Marking a new milestone in Colombia’s transitional justice process, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) has opened Macrocase 11 after a more than a year of preliminary investigations. This is a national case that will investigate crimes of “gender-based violence, sexual violence, reproductive violence, and other crimes committed because of prejudice based on sexual orientation,...
The Estado Mayor Central (EMC) are dissidents of the Fuerzas Armadas de Colombia (FARC-EP), who rejected the 2016 peace deal and refused to sign the Peace Accord between the FARC and the Colombian government. It is estimated that the EMC currently has some 3,500 members, with 2,200 combatants and is comprised of 4 main bloques and 46...
President Gustavo Petro took office in August 2022, and introduced the policy of “Paz Total” (Total Peace). This policy allows the Colombian Government to negotiate with a range of illegal armed groups that are still active in the Colombian conflict. These actors include: The FARC laid-down its weapons in 2016 and 13,000 ex-combatants returned to...
The Ejército Nacional de Liberación (National Liberation Army – ELN) is the largest remaining guerrilla group in Colombia, following the signing of the 2016 Peace Accord between the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas de Colombia (FARC-EP). It is estimated that the ELN currently has some 5,800 members, with 3,000 combatants and is comprised of...
READ the latest advances of the National Action Plan in 2023 After 22 years of the implementation of the UN Security Council’s resolution 1325, Colombia’s government announced the formulation, implementation, and follow-up of the National Action Plan 1325 (NAP1325), as a result of the historic and tireless work of women and feminist’s organisations in the...
On 18 May 2023, Colombia hosted an interinstitutional conference to discuss UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and Colombia’s progress in developing a National Action Plan (NAP) for its implementation [i]. The meeting led by Colombian Vice Minister of Multilateral Matters, Elizabeth Taylor Jay, included the participation of Miki Jacevic who has pioneered...
Gustavo Petro’s Government came into office in August 2022 promising to put a strong emphasis on citizen participation. ABColombia organised an event with Colombian human rights defender Ricardo Jaramillo, who visited the UK to speak about the state of the civil society participation in relation to the Government’s flagship policy of “Paz Total” and the...
In a strong statement from Great Britain to Colombia, Minister for the Americas and the Caribbean, David Rutley, reiterates the UK’s commitment to supporting peace in Colombia through the full implementation of the Peace Accord with the FARC, at the UN Security Council meeting on Colombia.[i] On 11 January 2023, the United Nations Security Council...
24 November 2022, marks the sixth anniversary of the signing of the 2016 Final Peace Accord between the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia‑Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) guerrilla group. The ambitious Peace Accord addresses the structural causes of over 50 years of armed conflict. As we pass the six-year mark, there has been a...
Colombia was the first country in the world to sign a Peace Accord which declared ‘no amnesties’ for conflict related sexual and gender-based violence. It is also the first country to prosecute in a national case in the Transitional Justice System, crimes of sexual and gender-based violence and crimes related to sexual orientation, and gender...
