Colombia: Grassroots Perspectives on what makes for Peace


On 11 June, ABColombia, PBI, the Colombian Caravana of Lawyers and UCL Institute of the Americas hosted a panel conversation with Colombian Human Rights Defender Danilo Rueda of the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP), a human rights organisation with more than 31 years of experience of working to expose human rights violations in the conflict regions of Colombia.

Danilo Rueda discussed the impact of the conflict, how it is exacerbated by economic interests and what communities understand peace to mean as they struggle for their land rights and land restitution.

Danilo Rueda works in a hostile environment and has been subjected to various death threats for his work supporting grassroots communities, who have devised a unique way to resist forced displacement and land grabs by living in  humanitarian and biodiversity zones protected by special measures from the IACHR. Recently, the armed conflict between neo-paramilitary groups, the ELN guerrilla and dissidents of the FARC has increased in the rural areas.

You can listen to the podcast of this event on Soundcloud.

Download the Event Flyer.

Chair

Louise Winstanley, ABColombia Programme and Advocacy Manager

Panel:

  • Danilo Rueda, Executive Secretary of the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace, Colombia
  • Sara Chandler, member of the Colombian Caravana UK Lawyers Group
  • Susi Bascon, Director of Peace Brigades International UK
(Please note that due to a technical issue, the recording starts about 10 minutes into the event. The first speaker is Danilo Rueda, with translation by James Lupton.)