ColombiaGo to: Background | ICTJ Activity | Resources
Colombia suffers from ongoing armed conflict involving guerillas, paramilitaries, crime networks, and official security forces. ICTJ began working in Colombia in 2006 to support justice initiatives following ratification of the 2005 Justice and Peace Law (JPL), which opened modest possibilities for accountability for paramilitary crimes. ICTJ’s work in Colombia focuses on three key areas: support to criminal prosecutions and strategic litigation; reparations programs; and the acknowledgement of atrocity through truth-telling and memorialization. In each of these areas ICTJ conducts monitoring and research, provides technical advice and training, and develops outreach and communication campaigns.
BackgroundColombia has continued to endure the most intractable armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere. Confrontations and violence directed at civilians have caused massive displacement and loss of life, weakened the rule of law, and created a culture of impunity. Complex links between drug trafficking, political crimes, and organized crime pose particular challenges for those seeking to strengthen respect for human rights and accountability for abuses. Demobilization and the Justice and Peace Law In 2002 truth, reparations and accountability took on a heightened importance in public and private debate when the new administration of President Alvaro Uribe began negotiating the demobilization of the coalition of paramilitary groups operating as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). Between 2003 and 2006, over 30,000 individuals went through the demobilization process. These negotiations eventually resulted in the Justice and Peace Law (JPL or Law 975) of 2005, which was designed to offer a legal exit strategy for paramilitaries and to take tentative steps towards addressing the human rights abuses perpetrated by former paramilitaries. Ratified in 2005, the JPL offers former paramilitaries reduced prison sentences in exchange for full, truthful confessions regarding their participation in crimes committed by the paramilitary organization, the handing over of all assets to a reparation fund for victims, and a commitment to end all illegal activity. Some confessions have led to an increased focus on justice and accountability in Colombia. The information provided has enabled the location and identification of disappeared persons and, in some cases, the exposure of strong links between paramilitary leaders and some state officials. Despite positive contributions, however, the demobilization scheme exhibits serious deficiencies and design flaws. Many who demobilized have rearmed and violence and insecurity in Colombia remains ongoing. Challenges and Criticisms The JPL has faced repeated legal challenges. Immediately after ratification, the Constitutional Court reviewed and strengthened components of the law, increasing the criteria paramilitaries needed to meet to obtain reduced prison sentences and inserting language ensuring the rights of victims to participate in all stages of the criminal process. The law was weakened in 2009, however, when the Supreme Court of Justice held it permissible to indict former paramilitaries for only a select number of crimes allegedly committed, rather than all of them. The ruling limited the law’s efficacy in exposing the full extent of paramilitary crimes, and the underlying web of criminal relationships that enabled them. Civil society organizations have severely criticized the implementation of the JPL, demanding that prosecutors grant victims and their representatives effective access to the process. Additionally, organizations have demanded that transitional justice measures be extended to include victims of state crimes. Critics have also pointed out that reduced prison sentences can mean that former paramilitaries who committed mass atrocities serve a token sentence, often shorter than sentences for robbery or other lesser crimes. Other Initiatives The situation in Colombia has been under preliminary examination by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 2006. The critical question for the ICC is whether judicial investigations within Colombia are conducted in keeping with Colombia’s Rome Statute obligations. For several years, the Colombian human rights community has embarked on multiple initiatives outside the scope of the Justice and Peace Law. Several hundred civil society and victim’s organizations have initiated truth-telling and community-based reparations programs, and dynamic legal action has produced robust case law that promotes and protects the rights of victims. Recent legal innovations include decisions related to reparations and victim/witnesses protection programs, a national system to protect the rights of internally displaced persons,, and a recent call by Colombia’s Supreme Court to create a national truth commission. More information on the JPL can be found in the Q&A of the July 2010 Transitions Newsletter (PDF).
