Transitional Justice and Enforced Disappearance: The right to truth and the obligation to search for the disappeared. The Colombian case.

Abstract

The transitional justice field has rapidly expanded according to new political context requirements that cover situations that are not exactly transitional. For instance, In Colombia, despite an ongoing armed conflict, the government, in 2005, adopted a set of transitional justice mechanisms aiming at achieving peace, and to deal with crimes committed originally by only one of the parties to the conflict, the paramilitaries. Among the many devastating consequences of Colombia’s internal armed conflict have been thousands of enforced disappearances. According to Colombian official data, by September 30, 2012, 75,345 persons in the country were missing, of whom 18,527 were enforced disappearance victims. This study examines to what extent do the Colombian transitional justice mechanisms created with Law 975/2005 ensure the right to truth and the obligation to search for the disappeared. This work attempts to include the attitudes of victims, civil society organizations and authorities towards the term truth regarding enforced disappearance and the transitional justice mechanisms implemented in Colombia to address the disappeared issue. It begins by looking at the expansion of the transitional justice discourse. Then, it discusses the complexity of the meaning of “truth” in enforced disappearances cases and transitional justice contexts. Next, it studies, from international law, the content of the right to truth, and the State obligation to search for the disappeared. Finally, it examines how Colombia institutions and mechanisms safeguards and ensures the right to truth and the location of the disappeared, noting the main challenges. It exposes that transitional justice scenarios amidst internal armed conflict present multiples quandaries with respect to the right to truth and the search for the disappeared, such as state compliance with its human rights obligations (accountability), the volatile political context, the victims’ meaning, needs and expectations towards the truth, and resource availability.