywere held. At the District level, CVSJalso visited 10 districts and presentedtheir position on the Ordinanceand a call for consultation. The localcoalition initiated Occupy Baluwatarmovement and legal assistance tofamilies of victims. These helped inmaking government attentive towardsthe demands of victims of conflict and

enforced disappearance.

Philippines

Philippine Project

In the Philippines,the Implementing Rules andRegulations (IRR) of Republic ActNo. 10353, otherwise known as

the Anti- Enforced DisappearanceAct of 2012 were jointlypromulgated by governmentthrough the Department ofJustice (DOJ), Department ofSocial Welfare and Development(DSWD), Commission on HumanRights (CHR), Families of Victims of

Involuntary Disappearance (FIND)and Families of the Desaparecidosfor Justice (Desaparecidos).

A Task Force has been formed toflesh out the details of the IRR. Inthe light of the implementation

of this new law, the Departmentof Health (DOH), in April, issued aMemorandum to all direct healthservices providers and practitionersunder the Department to includereporting of inquiries on reporteddisappeared persons' whereabouts.

Members of the Coalition AgainstEnforced Disappearances (CAED)organized and/or participatedin various activities. The firstforum-workshop on the effective




implementation of the Anti-enforced Disappearance Act wasattended by key figures from thegovernment, foreign embassies,human rights movement, academe

and the coalition. Workshop resultscomprised of identification of rolesand doable actions to ensure theeffective implementation of thelaw particularly on investigation,prosecution and rehabilitation.

Joint activities for the

commemoration of theInternational Week of theDisappeared and series ofmeetings were conducted todiscuss media messaging forbroader public support to theissue of disappearance with thesupport of DAKILA, a group of

individuals advocating for social

change. A diplomatic briefing wasconducted by AFAD, FIND andthe Ateneo Human Rights Centerwhich was attended by local NGOsand the embassies of Spain, France

and Japan. The content of the saidevent was the importance of thePhilippine government's ratificationof the International Convention forthe Protection of All Persons fromEnforced Disappearance and thecorresponding lobbying strategies.

The above-mentioned diplomaticbriefing was followed by a lobby visitto the Department of Foreign Affairs(DFA) where AFAD and FIND officershad a meeting. The discussion delvedon the Convention on EnforcedDisappearances wherein the DFAmentioned that it is already writing

to different government agencies

Forum-workshop on

effective implementation

ofAnti-Disappeareance

Law



|13

as part of the whole process ofdiscussing the ratification of theConvention.

Also, CAED members, local and

regional organizations jointlyconducted a cultural activityin front of the Department ofForeign Affairs (DFA) to pressthe Aquino government tospeak about the disappearanceof Ramon Magsaysay awardee,Sombath Somphone of Laos at

the ASEAN and for the ASEANIntergovernmental Commission forHuman Rights (AICHR) to discusshis case. A staff of the DFA spokeand assured that the message willbe conveyed to the appropriateofficials.

Fora, symposia, lectures andreflection sessions are consideredeffective forms of reaching out tothe public especially the studentsand church communities. Througha tried and tested strategy ofuniversity/community hopping,AFAD shares its advocacies andhuman rights works in order todisseminate information and drawpublic support. During the secondhalf of the year, a series of filmshowing and university/communityforum on enforced disappearancewere conducted in at least ten(10) schools/communities whichhad more than 500 audiences in

line with the conduct of the AFADregional research on the level ofpublic awareness.

The conduct of public eventsare not only traditionally usedto popularize the issue but also

to create avenues where differentstakeholders are brought togetherto share their views and plans inaddressing the issue. During thisperiod, AFAD and FIND organizedtheir own separate activities aimed atgetting the wider support from thepublic.

The on-going implementation of twomajor public information projects, abook and film on disappearances in thePhilippines is aimed at sustaining themomentum of the anti-disappearance

campaign and movement in thePhilippines.




Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, a formationcalled “Relatives Searching for theDisappeared Family Members” in thedistricts of Mannar, Vavniya, Mulathive,Kilinochchci was established throughthe initiative of FOD and MannarCitizen Committee (MCC) afterdiscussions with the activists in

said districts. The formation of thisorganization is a big step consideringthe difficult security situation in thearea.

