The transmission of Facebook live took place this Thursday morning, between 11 a.m. m. and 12 noon, Colombian time and had more than 540 people connected.

In order to guide Colombian victims abroad on the public policy of care and reparation in the context of the health emergency caused by COVID-19 worldwide, the Victims Unit carried out a virtual workshop through the social network Facebook.

In the virtual event, which was carried out through the question and answer mechanism, and which had more than 540 people connected, Óscar Rico, coordinator of the Group for Assistance to Victims Abroad (GAVE); Miguel Ángel Bustos, official of the Directorate of Repair, and Andrea Cepeda, servant of the Directorate of Registration and Information Management.

When answering questions from victims abroad related to people who did not make their statement before the Public Ministry in Colombia, Andrea Cepeda said that “people who are victims and are residing abroad should approach the closest consulate of the place of their residence in order to render the respective declaration. It is very important that in case the declaration is being rendered out of time, the reasons why the declaration could not be made in the terms established by law are clarified; in this way, when the Unit proceeds to evaluate the declaration, all the information that has been related to it will be taken into account”.

In reference to the administrative compensation process and faced with the question of what to do to request this measure from abroad, Miguel Ángel Bustos assured that “a citizen residing abroad must go to one of the care channels that the Unit has and get in contact with the entity in order to initiate and advance the application for administrative compensation”. Bustos stressed the use of the email servicioalciudadano@unidadvictimas.gov.co as the official virtual mechanism to make the request for administrative compensation for the first time or to inquire about the status of a case that has already been previously sent from Colombia or abroad.

For his part, Óscar Rico answered questions about the support provided by the Unit for Colombian victims affected by the world emergency and clarified doubts about citizens who asked what they should do if they want to return to the country. “The humanitarian care measure granted by the Unit is a measure that materializes in Colombian territory through turns with the Agrarian Bank; however, due to the current situation that aggravates the vulnerability of Colombian victims domiciled abroad, the Unit has signed cooperation agreements with international organizations such as the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Colombian Foreign Ministry to provide humanitarian support at this time”.

A second virtual session is scheduled for July 17, in which institutions from the National System of Comprehensive Care and Reparation for Victims (SNARIV) will participate, to present their offer abroad. Details will be disseminated through the Unit's social networks.

Finally, the Victims Unit reminds that the procedures before the entity are free and do not require intermediation and that the requests will be answered through the email servicioalciudadano@unidadvictimas.gov.co and through the non-contact channels that can be consulted at www.unidadvictimas.gov.co

(End/CMC/TCT/LMY)