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They aim to strengthen the capacities of FEMED's member associations and, by the same token, the relatives of disappeared persons, human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, employees of associations, parliamentarians, etc. These trainings allow participants to acquire knowledge and relevant tools to fight against enforced disappearances. Among the topics to be covered are: international mechanisms for the protection of human rights, the search for funding and the setting up of projects and communication as well as the identification of victims and forensic processes...


Morroco

1st training : 

On March 15 and 16, 2009, the FEMED organized a training seminar on human rights protection mechanisms, particularly on the Convention against Enforced Disappearances. This activity took place in Rabat and brought together about 20 activists from the families of the disappeared, the AMDH, the OMDH and the FMVJ (Family Coordination Committee, a founding member of the FEMED).  It was carried out in partnership with the association Aim for Human Rights.

The activists present acquired a solid base of knowledge on the international mechanisms relevant to the treatment of cases of enforced disappearances not resolved by the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER). Participants were given practical exercises on the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances so that they could subsequently submit cases of enforced disappearances to the Working Group themselves.

The second part of the training was devoted to setting up projects and seeking funding, thanks to the assistance of the association Sodepau. The latter supports projects in the field of development and human rights in Morocco. This second time allowed the associations to assimilate the different steps in the creation of a project and to identify potential donors for their project.

At the same time, FEMED supervised the campaign for the ratification of the Convention in Morocco which took place in March 2009. On March 17, a delegation composed of Moroccan (AMDH, APADM, FMVJ, OMDH) and international (FEMED, Aim for Human Rights) associations met with government authorities (Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Justice, CCDH) to discuss Morocco's ratification of this fundamental human rights protection instrument.

2nd training : 

Three trainers presented to the participants their different experiences in the identification of victims of serious human rights violations as well as the different techniques used throughout this process by their respective organizations (International Committee of the Red Cross and ICMP): database, DNA tests, anthropological and archaeological research. The fifteen participants in this training were activists from human rights NGOs, relatives of the disappeared, as well as other people interested in the identification of victims, such as doctors or representatives of the authorities.

As part of the activities of the Euro-Mediterranean Federation against Enforced Disappearances, a training seminar was organized in Rabat on February 6 and 7, 2016. 

It focused on the theme of "gathering information in the search and identification of missing persons". It was organized and facilitated by Analia Simonetto Gonzalez of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team.

This training brought together more than fifteen people, including several forensic doctors, many representatives of civil society and above all many families of the disappeared, the first to be concerned. It was articulated around two main parts: a first part on the planning of the identification procedure of a missing person during the exhumation of a body; and a second part on the importance of the compilation of ante mortem and post mortem information as well as the fundamental role of DNA.



Turkey

On December 9, 10 and 11, 2009, a training session on international human rights protection mechanisms was organized by FEMED in Istanbul, Turkey entitled "Using international law against enforced disappearances". It brought together about 15 activists from various human rights associations such as Mothers for Peace, YAKAY-Der and IHD.

This training was organized in partnership with the organization Aim for Human Rights. Participants were trained on the different international and regional instruments on enforced disappearances. Ewoud Plate of Aim for Human Rights began by reviewing the legal definition of enforced disappearances and the obligations of States with regard to these practices. The second part of the training was devoted to the possibilities of recourse before international and regional bodies for cases of enforced disappearances and to have the tools to document cases of enforced disappearances. Finally, the third day was dedicated to the International Convention against Enforced Disappearances and the provisions integrated into the Convention.


Egypt

The training on human rights protection mechanisms took place in a room of the French Institute in Mounira, Cairo over two days, on February 23 and 24, 2012. Of the twenty or so registered participants, only a little less than ten attended the training, mainly because of the opening of the NGO trial. The group, which was quite heterogeneous, was composed of a psychiatrist, lawyers, jurists, a communication officer and an advocacy officer. All participants were from Egyptian human rights organizations.

Throughout the training, practical exercises were carried out on the different themes addressed, which allowed the creation of a real group dynamic. The participants were led to reflect by themselves on the why and how of enforced disappearance and its treatment, notably by the state authorities, but also on the suffering of the families of the disappeared and the precarious situation in which they find themselves despite themselves. 


Algeria

As part of the cycle of seminars on forensic medicine and the identification of victims of human rights violations set up by FEMED, the second training session for associations of families of the disappeared was held on October 16, 2010 in Algiers.

Several experts presented to the 27 participants from Algerian civil society and the medical community the different techniques for identifying victims: database, DNA test, anthropological and archaeological research.

Dr. Aimen Boudellaa presented the historical and political context in which enforced disappearances were practiced in Algeria. Silvana Turner, a forensic anthropologist with the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF), then presented the work of her organization, which applies forensic anthropology and related sciences, in close collaboration with victims and their relatives, to recover and identify human remains, return them to the families and provide evidence in legal proceedings. She went over the different phases of forensic anthropology work: the preliminary investigation, the archaeological collection of the body and the laboratory analysis.

By proposing this training, FEMED has allowed to reinforce the knowledge of associations of families of the disappeared and of human rights activists on the different techniques of identification of victims and to compare the different national experiences (in Algeria, Morocco, the Balkans and South America).


Tunisia

1st Training:

On January 25 and 26, 2014, the Euro-Mediterranean Federation against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED) organized a training on international mechanisms for the protection of human rights and the fight against enforced disappearances. More than twenty participants, Tunisian, Libyan, Moroccan and Lebanese attended this training which took place at the Hotel Africa in Tunis. 

