August 30 is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Initially declared by advocate groups and family members of the disappeared in Costa Rica in the 1980s, the day has been propagated by international organizations such as the United Nations, International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances, and Amnesty International, and is widely observed across the world.
Enforced disappearances have been a favorite tactic of reactionary governments across the world against Communists, revolutionaries, progressives, and genuine democrats. Especially, it is often employed by lackeys of US imperialism under the direct guidance of the US State Department and the CIA. During the revolutions in Peru, Argentina, El Salvador, and elsewhere in Latin America, tens of thousands of people – including children – were forcibly disappeared by the US-backed Old State. At the same time, more and more mass graves are being discovered even to this day.
However, enforced disappearances are not a thing of the past. According to the Red Sun People’s Front of Mexico, over 130,000 missing persons, 72,000 unidentified bodies, “and tens of thousands of secret gravesites throughout the country” had been claimed by the Mexican State’s dirty war against the people.
Among the long list of victims of enforced disappearance, we highlight the Mexican democratic lawyer Dr. Ernesto Sernas García, who was disappeared from his home on May 10, 2018, in Oaxaca after defending 23 members of the Red Sun People’s Front who had been falsely accused of terrorism and possession of explosives.
More than eight years after this crime against humanity was committed, the Old Mexican State “has not provided a single clue as to his possible whereabouts, has failed to take effective action in the search for him, and much less has it identified those materially and intellectually responsible for the act,” according to the Front. Since 2018, the Front has raised the slogan “Present Dr. Ernesto Sernas García alive!” and “Because they took him alive, we want him back alive!” as well as the social media hashtag #DrSernasPresentaciónConVida. (“Present Dr. Sernas Alive” in Spanish)
Elsewhere, in the Philippines, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and illegal imprisonments continue to be used by the Old State in its war against the people. Earlier this year, the US-based Filipina activist Chantal Anicoche was secretly abducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines before being released as a result of an international pressure campaign. On July 30, 2026, Christina Pasión and Binay Serrano, two peasant advocates, were illegally arrested and have been held without charges until this day.
The Philippine progressive news service Bulatlat wrote, “human rights group Karapatan and Desaparecidos documented 272 cases of enforced disappearance: 206 cases in the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 29 cases during Benigno Aquino III, 20 cases during Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has 17 cases as of this writing.” Prior to president Arroyo’s administration (2001-2010), there were at least 2,000 unresolved cases of enforced disappearances. Not only has the Philippine government failed to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, it has remained uncooperative in the search of the disappeared and has denied their family members due process.
As the general crisis of imperialism worsens, the ruling class intensifies its attack against the people and makes strides towards fascism in a vain attempt at smothering the rising rebellion of the masses. This is happening chiefly in the countries oppressed by imperialism, but also increasingly at home, through increased militarization, corporatization, and attacks against the oppressed nations and immigrant workers. Enforced disappearances must be understood within this broader context of war against the people. The ongoing genocide in Palestine and the imperialist war of aggression against Iran – as one US missile brutally murdered over 120 schoolgirls – are part and parcel of this.
Where there is oppression, there is resistance. The more fierce and brutal the imperialists are, the nearer the day of their demise at the hands of the working people of the world. On this International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, let us continue to demand the surface and release of Dr. Sernas Garcia, Christina Pasión, Binay Serrano, and raise awareness for all those disappeared, illegally arrested, and secretly murdered in the defense of people’s rights across the world.
