The (In)Visible in Enforced Disappearance: Victims and the Search Process in Latin America

Enforced disappearances (ED) are a widespread practice in Latin America, and although the causes for these disappearances have varied over time, these practices persist. Consideration for victims, as important justice stakeholders, has gained prominence in relation to transitional justice more broadly and increasingly in the search for the disappeared. This is in conjunction with an interest in the role of civil society actors as an important link between families and the search process, as well as actors in the search itself. The visibility of these ‘local’ actors – the families, the victims and civil society - has not however been matched by a research agenda which asks how they work together as agents in a search process, or how victimhood is constructed through the search and within legal frameworks related to ED. This paper discusses the current research findings of a multidisciplinary project on the search for victims of ED in Colombia and El Salvador, and analyses the mobilization of victims in search processes and the socio-political factors that hinder or facilitate their engagement. It addresses debates about victims needs and analyzes these against the backdrop of the current development of normative frameworks around processes of search for the disappeared persons.