Tag Archives: International observance

[Statement] Itaguyod ang karapatang pantao, sugpuin ang sapilitang pagwala! -FIND

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PAHAYAG International Week of the Disappeared (IWD) May 27-31, 2013 ITAGUYOD ANG KARAPATANG PANTAO, SUGPUIN ANG SAPILITANG PAGWALA!

FIND

Nakikiisa ang FIND (Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance), mga pamilya, kaanak at mga biktima ng sapilitang pagwala sa buong mundo sa paggunita ng International Week of the Disappeared (IWD) mula Mayo 27 – 31, 2013. Ang taunang pag-alala na ito ay una nang sinimulan sa Latin America.

Ang paggunita na ito ay isang pagbibigay pugay sa mga naging biktima ng sapilitang pagwala, na kung tawagin ay enforced or involuntary disappearance. Ang enforced or involuntary disappearance ay isang karumal-dumal na paglabag ng karapatang pantao na isinasagawa upang patahimikin ang mga indibidwal na malayang nagsasalita at kumikilos para sa pagbabago ng lipunan.

Nagiging makabuluhan ang paggunita ng IWD dahil sa isang kasunduang internasyunal sa loob ng United Nations (UN) na nagbabawal ng sapilitang pagwala at pagkilala nito na walang sinumang tao, sa kahit anumang sitwasyon ay maaring dukutin at sapilitang iwala. Sa kasalukuyan ay mayroon nang 38 na mga kaanib-bansa na pumirma at sumang-ayon sa kasunduang ito, ang International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPAPED). Kapansin-pansin na ang bansang Pilipinas ay hindi kabilang sa mga bansang ito.

Hindi maikaila na ang Pilipinas ay isa sa mga bansang mayroong mahabang talaan ng mga biktima ng sapilitang pagwala. Ang kalakhan ng bilang nito ay idinulot ng mapaniil na diktaduryang rehimen ni dating Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos. Ang kabuuang bilang ayon, sa dokumento ng FIND, ay umabot ng 878 na hanggang sa ngayon ay mayroon pa ring 613 na hindi matagpuan. Ang gawaing sapilitang pagwala ay nagpatuloy sa pagpalit-palit ng mga administrasyong sumunod. Sa katunayan, sa mahigit tatlong taong panunungkulan ni Pangulong Simeon Benigno C. Aquino III, ay mayroon nang 22 ka-taong dinukot at iniulat na sapilitang iwinala ng mga hinihilalang tauhan ng gubyerno o ahente ng estado.

Sa kabila nito, nagkaroon ng liwanag at pag-asa ang adhikain ng FIND na itaguyod ang karapatang pantao ng mamamayan at wakasan ang enforced disappearances nang lagdaan ng Presidente ang “Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012” noong Disyembre 21, 2012. Ngayon, maaari nang matulungan at makinabang ang mga biktima ng sapiltang pagwala sa pamamagitan ng programang rehabilitasyon, kumpensasyon at restitusyon, samantalang ang mga mapapatunayang may kagagawan ng krimeng enforced disappearance ay maaari nang sampahan ng kaso at managot sa ilalim ng batas, RA 10353.

Hindi nalalayo ang mga probisyon ng RA 10353 sa International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPAPED) kaya ang panawagan ng FIND sa pamahalaang Aquino ay isunod na, sa lalong madaling panahon, ang paglagda sa international convention. Ito ay isang kongkretong hakbang upang tuluyang puksain ang sapiltang pagwala sa bansa. hinihikayat din ng FIND, sa pakikipagtulungan sa mga municipal at city councils, ang paghain ng mga lokal na resolusyon na magdedeklara ng kanilang mga lugar na isang “Enforced Disappearance Free Area” bilang pagkilala at tugon sa batas, RA 10353.

Ang FIND ay tuluyang naninindigan at kikilos upang mabigyan ng katarungan ang mga biktima ng sapilitang pagwala at mawakasan ang pagsasagawa nito. Samahan n’yo kami sa pagwawakas ng karumaldumal na gawaing ito at nang manaig ang pagrespeto sa karapatang pantao ng buong mamamayang Pilipino.

