Colombia’s Peace Process and Transitional Justice
Basta Ya! Report Illuminates Issues at Crux of Colombia’s Peace Talks Breakthrough
Read the Event CoverageColombia’s government and the FARC movement achieved their September 23 breakthrough in peace negotiations by setting down basic principles on the rights of victims to truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition. USIP’s Colombia Peace Forum, on September 30, analyzed the role of historical memory in these transitional justice issues.
As policymakers and analysts consider how the new breakthrough might be consolidated, Colombian researchers presented a report, central to these issues, to a U.S. audience for the first time. The report—Basta Ya! Colombia: Memories of War and Dignity—was produced by Colombia’s National Center for Historical Memory. Its authors joined other scholars and practitioners to examine lessons that might contribute to the creation of the national truth commission and other architectures as part of the peace process.
The event was co-sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Washington Office on Latin America, the International Center for Transitional Justice and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The discussions took place in English and Spanish with simultaneous interpretation in both languages. The event was streamed live without interpretation; webcasts were posted later in both languages.
To continue the conversation via Twitter, use the hashtag #ColombiaPeaceForum. The full agenda is available in English and Spanish.
Panelists
- Ambassador William B. Taylor
Executive Vice President, U.S. Institute of Peace - Virginia M. Bouvier
Senior Advisor on Latin America Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace - Michael Reed Hurtado
Senior Lecturer, Yale School of Law - Kimberly Theidon
Henry J. Leir Professor of International Humanitarian Studies, Fletcher School, Tufts University - David Tolbert
President, International Center for Transitional Justice - Cynthia Arnson
Director, Latin American Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars - Carlos Quesada
Executive Director, International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights - David Crocker
Senior Research Scholar, University of Maryland, College Park - Lisa Laplante
Associate Professor of Law, New England Law | Boston, and Director, Center for International Law and Policy - Andrés Suárez
Lead Researcher, National Center for Historical Memory - Martha Nubia Bello
Lead Researcher, National Center for Historical Memory, and Director, National Museum of Memory - Anthony Wanis- St. John
Associate Professor, American University - Elizabeth "Lili" Cole
Senior Program Officer, U.S. Institute of Peace - Adam Isacson
Senior Associate for Regional Security Policy, Washington Office on Latin America - Juan Méndez
Professor, Washington College of Law, American University, and United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture
