ICRC

On the International Day of the Disappeared, gatherings and other events are taking place in several places throughout the world to help keep alive the memory of those who are still missing. These events also help the family members and friends of missing persons to cope with the uncertainty they live with everyday.

This humanitarian problem is massive and global. It affects communities wherever armed conflict, violence and migration occurs or has occured.

In Latin America, over 100,000 people are missing due to forced disappearances, armed conflict, other situations of violence and migration.

Last April, our Bogota delegation published a report that shows forced displacement, threats of violence, rape and damage to civilians to have increased in Colombia in 2011.

Unfortunately, the plight of people who live in the other Colombia - the parts of the country where an armed conflict that has lasted almost 50 years continues unabated - often goes unnoticed in the world's capitals.

In an effort to raise awareness about that grim reality, we regularly invite Bogota-based colleagues to Washington and Ottawa to brief government officials and civil society actors.

One such visit took place last week, when we published the English language version of the Colombia Activity Report 2011.

A new ICRC report shows that forced displacement, threats of violence, rape and damage to civilian objects have all increased in Colombia in 2011.

Despite a growing economy, Colombians continue to suffer the effects of an armed conflict that has lasted for almost 50 years. The impact of this conflict on civilians remains significant.

Delegates working across the country witness first-hand the conflict and its effects. The report is based on their field monitoring.

In 2011, our colleagues recorded over 750 violations of IHL and other rules protecting human life.

These include a victim of death threats who had to flee her home: