The contributions of ethnic populations to peacebuilding and social and economic development in Colombia was acknowledged in point 6.2, known as the Ethnic Chapter of the 2016 Peace Agreement signed between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP. This acknowledgment signalled the historic conditions of exclusion, slavery, physical and cultural extermination, and land dispossession that ethic populations have suffered.
The Unión Patriótica (UP) political party was born out of the ceasefire, peace, and truce agreements signed between the government and FARC-EP in 1984. The UP emerged as a political movement with legal guarantees for the insurgency to participate in political scenarios through elected offices. Support for the party grew, especially in remote regions of the country, leading to the election of 19 departmental deputies, 286 local council members, and several representatives in Congress. Following this success, paramilitary groups, state agents, and some political factions carried out an offensive against UP leaders and militants amounting to political genocide of the party. In 2014, the Office of the Prosecutor-General of Colombia declared some of the crimes against members of the UP as crimes against humanity.
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.
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.
The Chamber for the Recognition of Truth of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) decided to open a case for the Urabá region, to investigate the crimes committed in the framework of the armed conflict between 1986 and 2016. The macro-case comprises 10 municipalities: 6 of them located in Antioquia (Turbo, Apartadó, Carepa, Chigorodó, Mutatá and Dabeiba) and 4 of them in Chocó (Carmen del Darién, Riosucio, Unguía and Acandí).
The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has an open preliminary examination against the Colombian State since 2004 for crimes against humanity.
This snapshot offer some timely reflections about the TC’s progress in 2019 and we highlight some of the key challenges that lie ahead in 2020.
The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has an open preliminary examination against the Colombian State since 2004 for crimes against humanity.
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.
Forced displacement has been recognised as a major consequence of the armed conflict in Colombia, sometimes forcing victims to leave the country in exile. According to the National Victims’ Registry, there are over 8,500,000 victims of the armed conflict and 7,500,000 victims of forced displacement. It is unknown exactly how many victims are living abroad but the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates it to be approximately 400,000 – it is likely to be even higher.
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