The International Day of Victims of Forced Disappearance begins to be commemorated in 2010, since its declaration by the General Assembly of the United Nations through Resolution 65/209 of March 30, 2011.
The Forced disappearance in Colombia is considered a serious violation of human Rights, taking into account that the victims of this problem are deprived of their rights, such as the right to liberty, the right to not being subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to life, in the event of the death of the disappeared person. Economic, social and cultural rights are generally violated. In the case of Colombia, article 165 of the Criminal Code takes as aggravating circumstances that the offence is committed against a public servant.
This is the case of thousands of compatriots who were disappeared by organized armed groups, many of them while away from direct participation in hostilities, which constitutes a violation in the light of common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
According to the searches of the Unit for the Assistance and Comprehensive Reparation to the Victims, 50,412 people are part of disappeared in Colombia, a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law perpetrated for years by organized armed groups as part of their criminal strategy. Thus, within this figure is found that around 6,687 members of the Military Forces have been victims of this crime and today their families continue in search.
This crime was systematically used as an unconventional method of warfare by organized armed groups to undermine the combat morale of the Military Forces. Its consequences go beyond the direct victim, since their relatives and their social environment in general will in the same way be hit with psychological consequences, due to the uncertainty generated by not knowing the whereabouts of the disappeared person.
Source: CCOET Strategic Communications