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[Events] Activities in commemoration of the INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF THE DISAPPEARED- AFAD/FIND

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INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF THE DISAPPEARED
May 27 -31, 2013

FIND AFAD
Dear Friends:

The Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND), the International Coalitions Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED) and the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD are organizing two activities in commemoration of the INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF THE DISAPPEARED (May 27 -31, 2013).

The May 28 Roundtable Discussion on Restitution for the Victims of Enforced Disappearance which will be held at the Minority Hall of the Philippine Congress from 2 to 5 pm, aims to bring together various stakeholders to come up with a common understanding of the concept of restitution and to identify its different forms and the necessary operational mechanisms for its provisions.

The May 30 Roundtable Discussion (RTD) on the Lobby Efforts for the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance which will be held at the Blue Room of the Ateneo Professional Schools, Rockwell, Makati City from 9:00 to 11:30 am, aims to discuss the complementation of the lobby work of human rights NGOs and the diplomatic community for possible accession to ICPAPED by the Philippine government.

WE SHALL TRULY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU CAN TAKE PART IN THIS AFOREMENTIONED EVENTs.
THANK YOU.

For inquiry, please contact:

Mr. Darwin Mendiola
Mobile No. 0917.8968459
Office Phone No. 490.7862

Email address: afad@surfshop.net.ph

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

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[Statement] Struggling for Land and the Right to Food. Peasants are among the most vulnerable to hunger in the Philippines -FIAN

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Struggling for Land and the Right to Food. Peasants are among the most vulnerable to hunger in the Philippines

logo-fianQuezon City, April 17, 2013 – On today’s International Day of Peasants’ Struggles FIAN Philippines calls for a human rights perspective to end hunger and poverty among Filipino peasants.

The International Day of Peasants’ Struggles reminds us of the Philippines’ long history of land grabbing by international and local actors. Throughout this history until now, Philippine peasants have been struggling to defend or to get back their lands. The peasants’ right to land is closely linked to their right to adequate food. Food is life and for peasants life is land. Land assures the farmers’ right to feed themselves and their families and to live a life in dignity. Up to now, at least one million farmers and landless in the Philippines are deprived of this human right.

Hunger worldwide and in the Philippines is mainly rural. Farmers, who produce our food, belong to the poorest sectors and suffer most from
hunger. More than 50% of Filipinos live in rural areas. They comprise 70% of the poor. 35% of the population, or 60% of the poor, depend
directly on agriculture.

FIAN Philippines as a section of FIAN International has been supporting peasants worldwide in claiming their land and thus their right to adequate food. Peasant struggles in the Philippines have led to important gains. At the same time, setbacks and losses reversed achievements. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP or CARPER) was enacted in 1988 as a response to peasant action. The struggle, however, has continued as landlord resistance, land conversions, cancellations of land titles and reversals of court decisions keep undermining the program.

Even more than 20 years after the enactment of CARP, rural relations are still dominated by inequalities in land ownership and the existence of enclave-like haciendas controlled by powerful landlords. Farmers are still being evicted, displaced, threatened and even killed. Land grabbing by national and transnational business, especially for the production of biofuels, has become another urgent threat for farmers and their lands. Moreover, worsening climate conditions made small farmers more prone to floods, typhoons and droughts.

Farmers in the Philippines have remained poor and prone to hunger, because the Philippine government has failed to protect, respect and
fulfil their human rights, especially the right to adequate food. Violations of the farmers’ right to food have different dimensions: From physical harassment by state and non-state actors that prevent farmers from peacefully occupying or cultivating their lands to false legal charges. A strong legal framework is needed to fulfil their right to adequate food, but laws such as CARPER are poorly implemented and limited.

One limit of the agrarian reform law is the lack of a human rights perspective. CARPER does not clearly integrate the right to adequate
food of small farmers. Biased for agro-industrial production, the government thus fails to address the small farmers’ needs to develop
their landholdings in a sustainable way that feeds present and future generations.

UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, stresses small-scale farming as a solution against hunger as it can be
highly productive per hectare and effective in the use of natural resources. Small-scale farms have the potential of true sustainable
farming, which not only raises the farmers’ incomes, but also best addresses local food needs.

A clear mind shift towards a human-rights based framework is needed to end poverty and hunger among Filipino farmers. The lack of
consideration for the right to adequate food when it comes to land rights and rural development is symptomatic for a generally weak legal
framework to the right to food in the Philippines. However, the Philippine State has committed itself to International Laws such as
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). As such, the Philippine State is obliged to take all steps
necessary to assert the right to food of all Filipinos at all times, also of the Filipino peasants.

Contact: fian.philippines@gmail.com

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

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[Event] FIAN launches International Art Contest “Stop Impunity – Hunger on Trial”

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Heidelberg, Germany, December 5, 2011 – In celebration of the international Human Rights Day, December 10, the human rights organization FIAN International invites people worldwide to participate in an art contest: Stop Impunity – Hunger on Trial, which aims to highlight prevailing impunity of violations of the human right to food, leading to chronic hunger and malnutrition.

Of the almost 1 billion people suffering from chronic hunger and malnutrition today, the majority live in rural areas in the Global South, as small-scale peasants or pastoralists, with women and indigenous people being particularly affected .

“We are concerned about the persistence of gross violations of the right to food and the near-total impunity enjoyed by their perpetrators,” describes Flavio Valente, Secretary General of FIAN. “Hunger is a consequence of impunity and it is the lack of accountability that allows for the impunity of human rights violations.”

One of the many cases of impunity of the human right to adequate food documented by FIAN addresses the plight of more than 2,000 villagers in Mubende, Uganda, who were forcedly evicted by the Ugandan army to make way for a coffee plantation, owned by a subsidiary of the German-based Neumann company.  In the ten years since their eviction the people have not received any compensation and no effective remedy has been found.

The Ugandan activist Peter Kayiira is currently visiting a number of European countries to speak about the pending case. One high point of his tour will be a meeting with members of the European Parliament today, accompanied by a symbolic collection of signatures from parliamentarians in support of the art contest.

For the international art contest, FIAN, together with the worldwide peasants’ organization La Via Campesina, invites activists to send in their art work visualizing the issue of impunity and right to food violations. Videotaped pantomime, photo-collections, recordings of a direct action or demonstration or own song, graffiti, stencils or an impressive landscape, printed or painted t-shirts, banners, walls or tattoos and others will compete to be one of  three selected art pieces that will help convey FIAN’s message: “Stop impunity – Fight for the right to food” in 2012.

Background information:

The Art contest Stop Impunity – Hunger on Trial is launched by the international human rights organization FIAN International, http://www.fian.org, and supported by the worldwide peasants’ organization La Via Campesina, http://www.viacampesina.org .

Participants submit their work via http://www.stop-impunity.org. Participation is free to all people 18 years of age and older. The contest includes two categories for submission – photography and video.

A public online voting will take place between February 10 and March 15, 2011. From the ten art pieces that receive the most votes, a jury will select three winners. First prize is 1000Euros, second prize 400Euros and third prize 100Euros. The top three winners will also be exhibited during a public screening on the occasion of the International Day of Peasant’s Struggle,  April 17, 2012, and used by FIAN and La Via Campesina to promote the right to food and the fight against impunity on their websites, reports and during public events.

Read the Press Release in pdf at http://www.fian.org/news/press-releases/stop-impunity-hunger-on-trial-fian-launches-international-art-contest/pdf

More information with Anton Pieper at FIAN International Secretariat, Tel. +49-6221-65300-55, pieper[at]fian.org

Wilma Strothenke
Coordinator Communication
********************************
FIAN International Secretariat
Willy-Brandt-Platz 5/ D-69115 Heidelberg Germany
Tel +49(0)6221 65300 56/ Fax +49(0)6221 830545
Postal Address: PO Box 102243/ D-69012 Heidelberg Germany
e-mail: strothenke [at] fian.org/ http://www.fian.org

