Constitutional claim for victims of forced disappearance to be recognized as victims of political violence to access humanitarian aid.
Dejusticia
April 21, 2010
This claim, submitted jointly by the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation and Dejusticia, aims to correct this legislative omission so that victims of forced disappearance are recognized as victims of political violence and so that they have access to humanitarian aid without having to undertake the process of obtaining a presumption of death declaration.
In Colombia there have been nearly 50,000 forced disappearances. However, relatives of missing persons are not recognized in the Act 418 of 1997 as victims of political violence and therefore are not beneficiaries of humanitarian aid. Thus, they must meet the requirements applicalbe to the relatives of victims of homicide. This process involves not only a disproportionate expenditure for disappearance victims but also a painful experience that forces them to lose hope of finding their missing family members.
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