Update: Peace and Victims’ Rights in Colombia

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a follow-up briefing on victims’ rights and the implementation of the peace accords in Colombia.

More than two years have passed since the signing of a peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla movement that paved the way for ending 50 years of internal armed conflict. In the interim, the FARC guerrillas have been demobilized, disarmed, and begun their reintegration into civilian life. Transitional justice mechanisms, including the Truth Commission, the Unit to Search for the Disappeared, and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, have been stood up and begun to operate. But there is growing concern that implementation of the full accord is stalling, particularly in regard to those aspects meant to ensure the rights of the 7 million victims of the conflict to truth, justice, reparations and the guarantee of non-recurrence. The slow pace of implementation contributes to the continuing violence in areas affected by the conflict, as demonstrated most vividly by the assassinations in 2018 of an estimated 164 human rights defenders and social leaders, many of whom were engaged in peace-building in their communities. 

Following upon a TLHRC hearing held in July 2018, the four panelists from Colombia will provide an update on the challenges to robust peace accord implementation and suggest ways in which the U.S. government, which has invested in the peace process, can help to strengthen peace accord implementation going forward.

This briefing will be open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the interested public, and the media. For any questions, please contact Kimberly Stanton at 202-225-3599 or Kimberly.Stanton@mail.house.gov (for Co-Chair McGovern) or Piero Tozzi at 202-225-3765 or Piero.Tozzi@mail.house.gov (for Co-Chair Smith).