ICTJ Activity

Strengthening Jurisprudence

The ICTJ has presented two amicus curiae briefs in Colombia. Through these, we have provided critical advice to ongoing cases and contributed to the implementation of State obligations under international law.

In May 2005, the ICTJ presented an amicus brief on the Mapiripán Massacre in Colombia to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The brief set forth the legal standards for the government's investigation of serious human rights abuses and warned that de facto impunity may be exacerbated by demobilization policies.

The controversial Law 975 (Justice and Peace Law) prompted the ICTJ to submit its second amicus, this time to the Constitutional Court of Colombia. The amicus brief on the Justice and Peace Law provided comparative expertise on how other countries have worked to ensure accountability and clarify the truth about past abuses even in politically challenging circumstances. Specifically, the ICTJ amicus argued that the Law, as originally configured, would be an affront to victims' rights by trivializing investigatory standards for human rights violations, restricting access to criminal proceeds and limiting access to reparations. The Constitutional Court quoted the amicus extensively and incorporated its petitions in its may 2006 decision.

The National Debate on Transitional Justice

In 2006, together with the Fundación Social, and Project Counseling Service, the ICTJ published a survey on victims' perceptions and expectations of transitional justice. The findings represent the first time ever that a quantitative study has mapped out victims' needs for justice. Overwhelmingly, nearly 90% of those surveyed said that victims should receive some form of reparation, 79% believe that Colombians have a right to truth, 74% expressed a favorable attitude toward reconciliation and 63% believe that combatants must be prosecuted. The Center will continue to use these findings to shape transitional justice policy in Colombia.

Over the course of three days in September, 2006 the ICTJ along with the Fundación Social and the Municipality of Medellin held an international conference attended by over 800 people and representatives from 5 truth commissions. The Center has identified at least 20 instances of local truth-seeking initiatives including a proposal being developed by the Municipality of Medellin itself. The conference, which was opened by the mayor of Medellin, was the first time that these initiatives came together to discuss their work in a collaborative manner. The ICTJ will continue to work to assist these groups and other truth-seeking instances through a series of smaller workshops in the coming year.

Through funding received from the European Commission's Rapid Response Mechanism, the ICTJ established an office in Bogotá in August of 2006. Working closely with the National Reparations and Reconciliation Commission (CNRR), the ICTJ successfully held five consultative meetings with the CNRR and victims' groups around the country. In cooperation with the CNRR, the Center proposed a 2-year action plan which was formally approved by the Commission in February 2007.

The development of the CNRR workplan being now complete, the ICTJ will focus its energies on furthering debate and research on truth-seeking, reparations, prosecutions, DDR and gender among various Colombian State and civil society institutions through direct research, conferences, policy advice and survey work. The founding director of the office Mr. Carlos Ivan Degregori will be followed by Mr. Javier Ciurlizza who previously served as the Executive Secretary of the Peruvian TRC.

The Center has shared its insight and analysis also with international stakeholders active in efforts to resolve the Colombian conflict. In January 2005, in cooperation with the Embassy of Switzerland to Colombia, the Center presented an assessment of transitional justice opportunities to members of the "G-24" group of countries and international institutions supporting Colombian peace. In January 2006, in cooperation with the Embassy of Canada to Colombia, the Center presented a specific assessment of opportunites in the field of reintegration policies.

Research and Capacity Building Efforts

In September 2005, ICTJ Senior Associate Vasuki Nesiah participated in seminars organized by the leading Colombian forensic anthropology organization, EQUITAS, and by Fundación Social to disseminate information on forced disappearances and on the Center's ground-breaking research on gender and transitional justice. Also in September, the ICTJ sponsored presentations by leaders of Colombian victims' organizations to discuss their views on the demobilization process before members of UN missions and NGOs in New York. The Center conducted a transitional justice training workshop with the leaders as a first step toward extended cooperation in Colombia.

