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Entries by Embrace dialogue
Mass Pilgrimage in Support of Life and Peace
On 21 October 2020, around two thousand FARC ex-combatants from across the country joined a mass demonstration to meet with the national government and demand both the implementation of security measures to safeguard life and the fulfilment of the peace agreement. The starting point of the demonstration, named Peregrinación por la Vida y por la Paz (Pilgrimage for Life and Peace), was the municipality of Mesetas in the department of Meta – the resting place of former FARC combatant Jesús Monroy Ayala, who was killed on 16 October 2020.
Environmental Justice in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP)
Understanding competition over land and natural resources as underpinning the Colombian conflict is a fundamental step both for recognising environmental justice as a component of the peace-building process, and for taking action to guarantee non-repetition. The JEP is taking an innovative racial, ethnic and territorial approach to the inclusion of the environment in the transitional justice process. This approach acknowledges the importance of the relationship established by Afro-Colombian, Indigenous and campesinos communities with their territories, and investigates the degradation of local natural resources as a violation of the communities’ collective rights. Three of the currently open macro-cases investigate the damage caused to the environment in the context of the armed conflict: macro-cases 002, 004 and 005. Moreover the JEP has established a “Commission on Territory and the Environment” to investigate the links between the conflict and environmental degradation and to promote a reflection on a territorial and environmental approach within the various bodies of the JEP.
Beyond Victims: Acknowledging the Indigenous Truth
“In times of war, the truth is often shamed, obscured and kept at a distance”; Daniel Maestre, a traditional doctor from the Kankuamo community shared these words during a meeting with indigenous groups of the Caribbean. This was one of several held over the past few months, by the Truth Commission, on the subject of #LaVerdadIndigena (‘the Indigenous Truth’) across the Caribbean, Andean, Pacific, Amazonian and Orinoquian regions of Colombia. These events aimed to allow indigenous communities to share their experiences of conflict with Colombian society, culminating in the sixth Encuentro por la Verdad (Truth Encounter) on 23 October: “Indigenous Communities in Danger of Physical and Cultural Extinction: Their Dignity, Resistance and Contributions to Peace”. This snapshot provides an insight into the search for the Indigenous Truth and how providing a platform for Colombians to hear about their experiences both as victims and as defenders of peace has marked a crucial step in the recognition of abuses and the guarantee of non-repetition.
Relatives of Missing Persons are the Key Actors for the Unit of the Search for the Disappeared
In Colombia, there is a long history of searching for the disappeared and records of forced disappearance date back to the 1950s. Several actors have focused on these searches. On the one hand, the Colombian state looks for those missing, through judicial institutions and the police. On the other hand, the families of disappeared persons, who suffer deeply from the absence of their loved ones and the injustice of it, lead their own initiatives for encountering them. In both cases, searches are founded on chasing down leads, and following clues and intuitions. For the state this means implementing a systematic search with logistical and technical support. In the case of relatives, searches are more erratic, marked by deep loneliness, uncertainty and risk, but families also have the ability to imagine new forms of encounters. This snapshot analyses the commitment of transitional institutions to putting family members at the centre of their work.
The Current State of Reincorporation: the Inspector General’s Office Report
In early September 2020, the Inspector General’s Office presented the Colombian Congress with its second report on the implementation of the Peace Agreement. One of the report’s chapters addresses the socio-economic reincorporation of former members of the FARC-EP. This snapshot reflects on the progress and challenges of reincorporation identified by the Inspector General’s Office, as well as its recommendations.
ReD: 8 Years of Being Part of the World We Want
ReD is a community, a family full of dreamers, thinkers and learners from all walks of life who give freely of their time to see a change in their lifetime through a culture of dialogue. We look ahead to 2022 with the same lens of curiosity and determination that has brought us this far. The coming election might present a challenge or an opportunity for the peace process in Colombia. The new President and government might seek a new direction, support existing efforts or dismantle what has come before. Whatever the outcome, we have learnt not to stop in the face of adversity but to embrace what comes with honesty, generosity, solidarity, co-responsibility, self-criticism and respect.
The FARC’s Progress Before the JEP
Over the last few months, the leaders of the FARC Party (Common Alternative Revolutionary Force) have publicly admitted their responsibility for crimes they committed during the armed conflict. In early October, in a letter directed to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), they admitted to the murders of the conservative leader Álvaro Gómez Hurtado and five others. This followed a letter released in September 2020, within which the FARC both acknowledged their responsibility for kidnappings that they had carried out and asked for forgiveness from the victims. In August, the FARC also began giving testimony about the recruitment of minors. In this snapshot, we look at the progress made by the FARC Party in offering truth and acknowledging its responsibilities before the JEP.
The FARC’s Acknowledgement of Kidnapping: An Important Achievement of the Truth Commission
Following the testimony of Ingrid Betancourt in a Listening Space led by Francisco de Roux, president of the Truth Commission (TC), the former leaders of the FARC-EP decided to publish a letter acknowledging the suffering that they had caused through kidnapping. This is an important achievement of the TC, demonstrating both its effectiveness in attaining the truth and acknowledgements of responsibility, and also its ability to mobilise emotions surrounding reconciliation. This snapshot analyses this recent development as part of the virtuous circle of truth.
The ABC of the Unit for the Search of Disappeared Persons (UBPD)
The Unit for the Search of Disappeared Persons (UBPD) is responsible for searching those people who were disappeared in the context of the armed conflict. It is one of the three institutions of the Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparations, and Non-Repetition (CSTJRN) that arose from the Peace Agreement signed in 2016. The unit was developed in response to requests by relatives of disappeared persons, and civil society organizations that were part of the peace dialogues. In particular, they asked for the establishment of an institution in charge of searching for the disappeared without discrimination on the basis of their origin, age, gender, religion, militancy, or any other factor.