Colombia
The armed conflict in Colombia has left a profound humanitarian impact: tens of thousands of people have been disappeared as a result of armed violence, political persecution, forced displacement, and other forms of victimization over decades. This reality has deeply affected thousands of families who continue to search for their loved ones and to demand their right to truth.
.jpg)
In response, the Colombian government has developed a robust institutional and legal framework to address this problem. At the heart of these efforts is the Search Unit for Missing Persons (UBPD), created under the 2016 Peace Agreement, with a humanitarian and extrajudicial mandate focused on locating and identifying missing persons. This work is coordinated with key institutions such as the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (INMLCF), the Attorney General's Office, the National Center for Historical Memory (CNMH), and the National System for Comprehensive Victim Assistance and Reparation (SNARIV).
Together, these entities seek to respond comprehensively to the disappearance of people, combining actions of search, investigation, forensic identification, memory and reparation, with a focus on the victims and their families, and oriented towards the construction of truth, dignity and non-repetition.
In this context, the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG) has made a significant contribution to efforts in Colombia by conducting specialized training, workshops, forensic work, and technical advisory processes aimed at key institutions such as the JEP, the INMLCF, and the UBPD, sharing its extensive experience in the search and identification of missing persons in armed conflict contexts.
Additionally, the FAFG has contributed to strengthening the capacities of civil society, victims and relatives of missing persons, as well as searchers, promoting approaches centered on human rights, the participation of families and the dignification of victims, as fundamental pillars for the right to truth and memory.
In Colombia, the FAFG works primarily on technical, institutional and community strengthening for the search and identification of missing persons in the context of armed conflict , contributing its accumulated experience in Guatemala and other post-conflict scenarios.
Overall, the FAFG acts as a technical and humanitarian ally, supporting the Colombian government and civil society in the challenge of searching for missing persons and responding comprehensively to one of the deepest wounds of the armed conflict.
