AFAD 25 Years Video Teaser

This AFAD video teaser is an opening salvo of the yearlong campaign and fight Against Enforced Disappearances and for the Protection, not Persecution, of Human Rights Defenders, across Asia.

a continuing crime
a disappearing act

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AFAD WINS THE 2016 ASIA DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD (ADHRA)

Manila,  11  November  2016  –  The  Asian  Federation  Against  Involuntary  Disappearances  (AFAD) wishes  to  express  its  deepest  gratitude  to  the  Taiwan  Foundation  for  Democracy  (TFD)  for selecting it the 2016 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award (ADHRA).

   
   
Indeed,  this  important  recognition  from  the  Taiwan  Foundation  for  Democracy  comes at  a  very sensitive  time  for  AFAD,  as  its  Chairperson  has  been  kept  in  arbitrary  detention  in  Indian- administered Kashmir since September 16, 2016.  Each  year,  TFD  presents  this  award  to  one individual  or  organization  that  has  made  significant contributions  to  the  advancement  of democracy  and  human  rights  in  Asia.  This  year,  this prestigious prize has been awarded to AFAD “for the courage, leadership and vision it brings to the world.” 
AFAD was chosen from a pool of 11 candidates by a rigorous two-stage reviewing process. AFAD wishes to thank Ms. Evelyn Balais-Serrano, former Director of Forum-Asia and Mr. Basil  Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission for speaking so highly of AFAD’ struggles and work in  their nomination letters.
During  the  past  18  years,  AFAD  has  grown  into  a  Federation  of  14  member  organizations  in  10 different South-Asian and South-East Asian countries. There have  been important victories, such as the approval of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances; the enactment in the Philippines of the first domestic law criminalizing enforced disappearances in Asia after 16 years of struggle; the ratification of the Convention by Sri Lanka, and its signing by India, Indonesia and Thailand.
However,  enforced  disappearances  continue  to  be  perpetrated  to  date  in  many  Asian  countries and families are still waiting for truth and justice to be done. AFAD itself and its leaders have been and continue to be persecuted to date. Its former president and Indonesia’s staunch human rights defender, Munir, was poisoned  with a lethal dose of  arsenic by alleged members of the Military Intelligence  Group  in  a  Garuda  flight  from  Jakarta  to  Amsterdam  via  Singapore  on  7  September 2004.
Mr. Khurram Parvez, AFAD’s Chairperson, is a well-known Kashmiri human rights defender, who has been very vocal in protesting against the countless human rights violations committed by the Indian government in Kashmir over the past years, and with increasing violence this year. As a result of his work, Khurram Parvez has been arrested and is now detained, for almost two months, under the Public Safety Act (PSA), a notorious draconian law used to further curtail the rights of the Kashmiri population.
The official award ceremony will take place in Taipei on December 10th, 2016, International Human Rights Day. The award, which consists of a plaque and a USD 100,000.00 funding from the Government of Taiwan, will be received by the AFAD Secretary General, Ms. Mary Aileen DiezBacalso, and the Chairperson of the Defence of Human Rights and AFAD Council Member, Ms. Amina Masood.
The Federation gets its strength from its member organizations, which are actively working on the ground for the protection and promotion of human rights. They are facing threats, intimidation, persecution; nonetheless, they continue to stand side by side of family members, giving them all their support.
This important award is further recognition of the efforts faced and of the constant struggle the AFAD’s member organizations engage in every day.AFAD is honored for having been recognized by the Taiwan Democracy Foundation "for its track record in making a difference in the human rights situation in Asia".
This award will give new strength to its struggle and will help in pursuing its vision of a world without desaparecidos.
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