A BUDDING FEDERATION:
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances
(AFAD)
by: Mary Aileen D. Bacalso
THE DIFFICULT PROCESS OF CONCEPTION AND BIRTH
Implanting the seeds of the federation
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances
(AFAD) was conceived. It was not just born overnight. Its
conception was facilitated by representatives of organizations
concerned on disappearances from various parts of the world -
the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) in the
Philippines; the Organization of Parents and Family Members of
the Disappeared (OPFMD) in Sri Lanka; the ADHOC in Cambodia; the
Khulumani Support Group in South Africa; the Hijos in Argentina
and the Asociacion Pro Busqueda de Ninos Y Ninas Desaparecidos in
El Salvador. They were in the Philippines during the 1997
commemoration by FIND of the International Week of the
Disappeared (IWD). The group then called itself as the
International Movement For the Disappeared.
AFAD's conception underwent a not-so-easy process.
FIND was assigned to coordinate the efforts to form an Asian
group. After the Manila event, the first reunion of the above-
mentioned International Movement for the Disappeared was supposed
to be held in August of the same year on the occasion of the 53rd
session of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID) in Geneva, Switzerland.
With the recommendation of Linking Solidarity and the visit of
FEDEFAM's Executive Director, Sr. Maria del Carmen Pariente to
FIND, the international movement for the disappeared agreed to,
instead, attend the 14th Congress of FEDEFAM held in November
1997 in Mexico. The process of getting a visa to enter Mexico
was like a camel entering the eye of a needle. Amidst such
difficulties FIND, of all the other organizations in South
Africa, Asia and Europe, was the only organization who made it
FEDEFAM's 14th Congress.
Fr. Jon de Cortina, S.J., who attended the May 1997 IWD
commemoration in Manila and who attended FEDEFAM's 14th Congress
in Mexico, introduced FIND to FEDEFAM. Significant to note is
the fact that he was the one who really urged FIND and OPFMD to
facilitate the formation of an Asian group. His introduction,
and of course, the visit in August 1997 of Sr. Maria del Carmen
Pariente to FIND were instrumental in establishing FIND's linkage
with this Latin American federation. For FIND, this was
significant considering that it was assigned to coordinate the
formation of the Asian group which necessarily had to link with
FEDEFAM.
Needless to say, FIND was inspired by the Latin American
women who attended the 14th Congress of FEDEFAM. Furthermore,
the visit of FIND representatives to the Asociacion Pro Busqueda
de Ninos Y Ninas Desaparecidos and to the parishioners of Fr. Jon
de Cortina in the once militarized area of Chalatenango, El
Salvador were morally enriching .
After the trip to Latin America, FIND immediately worked out
on the holding of a preparatory meeting for the launching of the
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances. The
preparatory meeting, held in Sri Lanka in March 1998, was
supposed to be attended also by the Association of Parents of
Disappeared Persons in the disputed state of the Indian-occupied
Jammu and Kashmir, but inevitable circumstances prevented the
latter from attending. Nevertheless, the huge number of families
of the disappeared in Sri Lanka was instrumental in garnering a
grand success in conceptualizing the then dreamed of Asian group.
FIND and OPFMD succeeded in gradually nourishing the seeds
implanted in May 1997 by preparing the orientation paper of the
Asian group.
From March to early June 1998, coordination work made by
FIND with other organizations in Asia and Latin America was
intensified in preparation for the launching. This is not to
mention the rest of the preparations for the series of activities
during that week-long commemoration. The not-so-stable financial
situation of FIND did not deter it from realizing the dream for
the formation of the Asian group. Despite the limited time, FIND
was able to facilitate the solicitation of donations that could
cover the travel expenses of international guests.
The sprouting of the seeds...
A couple of years have passed since the 1997 commemoration
of the International Week of the Disappeared. The dream for a
regional cooperation among organizations in Asia is now a
reality, as organizationally expressed in the Asian Federation
Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD). Historically launched
in Manila, Philippines, AFAD saw the light of day on June 4,
1998. The launching was graced by the President of FEDEFAM,
Yanette Bautista and FEDEFAM Support Group member, Federico
Kircher and attended by FIND members in Manila and Central Luzon
as well as representatives of human rights organizations.
AFAD is presently composed of four core group members from
the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND)-
Philippines; Organization of Parents and Family Members of the
Disappeared (OPFMD)-Sri Lanka; Association of Parents of
Disappeared Persons (APDP) in the Indian-occupied Jammu and
Kashmir and the KontraS of Indonesia. Urged by the need to unite
regionally for a stronger impact and inspired by the Latin
American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared
Detainees (FEDEFAM), these organizations of families of the
disappeared in Asia started with very meager resources and
struggled to unite as a regional federation. The Relatives
Committee of May 1992 Heroes, an organization of families of the
disappeared in Thailand, who attended, together with a FIND
representative, Louie Crismo, in a commemoration event of the May
18 massacre in South Korea, is now applying for membership in
AFAD.
Strengthening its roots...
On February 22 to March 1, 1999, AFAD had to have an
internal meeting to assess its gains since its birth and to look
forward towards the future. The group had collectively reviewed
AFAD's work. The assessment spoke of modest achievements
considering the very limited resources - human and material, not
to mention the lack of experience in running a federation. With
its own internal efforts, AFAD was able to project itself, both
in the countries where the members are based as well as in the
international scene. Its official statements, manual of
operations and joint activities with FEDEFAM contributed to this.
The fact that, at the very early stage, it was able to get some
funding from Hivos, an agency in The Netherlands, is a source of
strength.
Maximizing joint activities for internal strengthening, AFAD
is gradually strengthening its roots. The most concrete
manifestation of internal strengthening is the core group meeting
held in Sri Lanka on February 22-March 1, 1999. After assessing
its performance, the AFAD core group firmed up the federation's
basic documents, e.g. plans from March 1999 to May 2000;
membership guidelines; finance policies; interim Constitution and
By-Laws; One Year Budget. All these papers are AFAD's common
bases of unity which would serve as guide for all actions in the
future.
The budding regional federation ...
One of the major plans of AFAD for the year was the holding
of the joint commemoration of the International Week of the
Disappeared held again in Sri Lanka on May 23-30, 1999. Neither
financial limitations nor lack of external support in the local
level hindered the OPFMD from realizing that the joint IWD
commemoration this year would be in Sri Lanka. Less than a month
before the holding of the activity, funding was made available
through the financial support of CAFOD, a funding agency based in
London. Everything was all set for the commemoration.
Asian delegates from both the Philippines and Indonesia
participated. From the Philippines, Daisy Valerio, FIND's
Secretary-General, acted as the coordinator. Again, despite
sincere attempts for the APDP to be represented, the security
situation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir hindered the
organization from being present. Also, it was not possible for
organizations from other continents to be represented. But with
the preparedness shown by the host organization, the federation
was able to banner both local and regional concerns.
The whole event was a grand success. As intended, it
developed deep solidarity among families of the disappeared in
Sri Lanka and deepened AFAD's understanding of the struggles of
the Sri Lankan people; served as a venue for lobbying the Sri
Lankan government to concretely respond to this alarming
phenomenon; developed partnerships with religious groups in Sri
Lanka; further projected the regional phenomenon of involuntary
disappearances and further projected the regional and
international phenomena of involuntary disappearances. Since
FIND shared some principles of people's management and
facilitated the review of plans, the event, nevertheless, served
as a venue for core group consolidation.
