Colombia
Forced disappearance and forced displacement
Enforced disappearance constitutes a crime and, in certain circumstances predefined in international law, it can amount to a crime against humanity.(1) It occurs when people are arrested, detained or abducted by agents related to authorities, followed by a refusal to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the people concerned, which places them outside the protection of the law.(2)
According to an international verification mission, between July 2002 and June 2007, 235 cases of enforced disappearances and 955 extrajudicial executions, in many instances of human rights defenders were attributed to the National Army.(3) Other sources reported that between July 2002 and June 2006, at least 1,613 people had been forcibly disappeared in Colombia - an average of one person every day.(4) Yet, these figures are probably much higher because many families do not denounce the facts fearing reprisals or because many judicial investigations register these cases as kidnapping. Nearly always where the party responsible is known, the disappearances have been perpetrated by state agents, through their direct perpetration or by omission, tolerance or support for the paramilitary groups.(5)
Protection of IDPs against enforced disappearance is referred to in Guiding Principle 10.1(d) and their right to know the whereabouts of missing relatives in Guiding Principles 16.1 and 16.2.
Guiding principle 10
- Every human being has the inherent right to life, which shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life. Internally displaced persons shall be protected in particular against: (...)
(d) Enforced disappearances, including abduction or unacknowledged detention, threatening or resulting in death.
Threats and incitement to commit any of the foregoing acts shall be prohibited.
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- All internally displaced persons have the right to know the fate and whereabouts of missing relatives.
- The authorities concerned shall endeavour to establish the fate and whereabouts of internally displaced persons reported missing, and cooperate with relevant international organizations engaged in this task. They shall inform the next of kin on the progress of the investigation and notify them of any result.
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Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
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No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
The kids .. terrible! They ask for their dad and I tell them that he’s working. And one of them says: “mom, they took him away!” I tell him: “no, my love, they took him away so he could work. He is fine.” I’ve never told them the truth, because I don’t want to harm them. Sometimes, they talk to me and they say: “mom, if dad is not coming back, don’t get another dad,” and I’ve promised them that I’ll never get them another dad. I ask God to help me move forward...
Read moreLeydiThat was June 18. We we’re going to the Lomitas church. It was father’s day and we went because I’m devoted to the Divine Child and we were going to ask God that my husband return, that no matter where he was, he be returned to me...
Read moreLeydiThere have been two humanitarian missions to verify the situation of human rights there. There is an incredible statistic: it is the municipality with the most disappeared people per capita in the country. Disappearances, massacres: whatever you want, you find it in the region of Guaviare, specifically the south, between departments – and in the other municipalities of el Retorno, Calamar and Miraflores. We believe as an Association, that there should be a return under dignified conditions, but not the ‘dignified’ conditions proposed by the state which consists of a return once the troops are there...
Read moreRaúlDisplaced people's organisations in Barranquilla suffered persecution, and especially ours. I don't know if it was because of the shanty towns or what, but there was harassment and many accusations. Many displaced people were disappeared, many were killed as well. For example in 2003, they killed five fellow displaced people in the shanty town and left the women widows and the children fatherless. That's the kind of thing we've lived through. Many displaced companions have been put on trial. They came from somewhere else and when they arrive, they have a record it turns out. Many were detained too...
Read moreIsmael Maestre
(1) Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 7.1(i)
(2) General comment on the definition of enforced disappearance, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances available at
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/disappear/docs/disappearance_gc.doc
(3) Informe Preliminar de la Mision Internacional de Observacion sobre Ejecuciones Extrajudiciales en Colombia, p. 1, accessed 28 March 2008, available at
http://www.dhcolombia.info/IMG/pdf_InformeA10.pdf
(4) Colombian Commission of Jurists, Colombia 2002-2006: Situation of human rights and humanitarian law, CCJ, p.3.
(5) Colombian Commission of Jurists, Colombia 2002-2006: Situation of human rights and humanitarian law, CCJ, p.3.
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