Listening is a Cornerstone to Dialogue

As Embrace Dialogue, we express our solidarity with the more than 1700 victims from the national strike that have taken place in Colombia since 28 April 2021. These demonstrations reflect the discontent and frustration of large sectors of Colombian society with the current government. We condemn the excessive use of violence by security forces to repress the right to protest. Though we denounce damage to public and private property, we call for the principle of proportionality to be applied: life is sacred.

In our eight years of experience in cultivating the culture of dialogue, we have learnt that listening is the first step in finding common ground, beyond our differences. Today, the conditions are not right to start a national dialogue that will yield results; the government’s proposal has structural issues. We urge the Colombian President and members of the Democratic Centre ruling party, to listen to the public outcry in the streets.

Paving the way for dialogue is a difficult option right now, but it is the most humane and just route to follow in order to save us from another century of violence. In the current context, it is necessary to create conditions for a national dialogue, and we therefore propose the following steps:

1. The demilitarisation of the country and recognition of excessive use of violence during the national demonstrations.
2. Willingness and preparation by the parties, both the government and different sectors of society, to initiate a dialogue based on concrete steps to save lives and deescalate the violence.
3. The establishment of a group of facilitators with broad international experience and understanding of the reality in Colombia that the parties consider legitimate.
4. The establishment of a focused and coordinated agenda by society and the government.
5. The co-construction of a roadmap to advance this agenda.
6. The unwavering commitment of all parties to enact the outcomes of the dialogue.

We invite other civil society organisations, the international community and government institutions to monitor and accompany the process to construct these minimum conditions, and to contribute to a national dialogue when the time comes. We offer our help to construct bridges between key national and international actors to make this a reality.

Read the Spanish statement: HERE.