Since then, the ICTJ has integrated small break-out groups in each of its large events held in Colombia, precisely to incorporate capacity building throughout its work there. The ICTJ has developed a highly successful model of introducing Colombian agents to counterparts from other regions to share their experiences and will continue this approach in the coming year.

The ICTJ's Research Unit is developing a project on disarmament, demobilization and reintegration that is expected to include a case study on Colombia. While focusing on completed demobilizations, the project looks at both past and current examples in Colombia, which will inform our ongoing country work.

In March of 2007 ICTJ-Colombia, in conjunction with the Universidad del Rosario, hosted a three day conference around the launch of the gender and reparations study "What happened to the Women?" The conference, attended by the Attorney General's Justice and Peace Unit, Obdusman Office, and National Comptroller Office, as well as the CNRR and women's groups comes at a particularly important moment as Colombians move forward with the Peace and Justice Trials and the CNRR starts the implementation of its workplan.

Through its work in-country, the ICTJ has benefited from as much information and knowledge as it has provided to Colombian civil society, given its high level of sophistication and vigor. The Center's comparative experience and expertise has helped stakeholders put into perspective proposals to create a legal framework combining demobilization with truth, justice, and reparations mechanisms. A sustained effort will be necessary in Colombia to ensure that any demobilization or peace processes take into account the rights of victims.

Background

Colombia has endured the longest-running armed conflict in the western hemisphere. Successive waves of confrontation among guerrilla, government, and paramilitary groups have caused enormous loss of life, weakened rule of law, and instilled hostility and despair in the national psyche. The shifting boundaries between patterns of victimization, between drug trafficking and political crime, and the tension between security and human rights strategies pose particular challenges for those seeking accountability for past abuses and respect for human rights in the context of a peace process.

Recent political scandal, brought about in part by the demobilization of paramilitary groups, linking paramilitary generals to top Uribe government officials have only confirmed Colombians' mistrust of the State and fears that a legitimate human rights policy remains a distant goal. At the same time, the exposure of links between paramilitary perpetrators and powerful political elites provides Colombia with an opportunity to enact a genuine transition towards a rule of law State based in the progressive Colombian Constitution of 1991.

In this context, academic and human rights practitioners have developed a rich national discussion on transitional justice and peacebuilding. Over the last few years, this heightened interest in transitional justice has become more urgent with the need not only to achieve successful negotiation and disarmament, but also to establish working mechanisms that ensure lasting peace.

In mid-2003, questions of truth, reparations, and accountability took on a new importance in public and private debate when the paramilitary federation United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) pledged to demobilize and disarm in exchange for a government commitment to minimize the threat of long prison sentences for even the most serious human rights violations. Initially, the government proposed a law that would have replaced prison time for alternative penalties but that would have fallen short of international legislation protecting victims' rights. After a long and complex legislative debate, the Colombian parliament adopted a bill that was passed into law by President Alvaro Uribe in July 2005. However, the law was immediately challenged before the Constitutional Court, which declared critical aspects of it unconstitutional and modified others.

After constitutional review, the law maintains the possibility of a reduction of penalties for demobilized members of illegal groups who cooperate fully with the clarification of crimes, contribute with all their property towards reparation policies and clearly contribute to dismantle illegal structures. The constitutional decision clearly assures the rights of victims to participate actively in all stages of the criminal process. Those paramilitary members not cooperating fully or recurring in crime will lose the benefit of reduced penalties and will automatically receive substantial prison terms.

Implementation of the law has been seriously criticized by civil society organizations demanding that the prosecutorial authorities grant effective access to the process to victims and their legal representatives. Victims' advocates warn that implementing decrees weaken the constitutional decision and give little guarantees that the prosecutors will effectively investigate the crimes committed by the demobilized combatants.

Colombia is party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a body that can try cases of abuse when domestic judicial systems cannot, either due to their inability or unwillingness. It is likely that the ICC Office of the Prosecutor will continue to monitor developments in the country.