Zaida Catalán

{{Infobox person

| name = Zaida Catalán

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| birth_date = {{birth date|1980|10|06|df=y}}

| birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|3|12|1980|10|06|df=y}}

| death_place = Kasai, Democratic Republic of the Congo

| nationality = Swedish

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Zaida Maria Catalán (6 October 1980 – 12 March 2017){{rp|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.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-kidnapping-idUSKBN16K1V7|title=Two U.N. officials of U.S., Swedish nationality kidnapped in central Congo|date=13 March 2017|agency=Reuters|access-date=29 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329142021/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-kidnapping-idUSKBN16K1V7|archive-date=29 March 2017|url-status=live}}

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).{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/opinion/united-nations-congo-killings.html?ribbon-ad-idx=17&rref=opinion&module=Ribbon&version=context®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=article |title=Opinion – The U.N.'s Tragic Inaction on Congo |work=The New York Times |date=14 June 2017 |access-date=15 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804055619/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/opinion/united-nations-congo-killings.html?ribbon-ad-idx=17&rref=opinion&module=Ribbon&version=context®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=article |archive-date=4 August 2017 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |last1=Sawyer |first1=Ida |last2=Stearns |first2=Jason}}

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

=Early life =

Zaida Catalán was born in Stockholm but grew up in Högsby in Småland.{{cite news |title=Zaida Maria Catalán |first=Petra |last=Nyberg |date=8 January 2021 |language=sv |work=Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon |url=https://skbl.se/en/article/ZaidaMariaCatalan |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202115049/https://skbl.se/en/article/ZaidaMariaCatalan |url-status=live }} Her mother was Swedish while her father had come to Sweden as a political refugee from Chile in 1975. She studied law at Stockholm University, obtaining a Master of Law degree.

=Political career=

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.{{cite news |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20090520/19566 |title=Zaida Catalán: Getting the vote out for a greener Europe |first=Lydia |last=Parafianowicz |date=20 May 2009 |newspaper=The Local |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518125135/https://www.thelocal.se/20090520/19566 |archive-date=18 May 2017 |url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/human-rights-watch-missing-un-workers-congo/3781615.html|title=Rights Group: Congo Must Help Search for Missing UN Staff|work=VOA News|date=25 March 2017 |agency=Associated Press|access-date=29 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329140746/http://www.voanews.com/a/human-rights-watch-missing-un-workers-congo/3781615.html|archive-date=29 March 2017|url-status=live}}{{Failed verification|date=December 2023}} After the Swedish general election in 2006 she was part of the Stockholm City Council for the Green Party.

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.{{cite web|url=http://africatimes.com/2017/03/14/monusco-search-continues-for-abducted-un-experts-in-dr-congo/ |title=MONUSCO: Search continues for abducted UN experts in DR Congo |date=14 March 2017 |work=Africa Times |access-date=29 March 2017 |archive-date=29 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329232251/http://africatimes.com/2017/03/14/monusco-search-continues-for-abducted-un-experts-in-dr-congo/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=http://www.jusektidningen.se/arkivet/2011/1/zaida-catalan-det-blir-svart-att-utratta-nagot-bra/ |newspaper=Jusektidningen |title=Zaida Catalan – det blir svårt att uträtta något bra |trans-title=Zaida Catalan – it becomes difficult to accomplish anything well |first=Marieke |last=Johnson |date=21 December 2010 |language=sv |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723033503/http://www.jusektidningen.se/arkivet/2011/1/zaida-catalan-det-blir-svart-att-utratta-nagot-bra/ |archive-date=23 July 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=2 December 2023}}

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.