FIAN is an international human rights organization that has been advocating the realization of the right to food for more than 20 years. FIAN consists of national sections and individual members in over 50 countries around the world. http://www.fian.org

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[Featured Photo] Nov 10 2011 Global Day of Remembrance of Environment Heroes and Martyrs. Photo by Jay Azusena / PhilRights

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Nov 10 2011 Global Day of Remembrance of Environment Heroes and Martyrs. Photo by Jay Azusena / PhilRights

Hundreds of environmental activists gathered last November 10, Thursday evening at designated places in several key cities in the country to offer prayers, flowers and light candles in honor of those who have been killed in the fight for the environment.
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[In the news] Groups to offer prayers, flowers for ‘environment martyrs’ – www.gmanews.tv

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Groups to offer prayers, flowers for ‘environment martyrs’

Hundreds of environmental activists will gather early Thursday evening at designated places in several key cities in the country to offer prayers, flowers and light candles in honor of those who have been killed in the fight for the environment.

The activity is the highlight of this year’s observance of the International Day of Commemoration of the Heroes, Heroines and Martyrs of the Resistance against the Mining, Oil and Gas.

Students, religious people, human rights and environmental activists simultaneously gathered in Manila, Puerto Princesa, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro and offered prayers, flowers, and lighted candles as relatives and friends recalled the lives and struggles of those they called “heroes and heroines” for environment.

Around 200 supporters from the city of Manila will gather at the Pope Pius Center along UN Avenue, and set up portraits of fallen comrades for the planned prayers and other activities.

The killing in Cotabato on Oct. 17 of Italian priest Fr. Fausto Tentorio is the latest in the string of killings of environmentalists for this year alone.

Early this year, Dr. Gerry Ortega of Palawan was shot and killed in Puerto Princesa. Another outspoken anti-mining activist, Datu Roy Gallego, was also killed in Surigao del Sur last Oct 14.

Read full article @ www.gmanews.tv

[In the news] Movement for Liveable Cebu, Cabrido awarded – www.cdn.ph

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Movement for Liveable Cebu, Cabrido awarded    

Two environmental advocates in Cebu were recognized by peers for their outstanding and continuous work to protect the environment.

Lawyer Ben Cabrido and the Movement for Liveable Cebu (MLC) were given token awards of seedlings of lumboy, a native tree species.

Nov. 10 was the International Day for the Remembrance of Envrionmental Heroes and Martyrs.

Cabrido was recognized for his campaign against illegal mining in Mindanao.

He said plans are underway for a national summit next year for all anti-mining advocates.

“We will educate them with environmental principles and laws and argue with our causes of action and position. The government should preserve the biodiversity and integrity of our environment,” Cabrido said

MLC, formerly called the Stop Cebu Flyovers Movement, was credited for stopping the construction of two flyover projects in the center of Cebu City.

“We want a place for more people and not for cars. We deserve a place that is clean, with clean air. Our campaign is for those who believe. They should continue to speak up. Our challenge for them is to speak up and claim what is right,” said MLC convenor Joel Lee.

Lawyer Gloria Ramos said some parties consider it a “miracle” that the Department of Public Works and Highways suspended the flyover projects.

Cebu environmetal advocates also honored 29 environmental martyrs or those who were killed trying to stop the destruction of the environment brought by mining, oil and gas extractions.

The list includes Dr. Gerry Ortega of Palawan and Fr. Fausto Tentorio.

Read full article @ www.cdn.ph

[Poster] The right to be free from torture and ill-treatment by Balay Rehabilitation Center

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[In line with the commemoration of the International Day in Support for Victims of Torture on June 26, 2011, HRonlinePH will be showcasing freedom from torture campaign materials authored or produced by human rights defenders organizations.] 

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[Event] Nothing can justify torture under any circumstances! With the OMCT, sign the Manifesto!

