PBI-Colombia accompanies the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation as Colombia joins the Global Alliance for the Disappeared

On November 16, PBI-Colombia tweeted:

“Colombia adheres to the World Alliance for the Disappeared. It is key to include the voice and experience of relatives who are victims of the #ForcedDisappearance so that the search is effective and the recognition of #WomenSearchers as @nydia_erika.”

The Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation (FNEB) also tweeted:

“The FNEB salutes the World Alliance for the Disappeared and calls on States to legislate on the rights of women searchers, violated in the search. #RightsForSearchers”

EFE reports: “Colombia joined on Wednesday [November 16] the Global Alliance for the Disappeared, an initiative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss Government, to raise awareness of this problem, promote compliance with international commitments and promote practices to prevent new disappearances.”

“The Global Alliance on the Disappeared, launched on 11 May 2021 and initially formed by the ICRC and Switzerland, is currently made up of Argentina, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Kuwait, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, South Korea and now Colombia.”

That article adds: “In Colombia, 90,088 people are currently still missing, according to the latest publication of the UBPD [the Search Unit for Missing Persons] dated October 31, 2022.”

Prensa Latina also notes: “The Global Alliance on the Disappeared seeks, inter alia, to promote collaboration and best practices, guidance and technical recommendations to improve the prevention of and response to missing persons at the national, regional and global levels.”

“It offers an opportunity for the State to join the international effort to implement methodologies for the search for disappeared persons and guarantees for the rights and interests of victims, making the search a reparative process.”

The signing took place in Bogota at the Palacio de San Carlos, headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

PBI-Colombia has accompanied the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation since 2007.