A network consisting of 19organizations was also formed;wherein six are involved with some

work against ED. Four committeeswere formed: Media and Publicity;Data Collecting and Reporting;Legal; and, Campaign and lobby. The Data Collecting committeewas able to prepare a general listof 2,300 cases with the help of theother organizations in the network.

This effort will hopefully address theproblem of double reporting in thefuture, as the committee planned to

report 500 cases by the end of 2013to the UN WGEID.

In the midst of the calls of AFADmember in Sri Lanka, the Familiesof the Disappeared (FOD) and alliedorganizations for the government toratify and implement the Convention,the government announced thatit will possibly introduce new laws

criminalizing disappearances. Thisstatement was issued in the lightof the scheduled visit of UN HighCommissioner for Human Rights,Navi Pillay in the country.

SRI LANKA commemorates

International Day of the

Disappeared.




|15

South Korea

AFAD member in South Korea engaged

in domestic and international campaign. TheCitizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights(NKHR) conducted education programs for NorthKorean students re-settling in South Korea,Programs for South Koreans to learn about NorthKorean human rights and bringing refugees fromChina to South Korea.

AFAD facilitated cooperation between theCitizens' Alliance of North Korean Human Rightsand the UN Working Group on Enforced orInvoluntary Disappearances. At the beginning,upon the authorization of the Citizens' Alliance on North Korean HumanRights, the AFAD Secretary-General brought up individual cases. NKHRrepresentatives later personally had meetings with the UN WGEID whoadmitted a number of cases.

Thailand In Thailand, the governmentis now in the process of amending thelocal provisions in the criminal codeas part of its preparations to ratify theConvention. The Ministry of Justice

(MOJ) in a public meeting organized byAFAD and its member-organizations,Justice for Peace Foundation (JPF)and the Relatives Committee of theMay 1992 Heroes (RCMH) in June saidthat they will be able to complete theprocess on or before December 2014.




Relatives Committee ofthe May 1992 Heroes

The AFAD Secretary-General and the President of the Justice for PeaceFoundation jointly had a meeting with the UN Working Group on EnforcedDisappearances in March 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting principallyfocused on the unresolved case of Somchai Neelaphaijit and many other casesin Southern Thailand and the general human rights situation in Thailand.




Timor Leste

The Perkumpulan HAK(HAK Association), member in Timor-Leste, focused on two draft laws inParliament on reparations and theMemorial Institution while lobbyingwith institutions of State, particularlythe Minister of Foreign Affairs andOmbudsman as the two entities

which have taken responsibility formissing persons in Timor-Leste. Therewere efforts at campaigning throughthe movement and ANTI for TL toratify the International Conventionand on impunity with several publicdiscussions. Strengthening thevictims' organizations, through

facilitation of meetings and giving

briefings before interviews withmedia were also implemented.

A Series of activities in time for theAFAD Council held in Timor Leste

were facilitated by HAK.

AFAD Council meets with the President of Timor-Leste, H.E. Taur Matan Ruak




|17

Statements were issued inresponse to a violation committed,as expression of solidarity intraditionally commemoratedevents and pressure in relationto Convention ratification.AFAD members continuouslyresponded to urgent appealscases, particularly for incidents

and situations which involve AFADCouncil members in 2012-2013.

AFAD undertook the productionand dissemination of campaignmaterials and other publicationsof the Federation. Some of thesewere: AFAD 2013 calendar; AFAD

magazine, The Voice; 6th editionof the Primer on the InternationalConvention for the Protectionof All Persons from EnforcedDisappearance; compilationof case documentation results

entitled, “Beyond Tears and Borders”;commencement of a research for theproduction of a Coffeetable book ondisappeared democracy champions inAsia.

Copies of brochure, program-relatedpapers, booklet, poster and a regionalvideo documentary to highlight thesituation of enforced disappearancein Asia were also produced. Keynotepapers on the legal dimension ofenforced disappearance were also

prepared. Other creative forms such assongs, poems, video, and social mediacontents in terms of campaigning wereused and produced, while a commonpetition letter participated in bymembers of the federation was signed.

Social media campaign led to increased

number of shares, likes and commentsgenerated from online content postedfor the different campaigns, calls andactivities of AFAD. There was alsoa noted increase in the number ofsubscribers or followers; aestheticimprovement of social media platforms,

Public campaign &

Info dissemination




Participation in the Universal PeriodicReview (UPR) Processes and other UNProcesses

The AFAD and ICAED facilitatedreferrals of contacts to Odhikar during

UPR Review of Bangladesh as well asthe participation of Shui Meng, wife ofLao disappeared development worker,Sombath Somphone in Geneva humanrights events in November. Too, AFAD’sapplication for UN ECOSOC status wasfollowed-up.