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Nothing can justify torture under any circumstances! With the OMCT, sign the Manifesto!
http://www.omct.org/international-campaigns/campaign-prohibition-torture/#campaign_signing_form

Dear Friends,

For your information, a two-persons team has arrived at the OMCT to work on the forthcoming 26th of June “International day in supports of victims of torture”. Sarah Petitpierre and Cécile Aubert will coordinate the communication for the event. They will also help us spread the Manifesto and collect signatures for our International Campaign for the Absolute Prohibition of Torture and Ill-treatment.

We also would like to inform you that, following the recent mailing regarding the Manifesto and the International Day of June 26, 2011, we shall enter into contact with you in the near future either by E-mail or by phone in order to reflect together on these issues.

For your information, we organized our work this way:

Cécile Aubert:                        Americas, Europe –   ca@omct.org
Sarah Petitpierre:                  Africa, Asia –              sp@omct@org

Concerning the 26th of June 2011 day (events organized around the 26th of June 2011):

At this stage, we offer communication support for each member of the network and for active organizations regarding their planned 26th of June 2011 day events.

Should you decide to organize a special action, we shall be delighted to proceed with/for you. Practically speaking, we plan to create on our website  (http://www.omct.org/fr/) a special page regarding the 26th of June and to give it a visual priority.

All organisations having organized an event and willing to participate will be presented to the public, indicating their website, following their agreement.

Such a process will not only increase visibility to your projects but also to your organization.

Also, being on Facebook, we also plan to use this vast network to do the same (special page on the 26th of June, presentation of the events, organizations, websites), here again to allow increasing visibility of your projects.

Regarding the Manifesto “International Campaign for the Absolute Prohibition of Torture and Ill-treatment”: our goal is to increase the number of signatures collected!

1. Sensitization by E-mail

As for the collection of signatures for the Manifesto, we have developed an awareness action by e-mail, with the sentence and the link that you’ll find at the top right side of the current e-mail, to enable all our interlocutors, with some “clicks”, to sign the Manifesto for an absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment and to spread it.

We propose the OMCT’s network members to do the same, with the idea to spread this campaign and to accelerate the collection of signatures. Indeed, we believe that it is by increasing, spreading and multiplying the number of signatures that we can demonstrate, as members of the worldwide civil society the importance to this important movement.

We propose, should you consider it relevant and appropriate for your organization, to systematically include that sentence and the link regarding the campaign in all e-mails sent in the appropriate language (we have prepared 3 models, French, English and Spanish). I’ll include them below so that you may consider it an interesting approach to implement it within your organization, among your colleagues, your network. Unfortunately, we do not have for the moment the proper support for other languages.

French

Nulle circonstance ne permet de tolérer la torture! Avec l’OMCT, signez le Manifeste!

http://www.omct.org/fr/international-campaigns/campaign-prohibition-torture/#campaign_signing_form

English
Nothing can justify torture under any circumstances! With the OMCT, sign the Manifesto!

http://www.omct.org/international-campaigns/campaign-prohibition-torture/#campaign_signing_form

Spanish

Ninguna circunstancia permite tolerar la tortura! Con la OMCT, firme el Manifiesto!

http://www.omct.org/es/international-campaigns/campaign-prohibition-torture/#campaign_signing_form

The advantage of this approach we believe is to allow increasingly worldwide awareness regarding the campaign and its urgency. It also allows an easy and efficient way to collect signatures.

Moreover, it is absolutely free, requiring only few clicks to sign, along with high level persons such as Martti Ahtisaari, Kofi Annan, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, Rigoberta Menchu, Jose Ramos-Horta, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Joseph Stiglitz, Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter, among others.

NB: For your information, it is generally not necessary to translate the Manifesto. You’ll find at the bottom of the form to fill online, at the right side of the document, a space named “language” that will translate the text in the language of your choice. The translation service being computerized, may perhaps not be ideal, but it allows a very general public to understand both the text of the manifesto and how/where to fill the form.

2. Possibility to check the evolution by country

As you’ll see also when visiting the page, it is possible to observe trends in harvesting signatures by country, which may be a good tool, and hopefully in the future, an argument in order to approach the concerned authorities, for a positive evolution of the situation.