Kidnapping and murder

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39418277 |title=Kasai unrest: UN experts found dead in DR Congo |date=28 March 2017 |work=BBC News |access-date=29 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328230642/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39418277 |archive-date=28 March 2017 |url-status=live}} Catalán and Sharp were found dead side by side in a shallow grave about {{convert|80|cm}} deep on 27 March 2017.{{cite web |title=Congo finds Caucasian bodies where U.N. experts disappeared |date=28 March 2017 |publisher=CBS News |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/congo-caucasian-bodies-un-experts-disappeared/ |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329050641/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/congo-caucasian-bodies-un-experts-disappeared/ |archive-date=29 March 2017 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Bodies of two UN investigators found in Congo – govt |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0328/863296-dr-congo-un-bodies/ |date=28 March 2017 |publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=29 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329141355/https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0328/863296-dr-congo-un-bodies/ |url-status=live }} A video of the killing of the two surfaced in April 2017.{{cite news |title=UN 'utterly horrified' by video appearing to show murder of two experts in Congo |author=((Reuters)) |date=25 April 2017 |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/24/un-experts-killed-congo-video-michael-sharp-zaida-catalan |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=24 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424232037/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/24/un-experts-killed-congo-video-michael-sharp-zaida-catalan |url-status=live }} Catalán's body was found beheaded;{{cite news |title=How Uruguayan Peacekeepers Found the Two Dead UN Experts in Congo in 2017 |first=Dulcie |last=Leimbach |date=29 May 2019 |work=PassBlue |url=https://www.passblue.com/2019/05/29/how-uruguayan-peacekeepers-found-the-two-dead-un-experts-in-congo-in-2017/ |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=11 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011125222/https://www.passblue.com/2019/05/29/how-uruguayan-peacekeepers-found-the-two-dead-un-experts-in-congo-in-2017/ |url-status=live }} it was speculated that this was some kind of ritual (muti) by the murderers.{{cite news |title=Meurtre de deux experts de l'ONU: la RDC présente une vidéo |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=24 April 2017 |language=fr |url=https://www.lalibre.be/dernieres-depeches/afp/2017/04/24/meurtre-de-deux-experts-de-lonu-la-rdc-presente-une-video-NAKFR3LL6RCARDWIJPM5IIKGYY/ |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202104804/https://www.lalibre.be/dernieres-depeches/afp/2017/04/24/meurtre-de-deux-experts-de-lonu-la-rdc-presente-une-video-NAKFR3LL6RCARDWIJPM5IIKGYY/ |url-status=live }} Despite the arrest of two primary suspects by Congolese authorities, the head was never found.[http://en.rfi.fr/africa/20170613-report-drc-massacre-villages-await-un-inquiry DRC Exclusive report Part 1: Kasai massacre villages await UN inquiry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713043002/http://en.rfi.fr/africa/20170613-report-drc-massacre-villages-await-un-inquiry |date=13 July 2018}}. Retrieved 5 June 2018[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/world/africa/congo-zaida-catalan-michael-j-sharp-united-nations-democratic-republic-of-congo.html For 2 Experts Killed in Congo, U.N. Provided Little Training and No Protection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522005918/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/world/africa/congo-zaida-catalan-michael-j-sharp-united-nations-democratic-republic-of-congo.html |date=22 May 2017}}. Retrieved 5 August 2017 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 to solve the incident.[https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/rdc-arrestation-de-l-un-des-acteurs-principaux-soup-onn-du-meurtre RDC : arrestation de l’un des « acteurs principaux » soupçonné du meurtre des experts onusiens au Kasaï] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425183321/https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/rdc-arrestation-de-l-un-des-acteurs-principaux-soup-onn-du-meurtre |date=25 April 2018}}. Retrieved 24 April 2018

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.{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/wallstrom-kraver-att-mordet-pa-catalan-klaras-upp/|title=Wallström kräver att mordet på Catalán klaras upp – DN.SE|newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |date=29 March 2017|access-date=29 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329094623/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/wallstrom-kraver-att-mordet-pa-catalan-klaras-upp/|archive-date=29 March 2017|url-status=live}} UN Secretary-General António Guterres also offered his condolences.{{cite news|url=https://www.svd.se/ud-svenskan-har-hittats-dod|title=Krav på att mordet på Catalán klaras upp|last=TT|newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |date=28 March 2017 |access-date=29 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328234427/https://www.svd.se/ud-svenskan-har-hittats-dod|archive-date=28 March 2017|url-status=live}}

