The Enforced Disappearance of Activists

In the Philippines and around the world, many activists who have openly criticized their country's government or military have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. These activists have been critical of their country's human rights abuses and their attacks on their indigenous people's rights to protect their land.

Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus are Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders from the Philippines’ Cordillera region, in Northern Luzon. They have been missing since April 28, 2023. They are among the 11 activists who have disappeared in the first 10 months of the Bongbong Marcos administration.

According to Amnesty International (https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/enforced-disappearances/):

"Victims are frequently tortured and many are killed, or live in constant fear of being killed. They know their families have no idea where they are and that there is little chance anyone is coming to help them. Even if they escape death and are eventually released, the physical and psychological scars stay with them.

Enforced disappearance is frequently used as a strategy to spread terror within society. The feeling of insecurity and fear it generates is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects communities and society as a whole."