On September 15, 2026, Peace Brigades International presented at the “Interactive dialogue with the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances” during the 12th meeting of the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
The PBI presentation (starting here at 1:04:36) noted concerns about situations in Colombia, Mexico, and Kenya.
PBI representative Claire Moretto stated: “Colombia’s persistence of disappearances shows that guarantees of protection and non-repetition still do not reach the territories. Between January and July 2026, the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] documented 99 disappearances linked to the conflict. The murder of two emblematic searchers demonstrates the risks faced by those who search. The law on women searchers and its implementing degree must be fully complied with.”
Claribel Moreno Castillo was murdered on May 13, 2026, after spending four years searching for her daughter. On June 8, 2026, Cleiner Almanza, who has searched for her older brother for years, was attacked.
On June 18, 2024, Law 2364 of 2024, the Comprehensive Law for the Protection of the Rights of Women Searchers, championed by the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation, was ratified by then-Colombian President Gustavo Petro. On January 29, 2026, Petro signed the Decree authorizing the Women Searchers Act.
Interviewed by El Salto in Spain just prior to the recent presidential election, Andrea Torres Bautista from the Foundation expressed concern about the implementation of the law if the extreme right were to take power.
Peace Brigades International has been accompanying the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation (FNEB) occasionally since 2007 and in full since 2016.
We continue to follow this.
The full presentation to the United Nations
Thank you, Vice President.
Colombia‘s persistence of disappearances shows that guarantees of protection and non-repetition still do not reach the territories. Between January and July 2026, the ICRC documented 99 disappearances linked to the conflict. The murder of two emblematic searchers demonstrate the risks faced by those who search. The law on women searchers and its implementing degree must be fully complied with.
Mexico is suffering a disappearance crisis with more than 130,000 disappeared persons. In 2022, a special search commission was created by judicial mandate for the enforced disappearance of Edmundo Reyes and Gabriel Cruz without any progress to date. We call on the Mexican state to investigate and detain those responsible for this human rights violation and on the working group to attend the meetings of the special commission.
We also raise concerns that Kenya has not yet ratified the international convention for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance nor enacted specific domestic legislation to criminalise enforced disappearances. According to the Missing Voices Coalition, 196 people have been forcibly disappeared in Kenya between 2019 to date. There are signs that enforced disappearances could continue and have the effect of silencing dissidents and citizens.
Thank you.
