UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- Freed French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt called at a UN conference on Tuesday for UN-backed international status for victims of terrorism with centralized data to publicize their plight.

Making information about victims available on a UN Web site would enable ""meaningful pressure"" to be exerted on their behalf, Betancourt said in a keynote address to the meeting promoted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
""Too many totalitarian states hide the reality of victims of terrorism in their country in order not to be accountable for them to the world,"" she said.
Betancourt was seized by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, during her 2002 presidential campaign. She was rescued in July, after six years' captivity in the jungle.
""It is indispensable to provide an international status to the victims of terrorism,"" said Betancourt, focusing mainly on those held hostage.
Exposing to the world the reality of their ordeal was ""the best way to fight against indifference and the risk of being forgotten,"" she said.
Being officially recognized as a victim of terrorism by the United Nations would mean someone could be sponsored by a state, a town or an organization to follow their case and support their family's campaign, she said.