3. What about to copy / paste the link of the Campaign on your site?

Should you support the Campaign, it is also possible to add the link of the Campaign on your website. To proceed, just copy and paste the appropriate link, thereby encouraging visitors to click and sign online. In English, the link is the following:

Nothing can justify torture under any circumstances! With the OMCT, sign the Manifesto!

http://www.omct.org/international-campaigns/campaign-prohibition-torture/#campaign_signing_form

We also would like to draw you attention to the fact that this campaign is an international campaign. We think it deserves to be centralized to allow a same speech, and a common position on all sides of the world. Therefore, to allow an objective view of the situation, if this campaign interests you, we kindly suggest you use the tool and the links we made available, with translation tools online.

Hoping that these few suggestions might interest you, we stay of course at your disposal to discuss these proposals. I’d be delighted to contact you during next week should this suits you.

Looking forward to talking to you soon. With our most sincere and respectful regards.

Sarah Petitpierre / Cécile Aubert
OMCT-World Organization Against Torture
International Secretariat
Communication Officers
Campaign 26 June 2011

tel.: +41 (0) 22 809 49 21 (Wed-Thu-Fri: 10.30 am – 14.30 pm)
E-mail: sp@omct.org   ca@omct.org
Join us on facebook: OMCT, Genève

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[Featured site] www.magph.org

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Since 1982, Medical Action Group (MAG) is known to be a service-provider to victims of human rights violations.

MAG continues to provide a holistic rehabilitative service, which includes but not limited to medical and psychosocial services, to documented torture survivors particularly political detainees and prisoners in the country. This is concurrent to regular jail visitation of MAG staff. The beneficiaries also include immediate relatives of torture victims.

MAG pioneers its work on medical documentation as part of “quick response team” or QRT by documenting alleged cases of torture and providing necessary health and medical services to victims of arbitrary arrest and detention. MAG has been assisting victim/survivor of human rights violations by providing medical records and documentation to the court for prosecution of alleged perpetrators and measures to protect the victim/survivor. It is a well-known fact that persons deprived of their liberty are subjected to torture before they were brought to a judicial authority. Hence the need of necessary protection to the arrested person during this stage is considered to be crucial to prevent torture. Indeed, MAG has developed its credibility from this line of work and formed a vast and reliable network of support groups, organizations, institutions and individuals to provide support to its programs and services.

On victims’ medical and psychological aspects, the interventions are proved to be effective.  The formation of support group system is crucial in establishing network regarding health and social welfare needs of victims as well as their relatives. The support group composed of victims’ relatives, friends and colleagues as well as groups of human rights defenders creates a sense of belonging, provides emotional support, initiates capabilities for self-management when it comes to decision-making in facing life after detention and trial, and makes it possible to vindicate the victims.

Through the combination of documentation, welfare assistance, rehabilitation, networking and lobby work, MAG has been able to influence a number of policies for the protection and defense of human rights in the country and access to justice in particular the campaign for the enactment of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 (Republic Act No. 9745) and popularization of the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment otherwise known as the Istanbul Protocol in medical documentation of cases of torture.

The documentation work of MAG has resulted in some extent “fine-tuning” of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Anti-Torture Act i.e. Section 12, Right to Physical, Medical and Psychological Examination by facilitating a dialogue with concerned government agencies about documented cases where persons deprived of their liberty were not afforded prompt and regular access to a lawyer and an independent doctor from the outset of their detention, and victims’ right to request a second medical opinion by a doctor of his/her choice were violated.

MAG in 2009 facilitated the submission of the Joint Civil Society Report on the implementation of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to the UN Committee Against Torture 42nd session, 27 April to 15 May 2009. Followed by Joint Civil Society Follow-up Report on the Progress of the Implementation by the Philippines of the United Nations Committee Against Torture Concluding Observations last August 2010.

MAG is currently disseminating information of the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) Concluding Observations and Recommendations to the Philippine government and also involve in education campaign on popularization of the Anti-Torture Act.

Every year, MAG also conducts social and recreational activities for victims of torture and their relatives as part of their rehabilitation. On the commemoration of the International Day of Support for Victims of Torture and during Christmas season dubbed as “Paskuhan sa Kampo” (Christmas in Jail) are few of these activities where we mobilizes government agencies, civil society organizations, friends, concerned individuals and specialists.