Paricipation and Interventions inInternational Fora and Advocacy

At the international level, the

Federation, which continued toassume the Focal Point of ICAED,was made all the more visibleduring a series of activities of theCoalition held in Geneva,Switzerland.

The Federation and the Coalition,

under the coordinatorship of AFADwas represented in meetings of UNbodies in March and November aswell as in network, solidarity andadvocacy meetings in the UnitedStates of America and Colombia inLatin America. Regularparticipation of AFAD in human

rights events, media and sideevents and meetings of UN bodiesin Geneva, as well as meetings withindividual members of CED inGermany, Mexico and Uruguay

Country-of-the-Month

Campaign

Initiated by AFAD as the currentFocal Point of ICAED in mid-2012,this international campaigninvolves letter-writing to relevantgovernment officials and embassy-visits within a period of one to twomonths for particular countries

whose position is closer to signingor ratifying the Convention or isscheduled to undergo UniversalPeriodic Review (UPR).

As the ICAED Focal Point, the AFAD,in coordination with the selected

International

Lobbying

These efforts further resulted inincreased level of awareness on

enforced disappearance at all levels. These also paved way to alert lawenforcement agencies and agreementamong some parliamentarians toaddress enforced disappearance. Too,the online campaign continues toserve as the most accessible public faceof AFAD and offers a big potential to

reach a significant number of audienceat a very minimal cost.



|19

country-of-the-month preparestemplate letters addressed togovernment authorities of selectedcountries.

The Focal Point then requests all 50members of the ICAED to sendletters which are made available inthree languages: English, Frenchand Spanish. Sample letters weredrafted, circulated in English,French and Spanish versions,signed by the representatives of

member and network organizationsand sent to the authorities ofgovernment of particular countries.Selection of the country-of-the-

month was done by the ICAED SteeringCommittee members composed of 10international NGOs and federationsand associations of families of thedisappeared from different parts of the

world. From January to November2013, the focus-countries wereIndonesia, Burundi, El Salvador,Guatemala, Bangladesh, Canada,Philippines, Georgia. An average of 15organizations per month from differentcountries participated in this campaign.

Recognition

In June 2013, the focal person of the International Coalition Against EnforcedDisappearances (ICAED), who is also the AFAD Secretary-General, Mary Aileen

D. Bacalso was awarded the Patrick Rice Human Rights Award by the TortureAbolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) in Washington DC. Sheshared the award with Mr. Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

On 10 December 2013, the Government of Argentina bestowed upon theAFAD Secretary-General, Mary Aileen D. Bacalso the Emilio MignoneInternational Human Rights Prize in Buenos AIres. It was the first time that theaward was given to an individual on the occasion of Argentina's 30 years of

democracy.




Research &

DocumentationEstablishment of access to human rights data

and information particularly concerning

enforced disappearances in Asia which will

serve as basis for review and evaluation of

AFAD interventions.

Support to Research

and Documentation

Personnel support to eight (8)Documentation and Research Staffmembers (DRS) was sustained. TheDRS who will take charge of country-level field documentation and caseencoding in the AFAD database werehired by local organizations in eachof the 8 countries and are beingcoordinated by the AFAD Regional

Research and DocumentationOfficer (RDO). These personnelunderwent capacity-developmentactivities related to documentationwork. This contributed to morefocused and strategic research anddocumentation work at the countryand Federation levels.

A student of the National University of East Timor while being interviewed for a research in Timor - Leste



|21

Database Management

The Federation currentlymaintains a regional database

system referred to as the AFADAccumulated Database which islinked to nine databases managedby the member organizations ineight countries. Continuing andmore advanced documentation,reporting and monitoring capacitydevelopment activities were

implemented in 2013. The continueddevelopment and improvement ofAFAD’s regional database ensuresregional and global visibility of thetheme of enforced disappearances.

While AFAD completed the encodingcases under the partnership with

the Southeast Asian Centre fore-Media (SEACeM) for the ARMSin 2012, an on-going effort tosustain this partnership is thediscussion with SEACEM regardingthe synchronization of AFADAccumulated Database with theARMS. It is to be noted that thesame system utilized by ARMS

was adopted in establishing AFAD’sregional and country-level databases.

