The laureates
Description
Eliecer Arias Arias is an indigenous person from the Kankuamo people in Colombia. He is a human rights defender and a member of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE). His family was the victim of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions committed by the Colombian military. Since then, he has been supporting and advising families who have suffered the same crimes in Colombia. Eliecer was the target of threats because of his activism, which led him to flee to the country's capital.
Eliecer Arias Arias interview - 11/22/2023
Can you introduce yourself ?
My name is Eliecer ARIAS; I am a member of the Kankuamo indigenous people in Colombia. For about fifteen years, I have been working as a human rights defender with the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE). This commitment began following the forced disappearance of my two brothers, who were victims of extrajudicial executions by the Colombian military.
Since then, I have been supporting and advising families in Colombia who have suffered the same crimes. Specifically, I work to combat enforced disappearances and to support other families of victims whose loved ones have disappeared.
I am also fighting against the impunity that characterizes the Colombian judicial system with regard to victims of enforced disappearances and their families. In fact, under Colombian law, if there is no news of the missing person after six months, the investigation is closed without further action.
Can you tell me more about your project and your association ?
My commitment is to monitor and support the cases of victims of enforced disappearance, ensure that documents facilitating their search are sent out, and circulate petitions calling for justice and respect for the rights of these individuals and their families.
This commitment also involves providing families with all the necessary resources to conduct their search, or ensuring they have the right to recover the person’s body and say goodbye in the event of death.This involves fighting for the right to exhume the bodies of victims of extrajudicial executions, so that families can find out what really happened. It is essential to support families through this process and ensure their rights are recognized: the right to identify the body and the right to a proper funeral. Without this, uncertainty persists and the grieving process cannot take place, condemning the families and loved ones of the victims to ongoing suffering.
Ultimately, my work as Human Rights Ombudsman aims to raise awareness of the issue of combating enforced disappearances in the collective consciousness and in public discourse in Colombia.
How did the Marianne initiative help you bring your project to life? Which activities were most helpful to you during the program?
I will always be deeply grateful to the French Republic and the members of the Initiative for giving me the opportunity to participate in the program. It is an honor to have been selected from among so many human rights defenders; I know there were more than 600 applications and only 15 were selected.
Cette opportunité m’a permis de renforcer mes connaissances et capacités en tant que défenseur des Droits de l’Homme, ainsi qu’à tisser un réseau avec d’autres défenseurs et défenseuses des droits de l’Homme en France.
De retour en Colombie, j’ai pu tirer parti de ces enseignements, mais également des ressources fournies par l’Initiative Marianne. Ainsi, j’ai utilisé une partie des ressources que je recevais mensuellement (NDLR : Les lauréats du Programme Initiative Marianne reçoivent une bourse mensuelle pour subvenir à leurs dépenses quotidiennes et financer leur projet militant) pour accompagner une famille dont un membre est décédé suite à une disparition. Cette somme a ainsi pu couvrir les frais de ses funérailles, et a également aidé à subvenir aux besoins de sa famille pendant un certain temps. Ce soutien est essentiel selon moi, afin que les familles qui n’en ont pas les moyens puissent initier le processus de deuil.
Finally, the Marianne Initiative has been a great help in developing my project to build a training and capacity-building center dedicated to advocating for young people and women who are victims of armed conflict. I was able to organize an initial meeting with a group of committed young people who are poised to become the future leaders in this cause. My goal is to contribute to their training so that they will be able to effectively defend, both in Colombia and internationally, the victims of armed conflicts, as well as the rights of indigenous peoples in Colombia.
Have you stayed in touch with the other winners since the program ended?
Only with my colleagues from Venezuela, Peru, Salvador and Cameroon.
I would have liked to share more information about my activism in the months following the end of the Marianne Initiative, but I had a health issue upon returning to Colombia, which required me to be hospitalized for two months. I’m feeling better now, and I’m happy to be able to get back to work and share the results of this work in defense of victims of enforced disappearances with the network of activists I met in France.
Would you like to add anything else ?
Yes, I’d like to share a message with the future graduates of the Class of 2024: participating in the Marianne Initiative is a unique opportunity that they should make the most of; we have access to high-quality training that helps strengthen our advocacy efforts. The program also offers exceptional opportunities to connect with human rights defenders and a variety of organizations. It is precisely because we were selected from among so many human rights advocates that we must make the most of this experience.
