. Thesis Paragraph Sentence: A. Area of conflict: The efforts of the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to end their 52 year old civil war that has caused the death of more than 260,000 people. The Colombians need to develop a system that comprehensively investigates the crimes committed during the war and that allows for reconciliation, and the eventual, peaceful advancement of the nation’s development. B. A Colombian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, fitted to the nation’s unique circumstances, can help investigate the country’s violent past, placing victims at the center of the conflict resolution and ensuring the opposition’s ability to reconcile its differences and move forward in a more unified manner that allows for the peaceful …show more content…
reintegration of rebels into Colombian society. II. History: A. How the disputants handle this area of conflict: Colombia has a long history of internal strife and violence, stretching back as far as 1946. i. Catherine LeGrand, “The Colombian Crisis in Historical Perspective,” Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 28, No. 55/56 (2003): 165-209. ii. Norman Bailey, “La Violencia in Colombia,” Journal of Inter-American Studies 9, No. 4 (1967): 561-75. *( la violencia was the period of particularly intense rural violence in Colombia from 1948-1963, not to be confused with the Spanish word for violence) iii. Jennifer Holmes, Sheila Gutiérrez de Piñeres, and Kevin Curtin, Guns, Drugs, and Development in Colombia (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2008). B. Current Systems to Address It: The Colombian government and the FARC began peace negotiations in 2012 and came to an agreement in November of 2016. The peace negotiations were approved by Congress and are also framed, in part, by international human rights law, such as the Geneva Accords. i. Kristian Herbolzheimer, “Innovations in the Colombian Process,” Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center Report (2016): 1-10. ii. “The Construction of Historical Memory,” Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica, 28 September 2016, http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co. iii. “The Current Situation in Colombia,” United States Institute of Peace, 1 February 2017, usip.org. iv. “Colombia’s Government Formally Ratifies Revised FARC Peace Deal,” The Guardian, 1 December 2016. III. Literature Review: Research performed on transitional justice shows that countries can improve systems for overcoming gross human rights abuses and for transitioning from despotic regimes to democracies by creating Truth and Reconciliation Commissions that recognize the plights of victims and encourage more open discussions about differences. A.
During a time of significant change and transition, Truth and Reconciliation Commissions address a harmful past so that the nation can move towards a better future. i. Priscilla Hayner, Unspeakable Truths: Facing the Challenge of Truth Commissions (Routledge: New York, 2002). ii. Onur Bakiner, Truth Commissions: Memory, Power, and Legitimacy (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016). iii. Onur Bakiner, “Truth Commission Impact: An Assessment of How Commissions Influence Politics and Society,” Transit Justice 8, No. 1 (2014): 6-30. B. There have been various Truth and Reconciliation commissions throughout history. While each is unique to the country, there are certain common goals and problems associated with the general system. Further analysis of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions reveals different causes and results throughout the world. i. Priscilla Hayner, “Fifteen Truth Commissions—1974 to 1994: A Comparative Study,” Human Rights Quarterly 16, No. 4 (1994): 597-655. ii. Deborah Posel and Graeme Simpson, Commissioning the Past: Understanding South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (University of Michigan: Witwatersrand University Press,
2002). iii. Amy Ross, "Truth and Consequences in Guatemala," GeoJournal 60, No. 1 (2004): 73-79. iv. Mark Ensalaco, Chile Under Pinochet: Recovering the Truth (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000). v. Lisa Magarrell and Joya Wesley, Learning from Greensboro: Truth and Reconciliation in the United States (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008). IV. Critique: A. Colombia and the FARC’s first agreement was put to a vote in October, where it was rejected by a plebiscite. The President forced the second, amended agreement through Congress, ignoring many of the changes those who had voted “no” hoped to make. i. Nicholas Casey, “Aching for Peace But Also Justice, Colombians Weigh Deal with FARC,” New York Times, 26 August 2016. ii. Nicholas Casey, “Colombia and FARC Sign New Peace Deal, This Time Skipping Voters,” New York Times, 24 November 2016. B. Controversy over the agreed-upon punishments for the human rights crimes committed by the rebels and governments has created tension among civilians and former rebels as FARC members reintegrate into society. i. Marta Ruiz, “A Bumpy Peace for Colombia,” New York Times, 8 December 2016. ii. Nicholas Casey, “Unease in Colombia, as Old Enemies Become New Neighbors,” New York Times, 4 February 2017. C. Colombia has already documented a significant amount of information regarding the violence during the civil war and its victims. They have also made steps to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Committee, a step forward for the war-torn nation. i. “Reports,”Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica, 28 September 2016, http://www.centrodememoriahistorica.gov.co. ii. General Report Historical Memory Group, “Basta Ya! Colombia: Memories of War and Dignity,” (Bogotá: National Center for Historical Memory, 2016). V. Proposals and Rationale: A. In Colombia’s tense environment, it is all the more important that Colombia establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate the human rights abuses committed throughout the nation’s history. It would be a natural extension of efforts by the Center for Historical Memory and by the creators of the “Basta Ya!” (Stop Already) report. It would also help Colombia discover the truth regarding the violence committed over the last 50 years, and ensure that victims of the conflict can be heard
Furgurson, Ernest B. "Moment Of Truth." American History 48.4 (2013): 64-68. History Reference Center. Web. 6 May 2014.
