Understanding Colombia's armed conflict sometimes it is not easy. For this reason, we want to bring it closer to the Valencian Community thanks to the collaboration with Colombian Commission of Jurists, who know firsthand what this event, which has marked the country's recent history, has meant and continues to mean. Let's start from the beginning.what it consists of the conflict?
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Brief summary of the armed conflict in Colombia
Colombia has been immersed in an internal armed conflict for more than half a century. In the 1960s, two guerrilla groups emerged: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia). FARC and the National Liberation Army – ELN, which emerged as a counterweight to the two-party system that had been governing the country, favoring traditional elites and generating social inequalities.
Over the years, paramilitary groups such as the Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the security forces, and drug traffickers joined the armed conflict. All the armed groups They attacked the civilian population, making them victims of the conflict.
After several failed peace processes, in November 2016 The Colombian State and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -FARC EP- signed a Peace Agreement which put an end to the confrontation with this guerrilla group, which had the greatest impact and territorial control at the time.
The Final Peace Agreement created three key institutions to clarify the truth, search for people reported missing in the armed conflict, and investigate and prosecute the combatants most responsible for serious human rights violations:
1. The Commission for the Clarification of the Truth (CEV): His mandate (2017-2022) was aimed at dignifying the victims, achieving voluntary recognition by those responsible, promoting coexistence in the territories, and formulating viable proposals for non-recurrence. The result of his work was the Final Report, which contains a narrative of the internal armed conflict and recommendations for ensuring the continuity of a stable and lasting peace.
2. The Missing Persons Search Unit (UBPD): It seeks to direct, coordinate, and contribute to the implementation of humanitarian actions to search for and locate persons reported missing in the context of and due to the armed conflict who are found alive, and, in cases of death, when possible, the recovery, identification, and dignified return of bodies.
3. The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP): It is the jurisdictional body charged with investigating, prosecuting, and punishing those most responsible for the most serious crimes committed during and in connection with the internal armed conflict, establishing individual criminal liability, and resolving the legal status of former members of the FARC-EP and the Public Force.
At the moment, Colombia continues in the process of implementing the Peace Agreement, however, the aState actions have been insufficient, to fully repair the almost nine million victims that the internal armed conflict has left behind.