Throughout the training, practical exercises were carried out on the various topics discussed. This allowed to create a real group dynamic. In addition, the participants were led to reflect on their own on the "why" and "how" of enforced disappearance and its treatment (especially by the authorities). Afterwards, the training was oriented towards a more "practical" aspect. Three dimensions were explored: the humanitarian or "suffering" dimension; the criminal dimension; and the "human rights" dimension. 

Through these three subjects of study, the participants questioned how to avoid the suffering of relatives and the disappeared, how to punish the guilty parties and the duties of the State in the context of the practice of enforced disappearances. These workshops provided participants with relevant and effective tools and reflexes to fight against enforced disappearances and human rights violations in Tunisia, the Maghreb and the entire Euro-Mediterranean region. The training ended with a practical exercise: the documentation of a case of enforced disappearance.

2nd training :

From October 14 to 16, 2022, FEMED held a training in Zarzis, Tunisia. This training included 13 participants from different human rights associations from France, Algeria, Morocco, Libya (OMDH, AMDH, APADM, CFDA, Djazairouna, AMRVT, Human Rights Solidarity), Turkish and Lebanese researchers as well as a delegation from the FEMED.

This three-day training, provided by Ewoud Plate, focused on the documentation of cases of human rights violations and specifically of enforced disappearances. The objective of the training was to provide a better understanding of enforced disappearance, the responses provided by international and national law, and to learn to distinguish between the essential and humanitarian need to know the truth, the need for justice, the obtaining of reparation and the preservation of the memory of the disappeared and the acts of violence that caused them to disappear.  

Thus, during the 12 workshops organized, the participants were able to learn more about the characteristics of enforced disappearance, as well as the humanitarian and penal dimensions that it covers. The beneficiaries of the training were also able to deepen their knowledge of international mechanisms of protection against enforced disappearance. Indeed, they were introduced to interview techniques as well as to the documentation of cases with international mechanisms through an exercise in filling out the questionnaire of the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances (WGEID).

This training was intended to encourage families and human rights associations to document their cases of the disappeared, but also to encourage them to reproduce this training in order to pass on these lessons to as many people as possible. The exercises given by the trainer pushed the beneficiaries to participate and to dialogue, making this training a real platform of exchange where each one was able to bring his or her knowledge, expertise, and questions to the others, thus allowing for a real collective reflection.

A follow-up of the training will be set up by the FEMED. Moreover, a WhatsApp group will be created to allow a permanent exchange between the different participants mainly from member associations and partner associations.


Libya

The training on enforced disappearances and human rights protection mechanisms was held on 20 and 21 April 2015. Initially scheduled in Libya, given the current Libyan context and the exile of many representatives of Libyan civil society in Tunisia, it was decided to organize it in Tunisia.  

The training was organized with the support of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights based in Tunis, which provided contacts of Libyan civil society personalities in Tunisia. The project was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the European Endowment for Democracy (EED). Due to the events in Libya on the weekend before the training, the group suffered from some withdrawals. Nevertheless, 11 participants were present. A heterogeneous group composed of members of civil society, lawyers and former judges, some of them refugees in Tunisia.

The general objective of this training was to train Libyan civil society on the issue of enforced disappearances and human rights protection mechanisms. The training took place in three phases: a first theoretical phase with the mechanisms and principles of human rights and enforced disappearances, a second phase with practical cases in the form of a role play and a final phase of reflection in the form of discussion and debate.

Thanks to this training, FEMED's contacts with Libyan civil society have been diversified and strengthened, thus allowing for new relays for the documentation of cases of enforced disappearances in Libya. 


Iraq

From June 3 to 6, 2022, FEMED held a training in Baghdad, Iraq. 17 participants from associations involved in the fight against enforced disappearances from various regions of Iraq benefited from a three-day training on the documentation of enforced disappearance cases.

The beneficiaries of the training were able to learn more about the international mechanisms for protection against enforced disappearance during the three days. In addition, they were introduced to interview techniques and the documentation of cases with international mechanisms. The participants now know how to fill in the different forms of the WGEID and the CED.

FEMED took advantage of the training on case documentation in Baghdad to meet with the Iraqi authorities and to exchange with them on enforced disappearances. In this regard, FEMED met with various political actors from the executive, legislative and judicial branches.


Gambia

The Euro-Mediterranean Federation against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED) organized from 21 to 23 October 2016 two days of training in which it participated, on African mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights. These two days of training were held in the "Committee Room 3" of the Karaiba Hotel in Banjul, The Gambia. 

The training aimed to focus on African human rights protection mechanisms and techniques for effective documentation of enforced disappearances and reporting on this issue to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The training also aimed to raise awareness of political bodies, judicial institutions and other institutions and bodies (e.g. the Peace and Security Council (PSC), the Permanent Representatives Committee and the Economic, Social and Cultural Council).

At the end of this training, the participants drafted a declaration in which they call on all member states of the African Union to release all missing persons who are still arbitrarily detained, to eradicate the phenomenon of enforced disappearances so that this crime ceases once and for all on the African continent, to establish the truth and put an end to impunity, to put in place reliable and effective mechanisms in order to guarantee the non-repetition of these acts, and to ensure that the security of human rights defenders is guaranteed throughout their territory.