Office of the Executive Secretary MESSAGE On August 30, 2013, the Philippines joins the United Nations and

the rest of the world in their third year observance of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. The Philippines commemoration of this event this year is made more meaningful with the ongoing implementation of Republic Act 10353, or the Anti-Enforced Disappearances Act, which was signed into law by President Aquino in December 2012. The first of its kind in Asia, Republic Act 10353, criminalizes the practice of enforced or involuntary disappearance, defined as the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty committed by government authorities or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of such persons in authority, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which places such person outside the protection of law. Given its obligations under this law, as well as its commitment as a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Philippine government continues to sustain reliable mechanisms to address cases of enforced disappearances. One such mechanism is the Task Force Usig under the Philippine National Police which facilitates the continued investigation of such cases, especially those involving militant leaders and media personalities. Another mechanism is the inter-agency committee created pursuant to Administrative Order No. 35, s. 2012, that looks into the progress of cases of, among other grave human rights violations, enforced disappearances. We are grateful that these mechanisms are well appreciated and supported. The European Union has recently extended resources for the second phase of the European Union Philippine Justice Support Programme (EPJUST), a large portion of which will boost the work of the AO 35 inter-agency committee, including the introduction of a better coordinated system of witness protection, as well as alternative protection measures for witnesses. Enforced disappearance, as advocates against its perpetuation point out, is a strategy to foment fear while repressing rights and freedoms. Sadly, as in other grave human rights violations, enforced disappearances do not affect the individual target victims or their families and friends alone. In a much larger sense, our capacity to protect the integrity and safety of our citizens within an environment of freedom, justice, and peace, and our determination to end the perceived climate of impunity are made to suffer. If only for this, all of us must, by all means, condemn and put an end to enforced disappearances now. (sgd.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA JR. Executive Secretary MANILA