Gates, Bill., "Why the Justice Department Is Wrong," The Wall Street Journal, November 10, 1997, p. A22.
Maidment, M. (2009). When justice is a game: Unravelling wrongful convictions in Canada. Canada: Fernwood Publishing.
Jaffrey, Zia. (1998, February). “Truth and Reconciliation Commission Interview.” Progressive, Vol. 62 Issue 11, p.18.
In light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) calls to actions (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 2015:8–9), this project is a timely one.
Magleby, David B. "The Judiciary." Government by the Peopl. 2011 ed. Boston: Pearson, 2011. 378-90. Print.
Stewart, M. (2011). The space between the steps: reckoning in an area of reconciliation. Contemporary Justice Review, 14(1), 43-63. Retrieved from http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/10282580.2011.541076
Republic of Colombia Constitutional Court, Sentence # c-239/97, Ref. Expedient # D-1490, May 20, 1997.
Ballenstedt, B. (2008, May 1). :FEATURES: :Imperfect Justice (5/1/08) -- GovExec.com. Retrieved August 1, 2010, from Government Executive.com: http://www.govexec.com/features/0508-01/0508-01s3.htm
...n’s people because of the genocide and enslavement perpetrated against their ancestors. This action has manifested in the July 2013 decision of the Heads of Government to request all member states to convene a national reparations committee to report to CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC), which was constituted at the First Regional conference on Reparations held in September 2013, culminating, for now, with the approval, in March 2014, of a 10-point plan for negotiations on reparations with former European colonial powers. All of this achieved within one year of the publication of the text under review here, the author of which is none other than the distinguished chairman of the CRC. A formal complaint to the Europeans nations is expected by the end of April, 2014 and if rejected, plans are afoot to seek legal redress through the International Court of Justice.
Spence, L., & Navarro, V. (2011). Crafting truth: Documentary form and meaning. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press.
Unlike previous forms of reconciliation that focussed only on direct and immediate aid, the Truth and Reconciliation Commision had a long term goal in mind - to “repair the relationship” (Radio-Canada, 2015) that had so been strained. The first to take form was the final report submitted to the federal government - a detailed account, spanning nearly 4,000 pages, of what happened to indigenous children. The stories had such emotional depth that “each and every one of us who listened to them would go home at the end of each day and we would hold our children, our grandchildren, closer as we proceeded”, as Justice Murray Sinclair describes (Radio-Canada, 2015). Most significantly in this large scale project was the “publication of ninety-four "calls to action" urging all levels of government — federal, provincial, territorial and aboriginal — to work together to change policies and … move forward with reconciliation” (CBC, 2015). With the calls in place, the Truth and Reconciliation seemed to set out to own the stories and experiences of Indigenous people as a method of education and awareness. With calls to further child welfare, education, language and culture, the ninety-four recommendations have been in action since the early 2010s,
The third source that I will be using for my paper is by Mark R Amstutz. In this book he describes in great detail about transitional justice, political forgiveness, and cases in different countries, mainly Argentina, Chile, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. He especially dedicated chapters on retributive justice and the limits of forgiveness in Argentina, and the quest for reconciliation through truth telling in Chile. He argues that forgiveness is an essential part of politics when dealing with the collective wrongdoing of military regime and believes that a combination knowing the truth, victims getting an public apology, repentance and compensation and ultimately forgiveness and the lifting of deserved penalties will bring reconciliation
Colombia has been at war for over 50 years between the government and guerrilla groups. Guerrillas started as a group of rebels who were against the corrupted government. At the begging they were not much of threat because their political views were seen as exaggerated. Little by little insurgents started to gain power especially when they joined the drug cartels. On November 6, 1985, the impossible became possible. A small group of guerrillas attacked The Palace of Justice killing half of the Colombia´s Supreme Court judges. This marked the beginning of a new era in terrorism in Colombia. After this incident the country was not the same, people felt vulnerable and the government didn´t provide any security to their citizens. This touched my family too; insurgents took away our farm which was our only way of income. The farm was a very especial place for us not only
This paper henceforth draws closed the argument that The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was in fact an opportunity for those who were done in during the apartheid era to take from the past and build on it in order to locate their place in the post-apartheid South Africa which became a country for citizens to feel they belong.