ICTJ ActivitySince October 2006, ICTJ has been working in Colombia to support the implementation of transitional justice measures, including the Justice and Peace Law. Currently, ICTJ concentrates on strengthening national mechanisms for the protection of victims’ rights to truth, justice and reparations. Some of the main activities are as follows: Prosecution Initiatives: Victims' Rights and System Crimes
(Updated August 2010) Colombia Resources
ICTJ News Coverage9 Aug 10: El espejismo de Justicia y Paz (Spanish only)26 Jul 10: Un año más de Justicia y Paz, y nada (Spanish only)25 Jul 10: Por Justicia y Paz (Spanish only)20 Jul 10: Justicia y Paz: cinco años de logros y deudas (Spanish only)19 Jul 10: Peace and Justice Law, 5 years later11 Jul 10: Justicia y Paz, en deuda con las víctimas (Spanish only)9 Jul 10: Comisión de la verdad en torno a los crímenes de Estado en Colombia (Spanish only)6 July 10: Colombia, el precio de la seguridad democrática (Spanish and French)1 July 10: Colombians hunt for disappeared loved ones - and their murderers join search21 June 10: Santos Victorious19 June 10: Stealing Colombia's Criminals4 May 10: Reparar es, más que un pago, un proyecto de inclusión política (Spanish only)2 May 10: ¿La reparación que se les da a las víctimas de la violencia en Colombia sí es la debida? (Spanish only)2 May 10: Líos con bienes paras dejan sin fondos la reparación (Spanish only)4 Feb 10: "Por un país sin bandas criminales" (Spanish only)21 Jan 10: La inconveniente prórroga de Justicia y Paz (Spanish only)07 Jan 10: Sobre los delitos de lesa humanidad (Spanish only)03 Jan 10: El modelo de justicia y reparación argentino09 Dec 09: "No political will" for JPL20 Nov 09: ONU respalda creación de Comisión de la Verdad para procesos de Justicia y Paz (Spanish only)31 Oct 09: Mensajes confusos sobre la CPI29 Sept 09: Paramilitary Extraditions Spark Debate in Colombia06 Aug 09: Con la entrada de la Corte Penal Internacional se cerraron puertas para diálogo con la guerrilla6 Aug 09: Los dilemas falsos de la Corte Penal Internacional5 July 09: Para no olvidarlos, Oriente construye memoria3 June 09: Colombia has much to learn from other countries14 Mar 09: Senador Juan Fernando Cristo pide que relación de EE.UU. y Colombia, incluya a víctimas de la violencia (Spanish only)5 Mar 09: Colombia: perdón tras 19 años (Spanish only)17 Oct 08: To go forward, Colombia looks back3 Jul 08: FARC: Free Remaining Hostage and Negotiate with Colombia6 Mar 08: Colombian anti-paramilitary march shows divisions1 Jan 08: Colombia hostage deal fiasco bad news for captives
ICTJ Press Releases15 May 09: Colombia: Extradition of paramilitary leaders9 Feb 09: Colombia: Court Case Involving Human Rights Violations Not For Military Courts14 May 08: Extradition: Colombia's and the United States' Mistake22 Dec 06: ICTJ Report: Colombians Want Genuine Peace with Justice17 Jan 06: Brief on Justice and Peace Law Presented to Colombian Constitutional Court
ICTJ PublicationsJun 10: Colombia: Impact of the Rome Statute and the International Criminal CourtMar 10: El proceso penal de Justicia y Paz desde la intervención del Ministerio Público (Spanish)Mar 10: Tareas pendientes: propuestas para la formulación de políticas públicas de reparación en Colombia (Spanish)Mar 09: Factsheet: An Overview of Conflict in Colombia English | Pashto | Dari2009: South Africa: The TRC And Justice2008: Fact Sheet Series: Transitional Justice in ColombiaReference MaterialsDec 09: Fact Sheet: Effective Remedies to Human Rights Violations27 Feb 09: ICTJ Amicus Brief on the Rights of LGBT Victims to Protection and Reparations9 Feb 09: Amicus curiae brief filed in Colonel Luis Alfonso Plazas case (Spanish only) (ICTJ)22 Dec 06: Colombian Perceptions and Opinions on Justice, Truth, Reparations, and Reconciliation (Spanish only)17 Jan 06: Amicus Brief on Law 975 submitted to the Constitutional Court of Colombia (Spanish only)May 05: Summary of amicus brief on the Mapiripan Massacre submitted to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ICTJ)Feb 05: Contributions of Transitional Justice to the Colombian process (Spanish only) (ICTJ)
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