April 13 / 2020 Embrace Dialogue endorses the selection of Alejandro Castillejo as the new Truth Commissioner in Colombia. The decision taken by the existing 10 commissioners was part of an inclusive, public and pluralist process to replace the commissioner who sadly passed away in October 2019, and involved individuals with a wealth of experience. […]
Between 5 and 11 March, a delegation from the Colombian Truth Commission organised a crucial series of events with the Colombian community in the UK, including victims of the state living in exile, students and migrants, along with leaders from different NGOs, unions, academics and UK political representatives. The visit achieved three objectives. First, to take the Truth Commission beyond London where it has focused the majority of its work over the past year. Second, to build confidence in the Commission and its work. And third, to build political support from the UK government which will help continue to reaffirm and legitimise the work of the Commission within the international community.
April 09 / 2020 Embrace Dialogue, as an organisation born from civil society to support the negotiated exit from armed conflict and encourage the construction of peace through dialogue, finds it unacceptable that the numbers of victims in Colombia continues to rise. We join with others in commemorating the National Day of Memory and Solidarity […]
April 07 / 2020 ReD member Gwen Burnyeat interviewed award-winning Colombian novelist Juan Gabriel Vásquez for Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB). In this interview, they discussed the Colombian peace process, the challenges of speaking truth in a “post-truth” era, fiction, and much more. Read the complete interview here. “I try to contribute in a more […]
April 02 / 2020 On 29 March 2020, Colombia’s High Commissioner for Peace, Miguel Ceballos, invested Carlos Velandia and Francisco Galán -former commanders of the National Liberation Army (ELN) insurgency- as Peace Facilitators (Gestores de Paz) This was a reversal of an earlier decision taken by the Duque administration in January 2019, which withdrew this […]
This fourth Reincorporation Snapshot highlights the commitment of former members of the FARC-EP to reconciliation, not only from the FARC political party, but also others within the reincorporation process who belong to other political groups. Implementing the Peace Agreement, through reincorporating these groups into civil society, represents a big challenge. The efforts being made by different sectors to overcome these difficulties are vital for ensuring that the reincorporation process continues.
March 22 / 2020 For this time of uncertainty, we in Embrace Dialogue offer our principles of honesty, generosity, respect, solidarity, self-criticism and co-responsibility. We commit to these values in our work promoting dialogue for peace-building, and also in contemplating how we connect with the world around us. These principles suggest insight as to how […]
One element of the SJP is the Investigation and Accusation Unit (IAU) that is the only body within the JEP with judicial police powers. The unit has 16 prosecutors and one director and is tasked with investigating and bringing criminal charges in those cases where the alleged individual or collective perpetrators of serious human rights violations and International Humanitarian Law do not recognise the truth or accept their responsibility.
March 18 / 2020 In the first week of March 2020, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights launched the report made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Michel Forst, after his 2019 visit to Colombia to investigate the current human rights situation in the country. This report has been subject […]
One of the central challenges of the Truth Commission is that both those giving their testimonies and the interviewers who are taking the testimonies require certain tools to manage the emotional impact of giving and listening to these stories. For the Commission, the importance of these testimonies lies not only in understanding the complexity of the internal armed conflict in the country, but also in recognising the stories of both victims and perpetrators throughout the years.
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