The Superior Judiciary Council (Consejo Superior de la Judicatura), in its national registry of lawyers, lists Valentín Moreno Salazar as deceased (n.d.). In a 9 May 2003 telephone interview, an officer of the Bogotá-based National Afro-Colombian Conference (Conferencia Nacional Afrocolombiana) described Moreno as a lawyer and advocate for the rights of black communities in the Pacific region, and added that he was involved in the establishment of a group known as Black Power (Poder Negro) in the 1970s. The officer further indicated that Moreno was killed by unknown individuals in the Valle del Cauca department because of his activities on behalf of the country's black population. However, he could not recall when the killing took place, nor was he familiar with an organization called Negritudes y Mestizajes de Colombia.

No additional information on Moreno's death or Negritudes y Mestizajes de Colombia could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Conferencia Nacional Afrocolombiana, Bogotá. 9 May 2003. Telephone interview with officer.

Colombia. n.d. Consejo Superior de la Judicatura. "Registro nacional de abogados: consulta de abogados fallecidos." http://200.21.19.136/proyweburna/ASPAbogadosFallecidos.asp [Accessed 8 May 2003]

Conferencia Nacional Afrocolombiana

IRB databases

World News Connection (WNC)

Unsuccessful attempts to contact two oral sources.

Internet sites, including:

Amnesty International

Etnías de Colombia

Human Rights Watch

Radio Caracol [Bogotá]

Revista Cambio [Bogotá]

Semana [Bogotá]