Field documentation was also crucialto the documentation and researchstaff’s work at their respectivecountries. From this documentationwork, AFAD’s documentationsystem has, to date, 142 entries fromBangladesh, India (Jammu & Kashmir),

Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, SriLanka, and Thailand. Of these entries,more than half or 74 are alreadyreflected in the regional database.

Reporting of cases of enforceddisappearances was also amongthe accomplished tasks during the

implementation of the documentationwork. Case submissions weresubmitted to the UN WGEID fromIndonesia (27), Sri Lanka (1), Nepal (3),Philippines (3); Follow up on previouscommunication Bangladesh (5); anda General Allegation submitted fromJammu and Kashmir

Regional Level - Research and Documentation

• Justice Trail: Regional

Documentation, Monitoringand Reporting TrainingWorkshop

• Continuing development ofthe country-level trainingmanual

• Production phase andlaunching of the regional videodocumentary

• Writing, editing, printing,launching and distributionof Beyond Tears and Borders:country situation reports

At the Federation level, the following activities in relation to general researchand documentation work were conducted:




• Preliminary meetings re theUrgent Appeals System

• Database development and

improvement

• Participation of the NHRK inthe database system

• Discussion with SEACEMre synchronizing of AFADAccumulated Database and

ARMS

• Reporting of cases;submission of follow-upcommunication to the WGEID

• Assistance to the issuances ofurgent appeals – Nepal

• Coordination and networkingwith Focus on the GlobalSouth Bangkok office recampaign to return Sombathsafely

• Coordination with FIND refinalizing TOR, orientation

of DRS and documentation unithired for the project of AFAD,orientation to the databasesystem and participation in theregional documentation training.

• Access to the AFAD country

database provided to FIND asdocumentation partner in thePhilippines

• Acquisition of new books andmaintenance of the AFAD

Resource Collection (RC)

• Expansion of networking effortby member organizations in civilsociety and government actors inSri Lanka and Indonesia

• Consolidation and strengthening

of existing linkages

• Opportunities for networking as aresult of capacity building work

• Database and documentationwork facilitated some memberorganizations’ networking withlocal organizations



|23

Two types of researches, i.e., ongood and relevant practices forrelatives of the disappeared inengaging with government; andon the level of public awarenesson advocacy efforts of theFederation were undertakenby member-organizations inIndonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka aswell as by the AFAD Secretariat in

the Philippines, as coordinatedby the Regional CampaignOfficer (RCO). Researches in thefirst two countries mentionedwere completed in 2013 whilethose in the latter countries willbe completed in the first quarterof 2014.

INDONESIA: Research on bestpractices for lobbying for theratification of the Conventionfinished and launched in Marchand is being translated intoEnglish.

NEPAL: The research outputpresented the history of ED inthe country and is pending fullpaper.

SRI LANKA: AFAD member, FOD,conducted 50 interviews onperspective of victims, families &human rights workers and on theimportance of commemoratingthe memorial

PHILIPPINES: Policy research ongood practices in lobbying forthe domestic anti-disappearance

Researches

law. In lieu of Timor, AFAD Secretariatfinished design, methodology and data

gathering and processing of the researchon the level of awareness.

Jammu and Kashmir - India

This involved dissemination andprospects for replication of the

comprehensive report entitled AllegedPerpetrators – Stories of Impunityin Jammu and Kashmir released byAPDP in association with InternationalPeoples’ Tribunal on Human Rights andJustice in Indian-Administered Kashmir[IPTK]. The report examined 214 casesof human rights violations including 75

cases of enforced disappearances. Thereport depicts the role of 500 allegedperpetrators [identified by rank and/orname] in these crimes.

At the regional level, AFAD commencedresearch on disappeared democracychampions in Indonesia, Myanmar,

Nepal, Philippines, South Korea and Timor Leste with the support of May 18Foundation.

Research design, implementationplan and background research (April-November). The research team conducteda series of meetings in order for thedesign, framework and implementation

plan to be finalized. Background researchand preparation of research tools andinstruments were primarily done bythe Project Coordinator with the ableassistance of a French student internfrom August – December.




Families of the disappeared have undertaken

another level in AFAD’s psychosocial rehabilitation

programs through the provision of psychosocial

peer support to other families.

