PBI-Canada mourns the passing of Father Javier Giraldo Moreno who dedicated his life to the defence of human rights in Colombia

Photo of Father Giraldo with PBI-Colombia team.

Infobae reports: “Jesuit priest Javier Giraldo, known for his work in defense of vulnerable communities and for his work with the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, in addition to his leadership in the search for the remains of Father Camilo Torres, died on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.”

For Peace Brigades International, it is significant that Father Javier Giraldo petitioned to accompany and provide an international presence in the shelter of Justice and Peace for displaced persons in Barrancabermeja.

Father Giraldo talks about that invitation in this video.

El Espectador adds: “For more than five decades, Father Javier Giraldo dedicated his life to listening to those who were rarely listened to and to accompanying communities for whom justice always seemed distant. His name is linked to some of the most difficult struggles against violence, enforced disappearance, paramilitarism and impunity in Colombia.”

El Pais also notes: “Father Giraldo published together with Iván Cepeda in 2012 the book Víctor Carranza, alias El patrón, in which they investigated the life of who was known as the Czar of emeralds, a survivor of the so-called green wars for control of the emerald business in Boyacá, accused of forming paramilitary groups, extortion, homicides and kidnappings. and who, however, died in 2013, with his immense fortune safe and without any judicial process underway.”

They further report: “The priest also wrote the text ‘Paramilitarism in Colombia,’ in which he documents the origins and development of this criminal phenomenon in the country. Another of Father Giraldo’s most remembered works was his support and accompaniment of the peace community of San José de Apartadó, a civil initiative born in 1997 that sought to make a peaceful and neutral resistance to all manifestations of violence in that region, both on the part of the guerrillas, the paramilitaries and the Army. Giraldo denounced the persecution and murder of dozens of members of that peace community.”

PBI-Canada joins with the many, including the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective. In mourning the passing of Father Javier Giraldo.

“It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Father Javier Giraldo, a man who dedicated his life to the defense of human rights and to accompanying victims and communities in the territories. His legacy will remain in those of us who continue to believe in peace with social justice. Goodbye!”

Video: 1994: Father Javier Giraldo recounts the arrival of PBI in Colombia.