Photo from the website: desaparicionforzada.com

Twenty-nine years after the forced disappearance of Pedro Julio Movilla Galacio in Bogotá, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights officially opens on February 15, 2022 in San José, Costa Rica, the hearing of the case of Pedro Julio Movilla Galacio and family members v. Colombia, during the 146th regular session.

First of all, it is worth recalling the facts: Pedro Julio Movilla Galacio, the trade union leader, member of the Colombian Communist Party-Marxist Leninist, and Colombian social activist, disappeared on May 13, 1993, after having taken his daughter to school. Because of his political and social commitment, he was persecuted and profiled by Colombian security forces and intelligence agencies such as the National Army, the F2 and the Central Directorate of Judicial Police and Intelligence for years. In fact, the victim and his family had to move from Montería to Medellín and then to Bogotá in order to safeguard his safety. To date, his fate or whereabouts are still unknown.

These events are part of a generalized context of forced disappearances in Colombia, where the doctrine of the Internal Enemy in state intelligence and counter-guerilla manuals considers anyone on the left, or merely opposed to the Colombian regime, as an enemy.

More details about the circumstances of the case: 1993 forced disappearance of the union leader Pedro Julio Movilla Galarcio reaches the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

The Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective, CAJAR, sent a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, IACHR, on June 17, 1996, alleging that there are multiple circumstantial elements to attribute the disappearance of the victim to the State. The IACHR approved the admissibility report onJuly 24, 2014 and in 2020 approved the merits report establishing the responsibility of the Colombian State. Its conclusion was as follows: “The Colombian State is responsible for the violation of the rights to recognition as a person before the law, to life, to personal integrity, to personal liberty, to judicial guarantees, to freedom of association and to judicial protection”. The IACHR then issued a series of recommendations to the Colombian State, but the impunity of those responsible for this disappearance continues. 

Hearing and review by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in February could thus constitute a step of great importance to promote the search for the victim, prosecute those responsible, and fully repair the damages to his relatives. Candelaria Vergara, Pedro Julio Movilla Galarcio’s wife, who committed herself from the very beginning denouncing the State’s responsibility in the profiling, persecution and forced disappearance of the social leader, will appear before the judges to present her testimony. Among the testimonies that were approved by the international tribunal, there are also those of other members of his family, as well as members of social, syndical and victims’ organizations who will be heard before the Court.

The magistrates will also study military and operations manuals that may include the “internal enemy” doctrine. After nearly 30 year of uncertainty and struggle, the expectations regarding these hearings are significant so that a healthy democracy that guarantees fundamental freedoms can overcome the stigmatizing policies and doctrines imparted to the armed forces that led to the persecution of political opponents. The public hearings will be held in San José, Costa Rica, on February 15, 2022, during the 146th regular session.