Home About Services Campaigns Advocates Fellows Blogs Resources

A Voice For the Voiceless

The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. We recruit graduate students to volunteer as Peace Fellows with partners.

The Impact of Service "I look at myself as having the potential to be as strong and caring as the amazing women I met in Kenya." Kate Cummings (Tufts University) volunteered in 2009 as a Peace Fellow for Vital Voices in Africa. For more 2009 feedback click here.

Translate this page:

Partner Campaigns > EPAF Campaign

EPAF Campaign

"With every retelling of the story came the hope that something could be done, and somehow their situation improved." 
- Jessica Varat, Peace Fellow 2009


“Disappeared people” refers to those that were taken by the Peruvian government between 1980 and 2000.   The Peruvian government denied having any information on the whereabouts or condition of these individuals. 

Since its inception in February 2001, the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF), a civil society non-governmental organization, has been the primary advocate for the search, recovery, and identification of missing individuals in Peru. EPAF was formed when a group of Peruvian professionals working for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia decided to apply their expertise in their own country. EPAF´s 17-member team applies scientific methods in the fields of forensic anthropology and archaeology in their attempt to restore the identify of thousands of missing Peruvians that rest in hidden burial sites across the country.

EPAF also incorporates an educational component into its work, helping different actors already involved in the search, recovery, and identification process understand the components of a forensic anthropology investigation. These efforts - explored through special targeted workshops - focus on the families of the disappeared as well as judicial and governmental organizations, the greater human rights community, and the press.

Humanitarian Umbrella
On August 28th, Peruvians opened up their umbrellas in a symbolic act to raise awareness about the unresolved issue of the disappeared in the country. At the same time, friends and allies all over the world responded to the call to send in photos of themselves opening up their umbrellas in solidarity with the families of the 15,000 disappeared in Peru.


Current Projects

EPAF is currently supporting "La Chalina de la Esperanza" or "Scarf of Hope" project of the National Association of Detained and Missing Family Members of Peru (ANFASEP) to urge the Ministry of Justice to pursue investigations into the disappeared's whereabouts.  ANFASEP is a organization of women whose loved ones disappeared during Peru's armed conflict, and on July 15th, 2010 these women gathered on the Palacio de Justicia in Lima to publicly knit together panels to create their scarf.  The scarf is meant to be symbolic of the vast number of Peruvians still waiting for reparations and information on their loved ones whereabouts, and contains victims names, momentos, and other personalized touches sewn into the fabric.  ANFASEP hopes to expand the 200 meter scarf to 800 meters by November and plans on wrapping it around the Palacio de Justicia to represent the organization's embracement of hope.



Milestones and Achievements

Putis Excavation
This exhumation represents a major achievement and progress in EPAF's effort to locate and identify victims.  The exhumation occurred in a location that has been greatly impacted by the violence and therefore locating and identifying these victims is helpful in providing peace of mind to the relatives.


Watch Videos about the Putis Exhumation

Back