The UN's approach to Catalán and Sharp's mission received criticism.[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/world/africa/congo-zaida-catalan-michael-j-sharp-united-nations-democratic-republic-of-congo.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news U.N. criticized for dangerous mission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621143253/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/world/africa/congo-zaida-catalan-michael-j-sharp-united-nations-democratic-republic-of-congo.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news |date=21 June 2017}} Retrieved 21 May 2017 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."[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/opinion/un-congo-murder.html New York Times opinion: U.N. Congo murder] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524143402/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/opinion/un-congo-murder.html |date=24 May 2017}} Retrieved 27 May 2017

Trials and sentences

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,{{Cite journal|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60183952|title=DR Congo issues death sentences for murder of UN experts|date=29 January 2022|accessdate=30 January 2022|journal=BBC News|archive-date=30 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130001209/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60183952|url-status=live}} including death penalty and life imprisonment, the lowest sentence being 10 years of imprisonment.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/29/drc-51-people-sentenced-to-death-over-2017-of-two-un-experts|newspaper=The Guardian|title=DRC: 51 people sentenced to death over 2017 murder of two UN experts |date=29 January 2022 |accessdate=30 January 2022|archive-date=29 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129225223/https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/29/drc-51-people-sentenced-to-death-over-2017-of-two-un-experts|url-status=live |agency=Agence France-Presse }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/dozens-sentenced-death-over-murders-un-experts-congo-2022-01-29/|title=Dozens sentenced to death over murders of U.N. experts in Congo|first=Aaron|last=Ross|date=30 January 2022|accessdate=30 January 2022|agency=Reuters|archive-date=30 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130002218/https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/dozens-sentenced-death-over-murders-un-experts-congo-2022-01-29/|url-status=live}} The sentences can be appealed.{{Cite news|url=https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/top-stories/dr-congo-court-set-for-verdict-in-murder-of-un-experts/ar-AATgje7|title=DR Congo court set for verdict in murder of UN experts|website=MSN News|accessdate=30 January 2022|archive-date=30 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130091755/https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/top-stories/dr-congo-court-set-for-verdict-in-murder-of-un-experts/ar-AATgje7|url-status=live}}

Memorials

On 20 February 2018 the Zaida Catalán Room at the Chilean Embassy in Sweden was inaugurated,[http://www.magazinlatino.com/index.php/cultura/item/873-inauguracion-del-salon-zaida-catalan-embajada-de-chile-en-suecia Inauguración del Salón Zaida Catalán – Embajada de Chile en Suecia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920203332/http://www.magazinlatino.com/index.php/cultura/item/873-inauguracion-del-salon-zaida-catalan-embajada-de-chile-en-suecia |date=20 September 2020 }} Retrieved 5 June 2018|(In Spanish) and in the same year the Network on Humanitarian Action (NOHA) foundation started a scholarship program in Catalán's memory.[https://www.uu.se/nyheter-press/nyheter/artikel/?id=10782&typ=artikel Stipendium till minne av Zaida Catalán] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920203333/https://www.uu.se/nyheter-press/nyheter/artikel/?id=10782&typ=artikel |date=20 September 2020}} Retrieved 5 June 2018|(In Swedish)

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.{{Cite web|title=Scholarship in support of women, peace and security in memory of Zaida Catalán|url=https://fba.se/en/areas-of-expertise/womenandyouth/scholarship-in-support-of-women-peace-and-security-in-memory-of-zaida-catalan/?epslanguage=en|access-date=31 January 2022|website=FBA|language=en|archive-date=31 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131070454/https://fba.se/en/areas-of-expertise/womenandyouth/scholarship-in-support-of-women-peace-and-security-in-memory-of-zaida-catalan/?epslanguage=en|url-status=live}}

References

{{reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite report |title=Final report of the group of experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo |last1=Behalal |first1=Zobel |last2=Sollazzo |first2=Roberto |last3=Vogel |first3=Christoph |last4=Zounmenou |first4=David |date=10 August 2017 |publisher=United Nations |location=New York |url=http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2017_672.pdf |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202092532/http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2017_672.pdf |url-status=live }}

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