The Inter-faith Conference to be held on December 12,
2008 is a call from the families, relatives and friends of the disappeared
to the different Churches from the families, relatives and friends of the
disappeared.
Enforced
or involuntary disappearance is among the cruelest forms of human rights
violations in the Philippine and global society since many decades ago.
Coming from all walks of life – peasants, workers, church and media
people, other professionals, students, out-of-school youth, indigenous
people, women and other sectors – no one has been and is exempted from
this cruel phenomenon. Now globally known as desaparecidos, they
were forcibly made to disappear by the powers-that- e. Their only crime is
their selfless contribution to their community, country and people as many
victims of enforced disappearance gave their generous contribution for the
transformation of society.
Every desaparecido has a name, a face, a home, a
grieving family who is left behind. For years or even decades, families of
victims continue to search for their missing loved ones. They put bits of
information together in an effort to locate their dear ones or at least
know what happened to them. These families commonly speak that the pain of
losing their loved ones lingers on and they cannot achieve closure despite
the passing of time. Both the disappeared and their loved ones are
violated of their most basic of rights. On the macro level, enforced
disappearance is a crime again the whole of humanity.
Jonas Burgos, James Balao, Fr. Rudy Romano, CSsR, Fr.
Nilo Valerio, SVD, Romeo Legaspi... They are among the long litany of
names of desaparecidos in the Philippines whose loved ones continue
to ask the same questions: Where are they? What happened to them? Until
when do we continue to wait? Where is truth? Where is justice? The
desaparecidos’ precious lives were callously stolen from the bosom of
their families and society.
A Call for Help to the different Churches
Indeed, the families, relatives and friends of
desaparecidos are calling for help to the different Churches through
an inter-faith conference. Past cases of enforced disappearance remain
unresolved and unclosed so that the pain of losing loved ones is too much
to bear while new cases keep on happening with each passing day. Such a
reality is exacerbated by the climate of impunity which is deeply imbedded
in our society, allowing perpetrators to go scot-free.
Thus, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the 10th anniversary of
the Universal Declaration for Human Rights Defenders this year, 2008, the
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) in cooperation
with Kaalagad, Moro Human Rights Center (MHRC), Children’s Legal Rights
and Development Center (CLRD) and Institute for Studies in Asian Church
and Culture (ISACC) is convening an inter-faith conference on the UN
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
and also on the anti-involuntary disappearance bill filed and re-filed in
the Philippine House of Congress over a stretch of 14 years now.
The UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons
from Enforced Disappearance is an international treaty, which, through the
united efforts of families of the disappeared from different continents of
the world, has been unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20
December 2006. It provides, among other things, the right to truth and the
right not to be subjected to enforced disappearance. To date, this is now
signed by 79 member-states which include only four countries in Asia
namely; India, Azerbaijan, Japan and Mongolia. The Convention is now
ratified by six countries namely, Albania, Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay,
France and Honduras.
The
UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Execution and the UN Working Group
on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances both confirm the alarming
phenomenon of enforced disappearances in the Philippines. This is ironic
in a country which boasts itself to be a member of the UN Human Rights
Council. To date, the Philippine government, one of the UN member-states
which have outstanding cases of enforced disappearances, has not yet
signed and ratified the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons
from Enforced Disappearance. Moreover, after fourteen years of lobbying of
the families of the disappeared, the anti-disappearance bill criminalizing
enforced disappearances in the Philippines has not yet seen the light of
day.
Target Output and Perspective
The families of the disappeared along with the coordinators of the
interfaith conference believe that the different Churches have the moral
duty to listen and respond to the cry of the little ones of God’s flock
including the desaparecidos and their families. Their authority
puts them in the best position to establish the moral basis of the
struggle of the families and of society to attain truth, justice, redress
and the reconstruction of the historical memory of the disappeared. Thus,
the inter- faith conference is an important form of accompanying the
families, relatives and friends of victims in their lonely and difficult
journey towards a world without desaparecidos.
In this regard, we hope that the conference would –
1. Come up with a statement calling on the Philippine
government to sign and ratify the above-mentioned international treaty
protecting people from enforced disappearances and to make the
anti-involuntary disappearance bill a priority bill;
2. Serve as an initial step for the different Churches to more concretely
accompany the families, relatives and friends of the disappeared in the
overall task of resolving cases of enforced disappearance and working for
a world without desaparecidos.
3. Explore possibilities for a long-term partnership between AFAD and
representatives of the Churches in the common dream of achieving a world
without disappeared persons.
