Peace Brigades International commemorates and mourns the death of Father Javier Giraldo Moreno: A life dedicated to human rights and peace.
This week we learned with great sadness of the death of Father Javier Giraldo Moreno, a Jesuit and human rights defender who has been committed to guiding communities affected by violence in Colombia for more than five decades.
Father Javier’s work occupies a special place in the history of Peace Brigades International in Colombia. In the early 1990s, he was among those who asked PBI to provide an international presence in support of Justicia y Paz’s work with displaced people in Barrancabermeja. In response to requests from Colombian civil society organizations and an exploratory mission, PBI founded the Colombia Project in 1994.
For PBI, his request was the beginning of a partnership that showed a shared belief in the interest of international support and solidarity with communities and human rights defenders facing threats and violence.
Throughout his lifetime, Father Javier became known for his tireless commitment to people whose voices were too often not heard. His name is linked to some of Colombia’s most difficult points of struggle against violence, forced disappearances, paramilitarism and impunity. He also guided the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and supported its efforts to oppose all forms of violence and to adhere to its commitment to peace in the midst of armed conflict. He denounced the persecution and murder of members of the community and contributed to international attention to their situation.
His work also included research and documentation. Father Javier wrote extensively about human rights and paramilitarism in Colombia and investigated the structures and actors behind the violence in the country. In his work, he continued to be committed to preserving the experiences of victims and to combating the impunity surrounding human rights violations.
Father Javier leaves an important legacy within the Colombian human rights movement and in the history of PBI. His life was not only marked by the denouncement of injustice, but also by his commitment to standing next to communities and victims in their search for truth, justice and dignity.
Peace Brigades International joins our team in Colombia and the many other organizations, communities and individuals mourning his death. We remember Father Javier with gratitude and honor for his commitment to human rights, his guidance for communities affected by violence and his contribution to building peace in Colombia.
His legacy lives on with those who continue to believe in peace and social justice and who remain committed to standing by people and communities who defend their rights.