Colombia: disappearance

Disappearance is a source of constant pain for families who never stop searching for their loved ones. Unsolved cases, the persistence of the problem and the neglect of many affected families are a cause for serious concern.

There may be no trace of those who are missing, but each has a story. Behind each missing person lies the uncertainty and anxiety of a family tirelessly searching, suffering constantly and in silence. Their pain is only eased when they discover the fate of their loved ones.

The exact number of missing persons in Colombia is not known, but we do know that there are many more than the 51,000 names on the State's national register. This is a cumulative, large-scale problem. Every year, more names are added to a long list whose first entries date back more than half a century.

There are two specific scenarios that result in people being declared missing: forced disappearance in connection with the conflict and other situations of violence (when the perpetrator intends to make the person disappear); and disappearance as a result of bureaucracy, lack of information or oversight. The latter category includes those who die in combat or other violent circumstances, without any explicit intention to make them disappear. In some cases, bodies are simply left behind on the battlefield when the fighting ends. Due to shortcomings with the procedures for recovering, identifying and burying bodies, many have been buried in unmarked graves bearing no information whatsoever, or in mass graves in cemeteries around the country, thereby drawing out the search and uncertainty of their families.
Although in recent years there have been major advances in searching for and identifying missing persons (thanks to inter-organizational agreements and harmonized forms, protocols and procedures, among others), there is still a great deal of concern about the number of unsolved cases, the persistence of the problem and the neglect of many families of missing persons.

Although the missing persons are the direct victims of the violation, their relatives, who suffer their loss and embark on a campaign in search of them, are also victims. Another factor compounding the situation in Colombia is the fact that families experience innumerable difficulties when navigating the complex legal and forensic procedures in pursuit of their loved ones. In many cases, they are unfamiliar with the system and with their rights, or they get lost in all the bureaucratic steps.

Apart from this lack of knowledge, relatives may also be afraid to report a disappearance. This fear arises from suspicion and from the ongoing underlying threat, since the search goes on against a backdrop of persistent armed conflict and may result in the disappearance of more people. Their search is therefore not made official, denying families the chance to receive proper State assistance to ascertain the fate of their relatives. Families of missing persons have the right to know the truth about what happened to their loved ones.

Wedn 18 April 2012

http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/feature/2012/colombia-report-2011-missing.htm