Zaida Catalán

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

She was known for her work in activism including environmental issues, animal rights, and human rights (including support of Sweden's sex purchase law; see Prostitution in Sweden).

Catalán was kidnapped and murdered while on a UN mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in March 2017. Critics allege 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.

Early life
Zaida Catalán was born in Stockholm but grew up in Högsby in Småland. 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. 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. 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.

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. Catalán and Sharp were found dead side by side in a shallow grave about 80 cm deep on 27 March 2017. The UN was reportedly horrified when a grisly video of the killing of the two UN experts surfaced in April 2017. Her body was found beheaded, presumably as some kind of ritual (muti) by the murderers, but despite the arrest of two primary suspects by Congolese authorities, the head was never found. 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.

On 29 March, Swedish authorities launched an investigation into the murder of Catalán; 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. UN Secretary-General António Guterres also offered his condolences.

Criticism of the UN has been expressed about the UN's approach to the mission of their two experts. They were sent into a remote and violence-torn area on motorbike taxis with only an interpreter at their side and without much training, safety equipment or even health insurance, an "astoundingly irresponsible approach by the United Nations to an obviously dangerous and hugely important task."

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, including death penalty and life imprisonment, the lowest sentence being 10 years of imprisonment. The sentences can be appealed.

Homages to her memory
On 20 February 2018 the Zaida Catalán Room at the Chilean Embassy in Sweden was inaugurated, and in the same year the Network on Humanitarian Action (NOHA) foundation started a scholarship program in her memory.

In 2020, the Folke Bernadotte Academy was tasked 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 memory of Zaida Catalán.