Luz Marina Bernal

Luz Marina Bernal Parra (born 1960) is a Colombian peace and human rights activist, a founding member of the group . She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 and has been a champion of the struggle of women whose children were kidnapped and murdered by members of the Colombian Army to the south of Bogotá, who passed them off as guerrillas – the so-called "false positives". She managed to get Álvaro Uribe, the President of Colombia, to retract statements insulting the memory of the young people of Soacha, presented as guerrillas killed in combat during his democratic security policy. A judgment of reparation was handed down in 2014.

After a decade working as a defender of human rights, in March 2018 she stood for election to the Senate as part of .

Son's disappearance in 2008 Luz Marina Bernal is the mother of Fraí Leonardo Bernal, who was murdered by the Colombian Army, and driving force of the group , a group of women who denounced the killings of their children by the armed forces. The Office of the Attorney General has recognized the murder of her son as a crime against humanity, along with the disappearance of more than 4,500 young people. They are called the "false positives".

Bernal had to face the disappearance of her son, who was 26 years old and suffered from a mental disability that caused him to function at a 10-year-old level. The last time she saw him was on 8 January 2008, when he left home in Soacha, a city of 800,000 located three hours south of Bogotá.

From 2010 to 2014, these women protested weekly in Soacha's central plaza, with the support of human rights and neighborhood organizations. The protests were widely covered in Colombia's social media. In addition, in those years Bernal led petitions in more than ten countries on behalf of Mothers of Soacha, placing a focus on the Colombian justice system and its officials.

Among the tasks performed by the members of the collective in Soacha were photographing the groups of soldiers when they were conducting raids and taking away young detainees in trucks, as well as asking the latter for their phone numbers to call their families immediately. Despite the slow pace of the process, they continue to oppose impunity and to promote the actions of the Colombian justice system against inhumanity.

Results on "false positives" Through the end of 2014, the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia acknowledged receiving complaints of 4,716 murders allegedly committed by members of the security forces, which fit the characteristics of cases such as those of Jaime Estiven, the son of María Sanabria. The Office also reported that approximately 4,000 members of the Army were involved in these cases. As of that date, about 900 soldiers had been indicted. She later participated in various documentaries and audiovisual works to increase visibility of the work of Mothers of Soacha.

In 2014, Oxfam Intermón produced an audiovisual piece about the Mothers of Soacha in their Avanzadoras program, entitled Huellas que no callan (Footprints That Do Not Remain Silent).

Also in 2014 the Mothers of Soacha turned to film to tell the story of their children, of continuing to look for their remains.

Recognitions The group Mothers of Soacha has been recognized with various international human rights awards, notably:

Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016