On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is organizing a public discussion in The Hague on the effort now underway to address the huge legacy of missing persons in Colombia. As many as 120,000 people are missing as a result of five decades of conflict. All sectors of society have been affected by disappearances – perpetrated by state actors, paramilitary and guerrilla groups, and organized crime.

At ICMP’s Profiles of the Missing from Colombia, relatives of missing persons, as well as political activists, members of the armed forces and former guerrilla groups, and members of indigenous communities and others will examine the causes of the conflict, the impact of disappearances on society and the rule of law, and the central role that families of the missing can and must play in implementing key provisions of the Peace Agreement.

The Peace Agreement signed in 2016 between the Government and the largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), provides for specific measures to address disappearances and recognizes the central role of civil society and families of the missing and the de-mobilized FARC in providing information to the Search Unit for Missing Persons.

As a partner to the Peace Agreement, ICMP supports the participation of families of the missing in the effort to account for their relatives, and promotes their engagement in s

Program

14.30 Doors open

15.00 Welcome, Opening and Launch of the Conversation with Families of the Missing

16.30 Open Discussion

17.00 Borrel - Reception

- Opening remarks by: Ms. Pauline Diepenbroek , Deputy Director Western Hemisphere Department, Dutch MFA

- Moderated by: Mr. Edwin Koopman, journalist expert in Latin America, correspondent Public Radio VPRO and Trouw

The event will be in Spanish with simultaneous interpretation in English.

* ICMP's Colombia program is funded by the European Union.