Psychosocial

Rehabilitation

In most countries whereAFAD has presence, the situation

of the victims’ family paint verydismal challenges and problems inmental and physical health and evendeath without having to know thewhereabouts of their disappearedloved ones. These were cited inreports from Indonesia, Nepal, and

the Philippines.

AFAD members in Nepal continuedwith the psychosocial rehabilitation,Circe of Healing, for victims of conflictand human rights violations, undera directly-sourced new projectsupported by the UNVFVT.

Direct and local psychosocial

support efforts



|25

For Nepal, the work is focusedon addressing the direct needsof victims for psychosocialrehabilitation through capacity-and local coalition-building

activities.

For Indonesia, the interventionis a factor in organizationaldevelopment and in activatingmembers, as well as newdiscussions on revitalizing financecooperative.

Nonetheless, the relevance andimportance of the psychosocialintervention were reiterated interms of: rehabilitation efforts;empowerment and capacityenhancement of families;organizational consolidation; and

lobby efforts for relevant local lawsand policies.

Elements of local laws and policiesdiscussed can take the formof: direct mandate to providepsychosocial support, governmentsupport or trust fund in economicactivities of the cooperative; andreparation for victims and veteransintegrated in court decisions.

For the families’ associationsin Jakarta, they are concernedmore with income-generatingactivities for victims of humanrights violations in Jakarta; and,

establishment and facilitationof legal identity of victims’cooperatives.

For the Philippines, acomprehensive psychosocial andrehabilitation plan that will also

cover reparation and restitution asmandated by the Anti-Disappearancelaw is being mapped out.

Pending activities for the Jammu

and Kashmir project supported bythe WWDP were monitored by AFADEC members. In the follow-up AFAD Treasurer, Mandira Sharma personallyvisited the Association of Parents ofDisappeared Persons. In this regard,the APDP conducted a two-dayPsychosocial Rehabilitation Workshop.

As such it reached another level ofdirect assistance, in terms psychosocialand rehabilitation support to members,which can serve as basis for learningfrom the experience, replication, andcontinuing/higher level of psycho-social work for AFAD members in this

country and in other countries.

Regional and International

Experience Sharing on

Psychosocial rehabilitation

With the decision of the AFAD Council,to hold the Third World Conferenceon Psychosocial Support in the Searchfor Truth and Justice for Victims ofEnforced Disappearance, Torture, andExtra-Judicial Killings in the Philippines,efforts to prepare for the Conference,particularly on conference concept,program and fund-raising wereunderway.




Organizational strength of AFAD manifested

in the increased capacity of AFAD leadership,

membership and Secretariat for advocacy and

federation work at the national, regional and

international levels.

Organizational,

Administrativeand Finance

Management



|27

The leadership of the Federation,through the AFAD Council and

Executive Council continued toguide the Federation carrying outits avowed mission, vision andgoals. Membership is developedand maintained through efforts atexpansion, resource generation,capacity development andsolidarity work.

The day-to-day work of theSecretariat as the center forservice and coordination has,like in previous years, been anindispensable part in ensuringthe implementation of AFAD’swork at the national, regional and

international levels. Consciousnessin ensuring regular planning,monitoring and evaluation ofprojects and personnel boththrough internal efforts and withthe help of external facilitatorshelped much in the attainment ofthe work of the Federation.

This program on organizational,administrative and finance

LEADERSHIP

AFAD Council

,meeting in Dili

Timor-Leste




planned, discuss social, political,organizational and human rightssituations focusing on enforceddisappearances in differentcountries and to conduct planning

for 2014. The AFAD Council alsodiscussed matters related to AFADSecretariat Restructuring andPolicies and Guidelines. In timetoo for the Council meeting, lobbymeetings with representativesfrom Timor Leste government wereattended by Council members

and guests and the AFAD regionalvideo was also launched.

management were vital to the resultsand activities of the other programs,thus support for this program wasindeed of key value to the generaladvocacy and federation work of

AFAD.

The Executive Council (EC)conducted a series physical andelectronic meetings relating to mid-year and year-end assessments andplanning, Secretariat reorganization,Federation matters, and preparation

details for the AFAD Council meeting.A physical EC meeting held inBangkok in September 2013, andthree (3) Council skype meetingsprior to the physical meeting held inNovember 2013 in Timor Leste wereconducted. Preparation of Councilmeeting agenda, and coordination

with host organization and ElSalvador network organization, ProBusqueda were also done.

