Decree establishing the Search Unit for Missing Persons in Colombia, 2017

On 5 April 2017, Decree 589 establishing the Search Unit for Missing Persons in Colombia was promulgated by the President. The issue of missing persons was a central part of the negotiations between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP). The objective of the Search Unit is to fulfill the right to truth of and reparation to victims.
Article 2 of this Decree establishes that the functions and activities of this Unit will be deployed in the search and localization of those persons who went missing in connection to the armed conflict, with a particular focus on women and children. In the case of death, the Unit will contribute to the implementation of actions aimed at, when possible, the identification of the bodies and the dignified delivery of their remains.
The Unit will operate under the principle of confidentiality of its actions and its findings and, as a general rule, the activities of the Unit will not substitute or prevent investigations of a judicial nature that may arise in compliance with the obligations of the State, and the results of the investigations will not be used as evidence in judicial processes (Article 3).
Article 5 lays out the functions and competencies of the Search Unit which include collecting information necessary to carry out the search of missing persons; designing and executing the national plan for the search, location, recovery, identification and management of the dead in the context and in connection with the armed conflict; coordinating with other technical scientific entities to reach its objectives; guaranteeing the participation of the family of the missing person in this process and coordinating with other institutions to provide the relatives with psychosocial assistance; and various other reporting obligations.