The Search Unit: Up against the COVID-19 pandemic
“My respect and admiration. You are not alone”. This is Luz Marina Monzon’s message to family members looking for their loved ones. The Director of the Search Unit for Missing Persons (Unidad de Búsqueda de Personas dadas por Desaparecidas – UBPD) is our special guest on the latest episode of the CAPAZ web video column. The episode is called: “The Search Unit: Up against the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Episode 5 – “La paz, ahora más que nunca” (in Spanish)
In the latest instalment of the series on peace in times of COVID-19 called: “La paz, ahora más que nunca” (Peace now, more than ever), the Director of the Search Unit speaks in first person to relatives of victims of enforced disappearance in Colombia.
Created after the signing of the peace agreements between the Colombian government and the then guerrilla group FARC-EP in 2016, the Search Unit is one of the components of the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition. It has been and continues to be committed to supporting people who are looking for their missing loved ones.
Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than ever, the search for missing persons is a non-stop task. It represents relatives’ hopes and demands and requires the full attention of the State and civil society. Given that searching or missing persons under the conditions imposed by the current health emergency becomes more complex. The pandemic demands the attention and efforts of society and institutions, while it too claims the lives of its victims.
Every Tuesday, the CAPAZ Institute launches a new episode on its Instagram social networks @instituto_capaz and on its YouTube channel, under the title: “La paz, ahora más que nunca”.
Catch up on previous episodes (in Spanish):
Episode 1 – La implementación de la paz en tiempos de coronavirus – Stefan Peters
Episode 2, part 1 – Paz y pandemia en la ruralidad, El Cauca – Axel Rojas
Episode 2, part 2 – Producción y economías durante la pandemia en El Cauca – Axel Rojas
Episode 3 – La JEP ante la pandemia: dilemas del tribunal de paz en Colombia – Juliette Vargas
Episode 5 – La Unidad de Búsqueda frente a la pandemia por COVID-19 – Luz Marina Monzón
(NW Texto: Claudia Maya. Versión en inglés: Tiziana Laudato)