Another opportunity for ECmeeting was in January 2013 whenall members of the EC joined theSecretariat for the 2012 Year-endAssessment and Planning held inKalibo, Aklan, Philippines and inJuly 2013 when the Chairpersonattended and co-facilitated the AFADSecretariat Mid-year Assessment andPlanning in Quezon City, Philippines.

During the last quarter 2013,the AFAD Council conducted a

physical meeting on November 18- 24 in Dili, Timor Leste. It was anopportunity for the Council to reviewthe Federation’s Vision-Mission-Goals and assigned the ExecutiveCommittee to reformulate it to makeit more attainable to assess the work



|29

FINANCE

The actual finance situation

of AFAD in 2013 speaks of thecontinuing support of its partners.Considering its comprehensivework in the Asian region, not tomention its international work asthe focal point of the InternationalCoalition Against EnforcedDisappearances (ICAED), AFAD's

funding pales in comparison withthe actual needs. While severalefforts were conducted to raisefunds, producing new sources ofsupport was an uphill battle. To thebest that it could, the Federationensured optimum use its existingresources

In principle, federation is ideallysupported by its member-organizations in many respects.For AFAD, it is remains a challenge.Relevant activities of theFederation included establishment

of directory of funding partners,

exploring new partners, appointmentswith international partners and otherfunding organizations incidentalto response to funding calls andpreparation of proposals, as wellas responses to inquiries as well asreporting and other requirements ofcurrent funding partners.

During assessment and planning, areview of fund raising strategy andidentification of funding prioritieswere done. There were also effortsspearheaded by the SecretaryGeneral to review and sum-up AFADexperiences in fund-raising from1998 until recent years. These wereconducted to provide inputs forsustained and programmatic resourcemobilization for the Federation in thecoming years.




From AFAD’s viewpoint, the grave and odious state-perpetrated crime ofenforced disappearance is still being committed, albeit in varying degrees,in Asia and the world over under situations of conflict, war, tyrannical ordictatorial as well as democratic regimes and under a vast culture of impunity.Ironically, the Asian continent, which has the most number of disappearancescases submitted to the UNWGEID also lacks domestic laws and strong humanrights protection mechanisms at the regional or sub-regional levels that oughtto address the situation. The year 2013 bore witness to the alarming state of disappearances in Asiaand to the continuing struggle of families’ associations and the human rightsmovements.

The phenomenon of enforced disappearance is just one of the several humanrights issues in the Asian region. The human rights advocates and defendersin the region, especially in South Asia, are also subjected to various threatsand security risks with such recent cases of violations against human rightsdefenders from AFAD members in Kashmir, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.Notwithstanding the common phenomenon and effects brought aboutby disappearance in the region, there are also sub-regional as well as per

country similarities and particularities in terms of situation, challenges andopportunities in the struggle against enforced disappearance.

These conditions continue to serve as bases of interventions, results,challenges and opportunities in the unrelenting work of AFAD and its memberand network organizations towards achieving strong Asian peoples’ responseand governments’ response. There is also the imperative of coming up withbreakthroughs in punishing perpetrators and of learning from the victories of

other regions in the search for truth and justice. The Federation implemented all of its programs and projects on the basis ofthe plans of the members through the management of the Council and theExecutive Council and coordinated by the Secretariat. Program implementationand corresponding results, fund management and sourcing and Federation-building benefitted from the continued capacity of the leaders and member-organizations and in the increased number of Secretariat members.

A summing up of AFAD's 15 years of struggle for a world without disappearedpeople is called for as it enters its 16th year of work. It is envisioned thatquantitative and qualitative leaps of the Federation in terms of organic andpolitical outcomes be achieved to respond to the increasing challenges of thephenomenon of enforced disappearances in the Asian region in particular andin the rest of the world in general.

CONCLUSION



The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) is a regionalfederation of organizations working directly on the issue of involuntarydisappearances in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Jammu and Kashmir - India, Nepal,Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. Founded in 1998 topromote solidarity, lobby, communications, networking and advocacy among itsmember organizations and network, the Federation works with international,regional and national formations from other countries.

Jl. Matraman Dalam II, No. 7,

Jakarta 10320

Indonesia

632 456 6434

MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS

afad 2013 annual report

Documents