First modification:
In Colombia, more than 50 years of a conflict that involved different sectors of society and cost the lives of thousands of people were recorded in the Final Report of the Truth Commission. A document that exhaustively revealed details of the confrontation between the Colombian State and the illegal armed groups, including the extinct FARC, and which represents an important step for the reconciliation of the country, thus closing a dark chapter in its history.
The origin of the Truth Commission takes place within the framework of the 2016 Peace Accords, a pact reached between the Colombian State and the former FARC guerrilla, whose mission was destined to examine the Colombian conflict from 1958 to 2016.
The report presented by the agency is the first to be published while the conflict is still ongoing. The Truth Commission is part of the Comprehensive Peace System, together with the Search Unit for Persons Given as Disappeared (UBPD) and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). The latter is the only one that has judicial links in its decision-making, so its objectives are clarification, recognition, coexistence and non-repetition.
The mandate of the Truth Commission began on November 28, 2018. It was to be valid for three years, but was extended for seven months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The delivery of the report took place on June 28 and until August 28 it will be socialized throughout the Colombian territory in different activities.
The Commission has collected more than 30,000 testimonies, not only in Colombia, but also in 24 countries around the world in which people belonging to different sectors of society immersed in the conflict have been interviewed, most of them victims. This group of victims has been affected in 37% by guerrilla actions, 32% by paramilitary actions, 14% by the public force and 17% by other armed actors.
The delivery of the Report was attended by the elected president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and his elected vice president, Francia Márquez. However, outgoing president Iván Duque stood out for his absence. His government has not been an ally of the implementation of the Peace Agreement and, therefore, of this Commission.
What is next now in the construction of peace in Colombia? What is the scope of this this report? How to implement the recommendations it raises? How much does it contribute to reconciliation and non-repetition of the conflict? To discuss this topic, we talked to:
– Daniela Gómez, consultant on Human Rights, peace and armed conflict.
– Camilo Umaña, access to justice and impunity consultant for the Truth Commission and research professor at the Department of Constitutional Law of the Externado de Colombia University.
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