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Statements of AFAD
Proceedings:
Articles on the Proceedings on the AFAD Leadership Training
Jan. 27 - 31, 2003, Philippines
AFAD Second Congress Resolutions
August 2003
Remembering Munir
AFAD Second Congress
August 26-30, 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand
AFAD’s Mid-Year Report
Ding Zilin's
Message To
Hong Kong
Again, The KONTRAS – IKOHI Office Was Attacked
“ If they are dead, tell us”!
My sons, where are they? |
Unearth the Skeletons Inside The Closet,
Ferret Out The Truth
Behind The Alleged Mass Graves
in the Indian-Occupied Kashmir…
April 11, 2008 - Truth, justice, redress and the recuperation of the historical memory of the disappeared – this is the core of the advocacy of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD).
Thus, AFAD, which received a report of the existence of mass graves in 18 Uri districts from its member-organization, the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, calls on the government of India to leave no stone unturned. It is an obligation of the Indian government to investigate the truth behind enforced disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir especially after reports of mass graves in localities near the Line of Control with Pakistan and therefore, inaccessible without the permission of Security Forces.
That graves of at least 940 persons have been found in 18 villages in Uri District alone is a cause for alarm and a concrete basis for urgent action by the Indian government. If it is, indeed, true in its commitment as a signatory to the United Nations Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, the Indian government has to act without delay.
To note, families of the disappeared in this disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir conducted a hunger strike in 2003, which forced its Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed to admit that there were 3,734 cases of enforced disappearances in contrast to the 60 cases he admitted prior to the said hunger strike. Five years had passed since this admission. With the allegation of mass graves of 940 persons in 18 villages, now is the opportune time for the Indian government to manifest its commitment to do something concrete to resolve what it admitted as cases of enforced disappearances.
Admission of cases and signing of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, while considered as positive manifestations of goodwill on the part of the Indian government, have to be complemented with the political will to ferret out the truth about these reports of mass graves. In so doing, it can, in the process, give justice to the victims and their families, being part of the society which the government professes to serve.
Obtaining the truth through exhumation of remains of victims of human rights violations is a necessary step to justice. Not only will a scientific exhumation of these remains facilitate decent burial to the victims and peace of mind to their families, it will also contribute to producing the necessary evidence of human rights violations against the perpetrators, thus, a necessary step to breaking the culture of impunity.
It is about time that the bitter truth be revealed, perpetrators be tried and punished to the full extent of the law and that justice be meted out to the victims and their families. Experiences especially of many Latin American countries speak that legal investigation and the proper use of forensic science worked in favor of the victims and had indeed, facilitated concrete breakthroughs in the struggle against impunity.
The Indian government is one of the members of the United Nations Human Rights Council. It is also one of the countries subjected to the Universal Periodic Review in order to evaluate as to whether or not it is worthy of this position of honor in the United Nations. But with outstanding cases of enforced disappearances and the utter lack of justice for the victims and their families, the government of India has to act now to resolve existing cases and prevent the recurrence of future ones.
While it signed the United Nations Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, the Indian government has still to ratify the treaty and ensure the enactment of an enabling mechanism to ensure implementation.
Once again, AFAD reiterates its call to the Indian government: Unearth the Skeletons Inside The Closet! Ferret Out the Truth Behind the Alleged Mass Graves In the Indian-Occupied Kashmir…
Signed and authenticated by:
| MUGIYANTO |
MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO |
| Chairperson |
Secretary-General |
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