Creating Peace and Finding Justice in Colombia

This hearing was recorded on October 24, 2013.

As Colombian and international observers look with hope to the on-going peace negotiations between the Colombian government and Colombia’s largest guerrilla organization, a number of human rights issues remain critical. The Labor Action Plan, which aimed to provide adequate protection of workers’ rights in Colombia, faces many challenges in its implementation and has not prevented labor activists from becoming targets of intimidation and deadly attacks. Under President Santos’s signature Law on Victims’ Rights and Land Restitution, many of Colombia’s internally displaced are trying to reclaim their land and face serious threats and killings for their activities. And as peace negotiations move forward, Colombia struggles to find an effective approach to transitional justice. Many are now concerned that concessions made at the negotiating table may leave the victims of fifty years of violent conflict without justice but with the burden of reconciliation.

This hearing will provide an update on the ongoing peace negotiations and an overview of continuing human rights challenges. More specifically, the hearing will address the status of labor rights, obstacles to land restitution efforts, and recommendations on effective mechanisms for transitional justice. It will also highlight particular challenges faced by Colombia’s indigenous population and Afro-Colombian communities.