24 August 2021

As international scholars conducting research in Colombia, we value the contribution of the Truth Commission to end the armed conflict and build a lasting peace.

Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 the Truth Commission has not been able to fully carry out its mandate. It is impossible to calculate the multi-faceted impact the pandemic has had on its work, from difficulty travelling to take testimonies around the country, to having to adapt and hold sensitive truth hearings online; and one commissioner even died of Covid-19. These setbacks have created challenges for the write-up of the final report, due November 2021. 

In the face of these challenges, universities in Colombia and abroad, civil society organisations, and the international community have recognised and supported the work of the Truth Commission inside and outside Colombia, to help it complete its work. However, the impact of the pandemic is such that the Commission will struggle to produce the final report by the original deadline, to the highest possible quality; as it has not had the full three years mandated by law as effective working time. 

We are hopeful that the Colombian Constitutional Court will also recognise this, and extend the mandate of the Truth Commission, to make up for the time lost in the pandemic.

Signatures

1. Andrei Gómez-Suárez, University of Winchester, UK
2. Gwen Burnyeat, University of Oxford, UK
3. Juliana Vélez Echeverri, University of Reading, UK
4. Clara Sandoval , University of Essex, UK
5. Larisa Sioneriu , University of Bristol, UK
6. Lina Malagon, Ulster University, UK 
7. Peter Watson, University of Leeds, UK
8. Jenny Pearce,  London School of Economics (LSE), UK
9. Claire Taylor, University of Liverpool, UK
10. Julia Paulson, University of Bristol, UK 
11. Laura Hankin, University of Bristol, UK
12. Samuel Ritholtz, University of Oxford, UK
13. Carolina Alonso Bejarano, University of Warwick, UK
14. Patricia Barrera Ramírez, University of Liverpool, UK
15. Nick Morgan, Newcastle University, UK
16. Ailsa Peate, University of Westminster, UK
17. Roddy Brett, University of Bristol, UK
18. Sabine Michalowski, University of Essex, UK
19. Julia Zulver, University of Oxford, UK
20. Roger Mac Ginty, Durham University, UK
21. Kerry Prior, King’s College London, UK
22. Olga Lucia Sorzano, City, University of London, UK
23. Johanna Amaya-Panche, University of Essex, UK 
24. Jamie Shenk, University of Oxford, UK
25. Erin McFee, London School of Economics (LSE), UK
26. Jonathan Newman, University of Sussex, UK
27. Roxani Krystalli, University of St Andrews, UK
28. Elena B. Stavrevska, London School of Economics (LSE), UK
29. Tatiana Suárez, School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK
30. Marcos Estrada, University of Warwick, UK
31. Ute Kelly, University of Bradford, UK
32. Sanne Weber, University of Birmingham, UK
33. Sara Koopman, Kent State University, US
34. Nazih Richani, Kean University, US
35. Teo Ballvé, Colgate University, US
36. Erika Moreno  Creighton University, US 
37. Emma Shaw Crane, Columbia University, US
38. Janet C. Gerson, Columbia University, US 
39. Robert Karl, Minerva University, US
40. Dale Snauwaert, University of Toledo, US
41. Francisco Diez, Notre Dame University, US
42. Adriana Rudling, Chr Michelsen Institute, Norway
43. Rafael Grasa, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain 
44. Jerónimo Ríos Sierra, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain 
45. María Fernanda Olarte-Sierra, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
46. Jacobo Grajales, University of Lille, France 
47. Luna Camila Zarate Santamaria, Université Jean Moulin de Lyon, France
48. Ángela Ocampo, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium 
49. Alicia Cabezudo, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina
50. Martha Hèlena Montoya Vélez, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México
51. Pietro Ameglio, Universidad Autónoma de México
52. Carlos Perezmurphy Mejía, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México
53. Eduardo Sandoval, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
54. Marcela Montero Mendoza, Universidad Modelo, México
55. Toby Miller, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, México