June 20, 2007
MR. SANTIAGO CORCUERA CABEZUT
Chairperson
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Tel: (41-22) 917 9176
Fax: (41-22) 917 9006
Re: 12 cases of alleged disappearance in Southern Thailand submitted
by the Working Group on Justice for Peace, AFAD member-organization
Dear Chairperson Corcuera Cabezut:
On behalf of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD),
I am writing to you in relation to the 12 cases of enforced
disappearance submitted by one of our member-organizations, the Working
Group on Justice for Peace. In a Council Meeting of AFAD held in Bangkok
in March this year, our new member-organization brought to our attention
the 12 cases of enforced disappearances submitted to your good office,
but were reportedly rejected. When asked for basis of rejection, our
member organization informed us that the rejection was caused by the
fact that the families of the victims had received compensation from the
government of Thailand.
Our Federation believes that the government of Thailand or any
government for that matter whose agents have perpetrated the crime of
enforced disappearances has the obligation to pay compensation to the
victims and/or their immediate family members - among other obligations,
such as to conduct the necessary investigation on the whereabouts of the
person and the identity of the perpetrators and ensure that the
disappeared person surfaces alive and be returned to his or her family.
Moreover, the victim and his/her family should be given the adequate
material, economic and psycho-social rehabilitation because of the
traumatic effects brought about by the disappearance. Compensation is an
integral part of any government’s legal responsibilities and therefore,
should never be considered as a basis for closing a case especially so
if other efforts have not been exhausted. As we all know, the recently
adopted United Nations Convention on the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is very clear about state
obligations on cases of enforced disappearances
The families of the disappeared in Southern Thailand,
whom we personally met last year, were not aware that if they would
receive the said compensation by the government, it would mean the
rejection of the cases that they submitted to the United Nations Working
Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. If they had been
informed of such an implication, a number of them, despite their
poverty, would never have accepted the money . It is contrary to their
principle to receive this much-deserved form of reparation if their
continued search for truth and justice be jeopardized. The government of
Thailand reportedly did not explain to the families of the victims that
other efforts to pursue truth and justice could be hampered by receiving
such compensation. It did not even inform the concerned families of the
status of their cases, e.g. the whereabouts of the victims; the identity
of the perpetrators and other efforts the government is supposed to
conduct to let no stone unturned and to know the truth behind the
disappearances.
In the interest of truth, justice, reparation and the
recuperation of the historical memory of the
disappeared, we would like to ask the members of the United Nations
Working Group on Enforced
Disappearances to review the cases. In our meetings with the former
members of this Working Group, then headed by Mr. Diego Garcia-Sayan, we
always pointed out our profound concern on the clarification of cases.
May we quote the Section 3 of the Working Group's
revised methods of work (14 November 2001), which states that:
"Clarification occurs when the whereabouts of the disappeared persons
are clearly established as a result of investigations by the Government,
inquiries by non-governmental organizations, fact-finding missions by
the Working Group or by human rights personnel from the United Nations
or from any other international organization operating in the field, or
by the search of the family, irrespective of whether the person is alive
or dead."
In the cases submitted by our member-organization in Southern Thailand,
it is evident that the government of Thailand has not conducted all
efforts to ferret out the truth about the whereabouts of the victims and
the identity of the alleged perpetrators and if identified, to bring
these perpetrators to justice to the full extent of the law. Offering
material compensation should be considered only as part of the whole
series of obligations of any state whose agents are alleged to have
committed the said crime.
As the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances holds its regular session, in the name of our Federation,
may we request you to consider these cases for admission in the interest
of the families of the disappeared in conflict-torn Southern Thailand so
that in so doing, these can be brought to the attention of the Thai
government, once again. It is very important for us that whatever
compensation law there is in Thailand or in other countries, this should
not be used to exonerate the government from its other equally or even
more important responsibilities in resolving cases of enforced
disappearances.
May we also take this opportunity to reiterate our request, which we
presented during your 75th session in Bangkok, Thailand to provide us
with your list outstanding cases of enforced disappearances in Asian
countries. We still remember the promise of then Chairperson Stephen
Toope that in the interest of cooperation, you would be willing to give
us access to your list of cases in Asia, which is our region of concern.
Finally, we reiterate our most sincere gratitude to the Working Group
for its unequivocal support during the drafting of the now adopted
United Nations Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances. If entered into force, this very
important international treaty will in no small measure, contribute to
the eradication of this crime against humanity from the face of the
earth.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely yours,
MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO
Secretary-General
Cc.
1. Ms. Tanya Smith –UNWGEID
2. Ms. Diana Sarosi –Working Group on Justice for Peace