For more information about MAG, please visit
http://www.magph.org
http://www.facebook.com/medicalactiongroup

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[Photo Blog] Beyond telling are stories of injustice that fail to disappear

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Compiled by ECjr.

Photos by FIND, AFAD, Richie Supan, Celia Sevilla and Egay

It was my first time to witness and listen to a truth telling activity. Relatives of victims of enforced disappearances one by one took turns in narrating what they think and remember about their loved ones before they were disappeared.  It was indeed a heart breaking scene.  The cases were somehow old stories for human rights advocates like us but they never failed to touch and break my hearth.  I already know, but I never thought that I would be more affected by the feeling of uncertainty of the victims’ where about when their stories are being told by the families of the victims themselves.

The truth telling conference was part of the week long commemoration of the International Week of the Disappeared which was commemorated from May 29 to June 4 this year. It was spearheaded by Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance or FIND together with the Asian Federation Against involuntary Disappearance or AFAD.

I learned from Darwin, one of our colleagues from AFAD that the annual IWD was based on a tradition that started in Latin America by Nuns and mothers of victims of enforced disappearance.

Photo by FIND

The Truth-Telling Conference was held in a conference room in the House of Representatives.

FIND Chairperson Nilda Lagman Sevilla and CHR Chairperson Eta Rosales. Photo by FIND

Parents of enforced disappearance victim Daryl Fortuna tell their stories. Photo of FIND

Mr. Butch and Mrs. Cora Fortuna narrate their untiring search for their son Daryl who was disappeared since March of 2010.

Atty. Guinto of the PNP Human Rights Affairs Office and Col. Tutaan of the AFP Human Rights Affairs Office. Photo by FIND

AFAD Sec. Gen. Aileen Bacalso and FIND Chairperson Nilda Lagman sevilla with Police Chief Superintendent Atty. Clarence Guinto. Photo by AFAD

Mr. Louie Crismo, member of FIND tells his story of his disappeared brother during Martial Law. Photo by FIND

Boyet Itucal, member of FIND, surfaced desaparecido. Photo by FIND

The Week long commemoration started with an opening Caravan at the Quezon City Memorial Circle last May 29, 2011.  It was participated by tricycles that are members of Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Transportasyon (PMT) and families and advocates including us.

Members of PMT, FIND, AFAD and other Human Rights NGOs in a Caravan calling for the enactment of the Anti Enforced Disappearance Law and Ratification of the Convention. Photo by Richie Supan.

Photo by Egay

FIND and AFAD banners of faces of victims of enforced disappearance on lamp posts around QC Circle. Photo by Egay

Fr. Robert Reyes with children of desaparecidos. Photo by Egay

Samahan ng mga Anak ng Desaparecidos (SAD) in a cultural performance. Photo by Egay

Photo by Egay

Photo by Egay

Photo by Egay

Photo by Egay

The IWD commemoration culminated with a dinner discussion held in Kowloon Restaurant in Matalino Street in Quezon City, June 3, 2011. It was also in lined with AFAD’s 13th Anniversary in June 4, 2011 and the relaunch of the Coalition Against Enforced Disappearance (CAED) through commitment signing by human rights defenders.

AFAD Sec. Gen. Aileen Bacalso in her welcoming remarks. Photo by AFAD

Members of SAD. Photo by AFAD

Photo by AFAD

Truth hurts but truth shall set us free. HRonlinePH is one with families and victims of human rights violations in calling for the State to respect and protect the right not to be disappeared.

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[Featured Site] www.find.org.ph

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  It was in November 23, 1985 when 8 families of victims of enforced disappearance founded FIND or the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance. It was amidst the escalating struggle of different sectors of society against the Marcos dictatorship when FIND spearheaded the continuous search for truth and justice for all victims of enforced disappearances. Twenty five years after that dark years of our history, FIND continuously to struggle for the protection of people from this horrible human rights violation that still persists up to now.

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