Searching for Colombia’s Missing Persons
Reuniting Those Who Disappeared with Loved Ones Amid Six Decades of Ongoing Conflict
In Colombia, more than 100,000 people have disappeared over the course of the country’s six decades of ongoing armed conflict. Most cases remain unresolved, leaving their loved ones haunted by enduring doubts over their fate. To alleviate their years — and sometimes even decades — of suffering and uncertainty, the Colombian government established the Missing Persons Search Unit as part of the 2016 peace agreement with the former FARC rebels. The unit is tasked with locating, identifying and returning the remains of those who disappeared in order to uphold the dignity of both the victims and their surviving family members.
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The Missing Persons Search Unit also works with former members of the armed forces and the FARC guerilla movement who have accepted responsibility for atrocities as part of the country’s transitional justice system. In pioneering restorative efforts, these perpetrators have contributed crucial details on the location of mass grave sites and provided clarity to families about the circumstances of their loved ones’ forced disappearance. The Search Unit also engages confidentially with armed groups currently negotiating in multiple peace processes with the government.
On October 21, USIP and the Embassy of Colombia hosted a public presentation on the Missing Persons Search Unit’s remarkable forensic and restorative work, as well as the launch of "Still Missing: Colombia's Search for the Disappeared from Six Decades of Ongoing Conflict," a temporary photo exhibit at USIP that details the unit’s search efforts. Both the presentation and exhibit illustrate all facets of the holistic search process— from DNA sampling in sterile laboratories to long, sweat-soaked afternoons digging at mass grave sites and candlelit vigils for victims who have been finally laid to rest.
Those who attended this public event in person were also among the first to view the full photo exhibit in USIP’s Great Hall.
Continue the conversation on social media using #StillMissingCOL.
Speakers
Daniel García-Peña, opening remarks
Colombian Ambassador to the United States
Luz Janeth Forero
Director, Missing Person Search Unit
Major (retired) Cesar Maldonado
Truth Provider as Former Colombian Army Officer
Daniela Mostacilla
Family Member of Forced Disappearance Victim
Leyner Palacios
Senior Expert on Restorative Justice, Colombia, U.S. Institute of Peace
Dr. Beth Van Schaack, closing remarks
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, U.S. Department of State
Steve Hege, moderator
Colombia Country Director, Colombia, U.S. Institute of Peace
