Mission

IFFAMPAC is an international humanitarian non-governmental organization working with family associations of missing persons. During armed conflicts, large numbers of people remain unaccounted for. Some of these individuals are the victims of enforced disappearances by state actors; some are the victims of enemy cross-fire, or genocidal acts committed by non-state actors; and some are minors separated from their parents as they fled the violence of armed conflict. IFFAMPAC focuses on the surviving families who face tremendous social, economic, legal, and cultural obstacles when a primary economic provider of the family vanishes and cannot be accounted for as a result of the conflict.

IFFAMPAC’s primary goal is to assist surviving families in their efforts to remain together , and to request any information available regarding the status of missing family members. IFFAMPAC also acts as an advocate for family associations and a liaison between family associations.

There never is a consistent accounting of those individuals who were killed, forcibly taken by government forces, or missing by unknown reasons. Part of the problem is due to obstacles in data collection and government entities that withhold information. Furthermore, so-called witnesses with self-serving motives provide inconsistent, false, or incomplete information as to what incidents in a conflict actually took place which resulted in persons later becoming classified as missing. IFFAMPAC works with family associations to make certain that collected data is clarified, accurately documented, and disseminated as public information.

Most often the person missing is the male head of the household. Women literally become head of their families overnight. Often they do not have the education, emotional support, or sufficient employment opportunities to enable them to provide for their families effectively.

Laws in many countries discriminate against women. They completely or partially prohibit women from inheriting land or gaining access to bank accounts. Even if women are allowed to gain access to their husband’s finances, the terms and conditions for access are so restrictive that it impossible for most women to comply with the laws.

When there is no clear proof of the husband’s death, the laws of many countries prevent the wife from gaining access to family funds needed to provide food and shelter. As a result, children are sold, abandoned, or given away, and women are left homeless.

Cultural and religious-based norms also serve to limit women’s rights and abilities to function in society. These norms must be changed to improve women’s status in those societies.

IFFAMPAC strives to:

• Create public awareness of the hardships families face as a result of missing family members.
• Collaborate with other NGOs and government representatives to assist in reunification of families whenever feasible and/or to provide information as to the status of missing family members.
• Coordinate with other organizations and agencies to identify humanitarian needs of families.
• Identify and advocate improvements in country laws to protect the rights of the family members of missing persons, including the right to social and economic assistance.
• Develop projects to educate and retrain women and surviving family members to enter the work force.
• Assist family members in protecting the rights of children, handicapped, and elderly persons.
• Advocate family association concerns at the United Nations and work with United Nations agencies and commissions to address those needs.
• Improve general opportunities for economic assistance to the families.

Only when families become healthy and self-sustaining can they contribute in a meaningful way to their communities. This is a necessary step to ensure stable governments and lasting peace.