THE CONCRETE MANIFESTIONS OF
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY AND LOBBY
Inter-continental Joint Intervention at the 55th session of the
UNWGEID
September 28-October 1, 1998, Geneva, Switzerland - After
three months since its launching, the Asian Federation Against
Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) participated in an inter-
continental joint intervention on the 55th session of the United
Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
(UNWGEID). From Latin America, present were: Yanette Bautista,
FEDEFAM President, Federico Kircher; FEDEFAM Support Group
Member; Sr. Maria del Carmen Pariente, FEDEFAM Executive
Director; Yolima Quintero from ASFADDES, a group in Colombia and
Fr. Jon de Cortina from El Salvador. From Asia, present were
Mary Aileen D. Bacalso from FIND; Chandra Peiris and Abeyseela
from OPFMD; Mugiyanto and two other members from KontraS.
Again, the security situation in Kashmir hindered the
representative of APDP to attend. Thus, for the first time, an
Asian delegation, together with FEDEFAM, faced the UNWGEID. The
Working Group, itself, acknowledged the newly-formed Asian
federation, which, the former said, could help itself in its
work. From Algeria was Mohammed Tahri, a lawyer who represented
the Ligue Algerienne Pour la Defense Des Droits de L'Homme
(Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights).
During this session, in a separate meeting apart from the
joint intervention with FEDEFAM before the UNWGEID, each of the
representatives of the AFAD member organizations was able to
present a specific country situation regarding involuntary
disappearances. The representative of FIND, being at the same
time, the coordinator of the Asian federation, presented, not
only the Philippine situation, but also a bird's eye view of the
over-all Asian situation. The open forum portion clarified
matters on specific country problems vis-a-vis disappearances.
On the part of the Philippines, the matter on compensation which,
the Philippine government, accordingly boasted to have been
giving, was clarified. Also, on the part of Indonesia, it was
made clear that KontraS is not an underground organization, but
an open one, the birth of which was brought about by the downfall
of Suharto. More importantly, the intervention of OPFMD is
believed to have influenced the UNWGEID's planned third visit to
Sri Lanka in October this year.
An internal meeting of FEDEFAM, AFAD and Algerian League for
the Defense of Human Rights enabled the participants to have a
general overview of the international phenomenon of involuntary
disappearances. One limitation was time constraint which
hindered the sharing of particular responses of organizations in
view of the situation.
A detailed planning on a bigger inter-continental forum,
which then was planned to be held in April during the 55th
session of the UN Commission on Human Rights and an evaluation of
the whole thing were conducted. The participants were generally
satisfied with this first ever joint oral intervention conducted
by FEDEFAM, AFAD and the human rights group in Algeria.
Determined to continue international cooperation, the group
culminated the activity with a resolve to prepare for the bigger
inter-continental forum to be held in April 1999 on the occasion
of the 55th session of the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights. Preparations would entail much work. Resources were
still not available. Coordination work was crucial to a
successful forum. The program was still to be refined based on
initial suggestions. New as it was, yet the group believed that
the commonality of the problem would overcome whatever
difficulties it may encounter along the way.
The Inter-Continental Forum
On the Occasion of the 55th Session
of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
The bigger inter-continental forum was co-sponsored by
FEDEFAM and AFAD. Much work, however, was done by FEDEFAM, being
the more established federation. But AFAD had to do its own
internal coordination with FEDEFAM and among its member
organizations. The coordination was smooth, thanks to the
electronic mail. Communication between FIND and OPFMD very much
improved during this time. However, FIND's coordination with
Indonesia and Kashmir was still difficult for different reasons.
The financial problem did not deter AFAD's participation to the
activity. The funds from Hivos contributed, in no small measure,
to AFAD's participation to the inter-continental forum.
Some thirty-five participants from various continents
attended. The public meeting was conducted on the first day
where regional representatives presented the situations of
various continents. Inputs on related topics were given by human
rights experts.
The remaining couple of days were spent for country
situations. Each story was distinctly unique. What was
particularly touching was the declaration of Alicia Miranda,
representative from the Grupo de Apoyo Motuo in Guatemala who
said profound words on the matter on compensation: " It is a
shame to receive money. They took away from us our loved ones.
Because of their disappearance, we have been looking for them.
