Over the last half century, civil conflict in Colombia has left as many as 220,000 dead, and 5.7 million displaced (CFR). In the 1960s, after a decade of political violence known as la Violencia (1948–58), the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) were founded. These two insurgent groups have opposed the Colombian government and primarily seek to change the country’s economic model. Fifty years of bloody armed conflict was halted in November 2016 when, after four years of formal peace negotiations, the Colombian Government signed a final peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The accord calls for members of the FARC to demobilize, disarm, and reincorporate into society and politics.
Additionally, the accord has committed the Colombian Government to create three new institutions to form a “comprehensive system for truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition” to include a truth commission, a special unit to coordinate the search for those who disappeared during the conflict,and a “Special Jurisdiction for Peace” to administer justice for conflict-related crimes. While the violence has officially halted, the peace process still faces many challenges today, including widespread public concern that the deal offers too much leniency to perpetrators of violence. The agreement provides a historic opportunity to decrease the amount of human rights abuses, but its justice component contains serious shortcomings that risk letting war criminals escape justice.
Primary Terrorist Presence in Columbia:
Other Groups Engaged in the Conflict:
Human Rights, Humanitarian and Refugee Crises:
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