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Zaida Catalán

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Zaida Catalán
Born(1980-10-06)6 October 1980
Stockholm, Sweden
Died12 March 2017(2017-03-12) (aged 36)
Kasai, Democratic Republic of the Congo
NationalitySwedish

Zaida Catalán (6 October 1980 – 12 March 2017)[1]: 33  was a Swedish politician who was a member of the Green Party and leader of the Young Greens of Sweden between 2001 and 2005.[2]

She was an activist on issues including the environment, animal rights, and human rights (including support of Sweden's sex purchase law; see Prostitution in Sweden).[3]

Catalán was kidnapped and murdered while on a UN mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in March 2017. Critics alleged that the UN was irresponsible in sending her to a high-conflict zone with limited training and support. On 29 January 2022, a DRC court sentenced over 50 people for the murders of Catalán and her American colleague Michael Sharp.

Biography

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Early life

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Zaida Catalán was born in Stockholm but grew up in Högsby in Småland.[4] Her mother was Swedish while her father had come to Sweden as a political refugee from Chile in 1975.[4] She studied law at Stockholm University,[4] obtaining a Master of Law degree.

Political career

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With a background as an animal rights activist, Catalán became the leader of the Young Greens of Sweden in 2001. After two years as the leader of the organisation along with Gustav Fridolin and two years along with Einar Westergaard, she resigned as leader of the Young Greens in 2005.

In late 2008, she announced her candidacy for the European Parliament for 2009.[5] Catalán came fifth in internal voting for the party's list for the European Parliament. Following her personal campaign, Catalán received 16,300 votes in the election, which wasn't enough to get a place in the European Parliament.[6][failed verification] After the Swedish general election in 2006 she was part of the Stockholm City Council for the Green Party.[5]

In December 2010, Catalán announced that she would leave her work as a lawyer for the Green Party's parliamentary group and start working as an expert on sexual violence for the European Union Police Mission in Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[7][8]

Catalán began working in an expert group for the United Nations in 2016, reporting to the Security Council and directly to the Secretary-General, investigating abuse against the population and human rights violations in the DRC.[4]

Kidnapping and murder

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On 12 March 2017, Catalán and another UN employee, American Michael Sharp, were kidnapped along with Congolese interpreter Betu Tshintela, driver Isaac Kabuayi and two motorbike drivers during a mission near the village Ngombe in the Kasai Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[9][10] Catalán and Sharp were found dead side by side in a shallow grave about 80 centimetres (31 in) deep on 27 March 2017.[10][11][12] A video of the killing of the two surfaced in April 2017.[13] Catalán's body was found beheaded;[9][11] it was speculated that this was some kind of ritual (muti) by the murderers.[14] Despite the arrest of two primary suspects by Congolese authorities, the head was never found.[15][16] On 26 March 2018, one of the perpetrators, Vincent Manga, was captured by Kananga's military authorities and moved the investigation into a new direction in order to solve the incident.[17]

On 29 March, Swedish authorities launched an investigation into Catalán's murder; the Minister for Education Gustav Fridolin and the Prime Minister Stefan Löfven both expressed their dismay and sadness over her death and offered their condolences to her family.[18] UN Secretary-General António Guterres also offered his condolences.[19]

The UN's approach to Catalán and Sharp's mission received criticism.[20] A New York Times editorial described their dispatch to a violent region without safety equipment as an "astoundingly irresponsible approach by the United Nations to an obviously dangerous and hugely important task."[21]

Trials and sentences

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Over 50 people were tried for the murder of Catalán and her American colleague. On 29 January 2022, 51 people were sentenced in a DRC court to a variety of punishments,[22] including death penalty and life imprisonment, the lowest sentence being 10 years of imprisonment.[23][24] The sentences can be appealed.[25]

Memorials

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On 20 February 2018 the Zaida Catalán Room at the Chilean Embassy in Sweden was inaugurated,[26] and in the same year the Network on Humanitarian Action (NOHA) foundation started a scholarship program in Catalán's memory.[27]

In 2020, the Folke Bernadotte Academy was asked by the Swedish Government to establish a scholarship aimed at supporting the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security. The scholarship was established in Catalán's memory.[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Behalal, Zobel; Sollazzo, Roberto; Vogel, Christoph; Zounmenou, David (10 August 2017). Final report of the group of experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (PDF) (Report). New York: United Nations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Two U.N. officials of U.S., Swedish nationality kidnapped in central Congo". Reuters. 13 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  3. ^ Sawyer, Ida; Stearns, Jason (14 June 2017). "Opinion - The U.N.'s Tragic Inaction on Congo". New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Nyberg, Petra (8 January 2021). "Zaida Maria Catalán". Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b Parafianowicz, Lydia (20 May 2009). "Zaida Catalán: Getting the vote out for a greener Europe". The Local. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Rights Group: Congo Must Help Search for Missing UN Staff". VOA News. Associated Press. 25 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  7. ^ "MONUSCO: Search continues for abducted UN experts in DR Congo". Africa Times. 14 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  8. ^ Johnson, Marieke (21 December 2010). "Zaida Catalan – det blir svårt att uträtta något bra" [Zaida Catalan – it becomes difficult to accomplish anything well]. Jusektidningen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Kasai unrest: UN experts found dead in DR Congo". BBC News. 28 March 2017. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Congo finds Caucasian bodies where U.N. experts disappeared". CBS News. 28 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  11. ^ a b Leimbach, Dulcie (29 May 2019). "How Uruguayan Peacekeepers Found the Two Dead UN Experts in Congo in 2017". PassBlue. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Bodies of two UN investigators found in Congo - govt". RTÉ. 28 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  13. ^ Reuters (25 April 2017). "UN 'utterly horrified' by video appearing to show murder of two experts in Congo". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  14. ^ AFP (24 April 2017). "Meurtre de deux experts de l'ONU: la RDC présente une vidéo" (in French). Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  15. ^ DRC Exclusive report Part 1: Kasai massacre villages await UN inquiry Archived 2018-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 05 June, 2018
  16. ^ For 2 Experts Killed in Congo, U.N. Provided Little Training and No Protection Archived 2017-05-22 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 05 August, 2017
  17. ^ RDC : arrestation de l’un des « acteurs principaux » soupçonné du meurtre des experts onusiens au Kasaï Archived 2018-04-25 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 24 April 2018
  18. ^ "Wallström kräver att mordet på Catalán klaras upp - DN.SE". Dagens Nyheter. 29 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  19. ^ TT (28 March 2017). "Krav på att mordet på Catalán klaras upp". Svenska Dagbladet. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  20. ^ U.N. criticized for dangerous mission Archived 2017-06-21 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 21, 2017
  21. ^ New York Times opinion: U.N. Congo murder Archived 2017-05-24 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 27, 2017
  22. ^ "DR Congo issues death sentences for murder of UN experts". BBC News. 29 January 2022. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  23. ^ "DRC: 51 people sentenced to death over 2017 murder of two UN experts | Democratic Republic of the Congo | The Guardian". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  24. ^ Ross, Aaron (30 January 2022). "Dozens sentenced to death over murders of U.N. experts in Congo". Reuters. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  25. ^ "DR Congo court set for verdict in murder of UN experts". MSN News. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  26. ^ Inauguración del Salón Zaida Catalán - Embajada de Chile en Suecia Archived 2020-09-20 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 5, 2018|(In Spanish)
  27. ^ Stipendium till minne av Zaida Catalán Archived 2020-09-20 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 5, 2018|(In Swedish)
  28. ^ "Scholarship in support of women, peace and security in memory of Zaida Catalán". FBA. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.

Further reading

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