We have to take the responsibility of an adult. We have been
deprived of our childhood. We never ever experienced our
childhood. "
In a nutshell, the different sharings speak of the fact that
involuntary disappearances affect a vast population throughout
the world. This is especially true in countries which have been
affected by internal conflict. In these situations of internal
conflict, children, too, have been made to disappear. These
disappearances remain unresolved and, in some countries, continue
to happen. States, who are perpetrators, do not, in their own
volition, prevent disappearances and other forms of human rights
violations. These fact could, in itself, very much raise popular
awareness. In the search for the disappeared, political will is
important in achieving positive outcome. The lack of it renders
existing mechanisms insufficient. Habeas corpus, being one of
the means to locate the disappeared, is effective in some
countries, but not effective in other countries. Justice has not
yet been achieved. Thus, there is a need to work for human
rights not only locally, but also internationally.
Furthermore, inputs on topics related to the UN Draft
Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances; Reparation and Redress and Prevention
of Torture further enlightened the participants on the
possibilities for concrete victories.
With states as perpetrators of disappearances, justice will
definitely not be given in a silver platter. It has to be worked
out. Thus, proposals for sustaining international cooperation
wrapped up the forum. These ran the whole gamut from
systematization of documentation to production of a newsletter
using the internet to joint international lobbying such as
interventions to UN bodies to press for the ratification of the
UN Draft Convention on the Protection of All Persons From
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; joint campaigning and
facilitation of regional cooperation. In all these, AFAD has a
vital role to play.
In cooperation with FEDEFAM and Linking Solidarity, AFAD has
the potentials of serving as a catalyst for sustaining and
bringing to greater heights what has been started. After all,
other organizations look up to its example of forging regional
cooperation, which is hoped to be multiplied a hundredfold in the
not-so-distant future.
DREAMING DREAMS AND BEING WILLING TO PAY THE
PRICE TO MAKE THESE DREAMS COME TRUE ...
Setting up a federation is not easy. But this is
imperative amidst the alarming phenomenon of disappearances in
the Asian region which necessitates a strong impact both in the
regional as well as international levels. Perceived realities in
Asia speak of language and cultural differences, which are
exactly the opposite to the reality in Latin America. These
should not serve as a barrier, but instead a challenge for
learning more from varied experiences in Asia. Another regional
particularity as differentiated from that of Latin America is
the fact that in many countries, organizations concerned on the
same issue have still to be established. It is then the role of
AFAD to provide venues for these.
FIND, being the coordinator until such time that a formal
congress be convened, has a crucial role to play in extending its
experiences and in bringing out the best potentials and
experiences of the other member organizations of the federation.
Notwithstanding its own internal concerns, FIND, as in any other
AFAD member organization, has to transcend parochial tendencies,
learn from the particularity of the situations and organizational
responses of different countries and effect a stronger impact
locally, regionally and internationally.
In the second half of 1999, AFAD's stress is the
consolidation of existing members and reaching out to other
organizations in Asia which are interested to join. A seminar on
topics that respond to particular and common needs of member
organizations as well as potential members shall be conducted
within the year. AFAD, in partnership with the Erikka Bautista
Foundation based in Germany, is intending that the seminar could
serve as a venue for internal strengthening as well as expansion
of the federation. Again to be held in Sri Lanka, this will also
be a venue for building-up the preparations for the third visit
of the UNWGEID to Sri Lanka in October this year.
Budding as it is now, the AFAD core group is working towards
the creation of a full-blown federation by convening its First
Regional Congress to be held in Manila, Philippines during the
International Week of the Disappeared in May 2000. All efforts
are geared towards this so that AFAD can better respond to the
imperatives of the time.
All these things may sound grandiose and unreal. But
looking back, the federation itself started as a dream. The
dream became a reality, obviously, not without collective efforts
amidst hardships. And this dream-turned-reality has to blossom
forth and bear fruits for the sake of all the desaparecidos and
their families.
Much remains to be done so that, one day, we shall, indeed,
overcome!
