Continuity or change?
Truth, Justice and Reparation in Colombia today

A seminar arranged by the NCHR and the Latin America Groups of Norway

Dear seminar participant,

As you probably know, the surprising developments in Colombia yesterday have meant a new turn in the current Justice & Peace process. Eduardo Pizarro and Ivan Cepeda are main actors in the process, and are thus unable to participate at our seminar this Thursday. We were informed about this yesterday.

The political situation right now only reinforces our belief on the importance of this issue, so we go ahead with the seminar - with changes:

- We will have a 1/2-day seminar starting with an informal lunch for those who wish to join us at 11:30.
- The seminar proper will start at 12:00, and last until 15:15, as planned.
- The venue is the same: Menneskerettighetshuset, Tordenkioldsgate 6.

Please see the program update below for details.

Welcome!
The Organising Committee

Programme update!
Background information

Time: May 15 of 2008, 12:00-15:15
Venue: The Human Rights House, Tordenskioldsgate 6B, Oslo

In Colombia, amidst a context of continuous violence, we are witnessing the implementation of a comprehensive scheme of measures directed at the perpetrators and victims of one of the armed actors in the conflict; the paramilitary groups. In other contexts, such measures constitute what is commonly known as transitional justice mechanisms. Transitional justice refers to the various ways that societies, undergoing processes of transition from armed conflict and authoritarian rule, deal with their past in an attempt to see justice done.

Looking at Colombia we ask – can transitional justice take place before the end of a conflict? The social, political and ethical implications of this development pose serious challenges to policy-makers, practitioners and researchers alike.

The development of transitional justice measures in Colombia is intimately related to the recent demobilisation process of paramilitary group United Self Defense Groups of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia - AUC) who signed a demobilization agreement with the Colombian Government in July 2003. The demobilization process, formally fulfilled in August 2006, has been controversial and many questions have been raised: Is it possible to achieve peace through a mere decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, while the armed forces and the guerrilla groups continue to fight? What about the claims that new paramilitary groups continue to operate in the regions formerly dominated by the AUC? Can the victims of human rights violations and crimes against humanity really expect and achieve truth, justice and reparation in this context? In other words, what kind of transitional justice may there be in the midst of a conflict?

The purpose of the seminar is to inform the Norwegian public and academic audiences about the demobilisation process and the efforts made for/by the victims to achieve truth, justice and reparation in Colombia. From a human rights perspective, the seminar focuses on the victims of the armed conflict and the challenges they face in the current process.

To this aim we have invited three main speakers from Colombia to share their knowledge and views with us:

In addition, the seminar includes an introductory note, commentary and a panel discussion with the participation of Norwegian researchers and public representatives.

The topic of the seminar is in tune with Norway’s past and current involvement in peace talks in Colombia, and Norway’s international agenda on peace and reconciliation. We hope that the seminar contributes to the facilitation of a critical, analytical debate about current and future peace processes in Colombia.

Registration

Participation at the seminar, including lunch, is free of charge, but registration is requested before May 8 to Kristina Johansen (info@latin-amerikagruppene.no)
For journalists: Interviews with the Colombian main speakers can be facilitated upon request.
For more information, please contact Kristina Johansen (info@latin-amerikagruppene.no) or Knut Andreas Lid (k.a.o.lid@ nchr.uio.no)

About the organizers

The Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) at the University of Oslo is a centre for national and international research on human rights as well as an independent national human rights institution, promoting rights-based development and human rights education in Norway and abroad. One of the priority areas set out in our research strategy is Human Rights and Conflict, where a number of researchers work on issues of truth, justice and accountability in various parts of the world, including Latin America.

The Latin America Groups of Norway (LAG) is a solidarity NGO that has been working for 30 years to inform the Norwegian public about Latin America, the conflict in Colombia being one of the issues that has received most attention in their program activities.

The seminar is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.