Families of the Disappeared (FoD): Press Release, International Week of the Disappeared

Press release International Week of the Disappeared

• Last week of the month of May is annually commemorated worldwide as the International Week of The Disappeared (IWD). • This commemoration was started by the United Federation of the Disappeared and the Prisoners in Latin American countries (FEDEFAM) in 1981, and this IWD week is celebrated in many countries around the world, now. • The Families of the Disappeared (FoD) celebrate the IWD hand in hand with the “Asian Federation against involuntary Disappearances” (AFAD) in which FoD is also a member with other 8 Asian Countries which includes various activities with the involvement of the family members of the disappeared. • As the Families of the Disappeared (FoD) we will:

BANGLADESH: Government must stop enforced disappearances and ensure right to truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence

A Joint Statement by the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Maayer Daak, and Odhikar on the occasion of International Week of the Disappeared 2022

Dhaka/Manila/Paris, 23 May 2022: On the occasion of the International Week of the Disappeared, the Asian Federation against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Maayer Daak, and Odhikar remember and pay homage to victims of enforced disappearance and stand in solidarity with the families of the disappeared.

AFAD condemns the prolonged incarceration of its Chairperson, Khurram Parvez.

The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) expresses serious concern over the widespread choking of freedoms of expression and association in Jammu & Kashmir that led to the prolonged incarceration of Khurram Parvez who completes 180 days in jail today.

Bangladesh: Stop Reprisals Against Victims, Activists

For Immediate Release

Bangladesh: Stop Reprisals Against Victims, Activists
Instead Prioritize Accountability for Human Rights Abuses

April 8, 2022

Bangladesh authorities have responded to US Treasury Department sanctions on the notoriously abusive Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) by retaliating against victims’ relatives, human rights defenders and their families, and human rights organizations, twelve organizations said today.

The US imposed the sanctions on the paramilitary unit and several of its current and former officials on December 10, 2021 in response to credible and widespread allegations of serious human rights abuses including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances.