Issue-Transitional Justice
The search for the disappeared: similar paths miles away
An empty plate speaks louder than words. In Colombia, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia, families refuse to forget their disappeared loved ones, confronting bureaucratic obstacles, institutional failures, and silence, demanding truth, justice, and the answers they are owed.
Read MoreColombia: going back to the original balance of justice
There is a crucial aspect of Colombia’s transitional justice model that is worrying: the current inability of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) to offer legal security to those who participated in the conflict, including in human rights violations, and have not been identified as among the most responsible. And making sure they also contribute to the satisfaction of the rights of the victims. The JEP must avoid keep moving towards maximalist approaches and go back to the balance in the Peace Agreement.
Read MoreDefending the Colombian Peace Agreement through strategic litigation
Dejusticia’s legal support for the upholding of the peace agreement illustrates the vital role of an organized and alert civil society in ensuring the implementation of policy. This oversight role is among the most important functions of civil society in a democratic system.
Read MoreFrom disarmament to inclusive reintegration: lessons from Colombia and El Salvador
Addressing the challenges related to the reintegration of female ex-combatants and adopting a comprehensive approach is crucial to ensure the non-recurrence of conflict.
Read MoreIs it impossible to pay reparations? The case of the reparations policy for survivors of sexual violence and victims of the armed conflict in Colombia
This paper provides elements for reflection and analysis on the political economy of reparations by analyzing the Colombian case since 2011, when the policy for victims of the armed conflict was created through Law 1448.
Read MoreDigital Transitions in Transitional Justice
The digitalization of transitional justice should not be seen as a long-term solution, as it can never replace the visceral dynamics of in-person human interaction and emotion, both essential in transitional justice processes.
Read MoreParticipation in Transitional Justice Measures: A Comparative Study
The study analyzes participatory scenarios involving not only victims but also civil society in a broader sense, as the latter has also been very important for the
promotion, adoption, and implementation of transitional justice measures.
Santrich Case: Dejusticia Defends and Respects the Autonomy and Independence of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP)
In the face of this controversy, Dejusticia calls on the Appeals Section (Sección de Apelaciones) of the JEP to clarify the special rules on evidentiary matters which apply to the guarantee of non-extradition.
Read MoreBeyond the Binary: Securing Peace and Promoting Justice after Conflict
The main objective of Beyond the Binary is to place on record the need to formulate answers to the question of the role that criminal action and punishment should play in negotiated political transitions from war to peace.
Read MoreIs it valid for Colombia to demand that Cuba turn over ELN negotiators?
The crucial point is that Cuba is not harboring the ELN negotiators with the goal of supporting this organization in its armed fight; rather, Cuba is following a request by the Colombian government that was made and accepted by the Colombian State in order to advance a peace process.
Read MoreEntre coacción y colaboración: Verdad judicial, actores económicos y conflicto armado en Colombia
While it is clear that many of the economic actors lack responsibility in the conflict and others have been victims of it, some research has shown that some did have a decisive role in the origin, development and perpetuation of the cycles of armed conflict in the country.
Read MoreLeaders Assassinated in Colombia: how many are left out of the counts?
This analysis by Dejusticia and the Human Rights Data Analysis Group groups the information compiled by different organizations regarding the homicides of social leaders in the country and concludes, through a statistical method, that the problem has a greater magnitude than what is reported.
Read MorePreventing Corporate Intimidation of Rightsholders
Unfavorable news, a negative opinion of an opinion leader, or even an unfounded rumor can affect companies whose value depends to a large extent on the confidence of their shareholders and the public in their good behavior and the possibilities of obtaining profits by investing in them.
Read MoreJustice through Transitions: Conflict, Peacemaking and Human Rights in the Global South
What does justice mean in times of transition? What kinds of possibilities and dissapointments emerge from processes of seeking justice through transition? How might we understand these processes through narrative?
Read MoreIncreasing Accountability
All Colombian society, especially economic actors who had no connection to the conflict, in an effort to go beyond political differences and as a gesture of solidarity towards the victims, should commit themselves to claim and promote victims’ rights without restrictions.
Read MoreTruth Commission and economic actors
In recent days, Juan Manuel Charry published a column in Semana.com accusing Dejusticia of being a biased organization. Here is our answer.
Read MoreWarnings about rural tourism in the post-conflict
If the rural tourism policies implemented in victimized communities are not accompanied by public policies, we will soon see new forms of dispossession, exile, and land ownership changes in the areas mentioned in the official tourism speech.
Read MoreBusinesses, democracy, and human rights
In Colombia, two strident sides tend to predominate: the private sector actors who refuse to talk about the issue and the critics who are suspicious of any business activity.
Read MoreIncreasing accountability
Some economic leaders and columnists have criticized our Increasing Accountability report. Beyond the conclusions that other readers may reach, I believe that a profound and dispassionate reading of the book shows that these criticisms do not have any basis.
Read MoreFalsehoods about our recent book
Recently, Dejusticia received strong criticism for the publication of our Increasing Accountability report. In this column, I respond and discuss the complexities of the role of businesses during the armed conflict.
Read MoreThe links between economic power and conflict: a major challenge for the Truth Commission
On Thursday, March 1st, we launched the report “Increasing Accountability: The Role of the Truth Commission in the Disclosure of Corporate Responsibility in the Colombian Armed Conflict.” Free entry with prior registration.
Read MoreRegarding the approval of the legislative act that creates the special circumscriptions of peace
More than 100 organizations, citizens and academics signed a document addressed to the public, the President of the Senate and to the President of the Republic, where they explain why the bill of the legislative act that creates the special circumscriptions of peace was approved in the Senate.
Read MoreMonitoring report on Resolution 1325 of the United Nations, Colombia 2017
he Sixth Monitoring Report of Resolution 1325 is a monitoring and implementation instrument, produced by Coalition 1325 since 2011. This report becomes important in the framework of the implementation of the Final Agreement between the Colombian Government and the FARC-EP, It follows up on Resolution 1325 and provides tools to assess the application of the gender approach and the participation of women in the implementation of the Agreement.
Read MoreGuide to clarify rumors about the Peace Agreement
In light of the inaccurate impressions, misinterpretations and half-truths that are circulating, we consider it necessary to clarify what the Government and the ex-guerrilla of the FARC-EP really agreed on, and how those commitments are being implemented.
Read MoreComments on the statutory bill to implement the Special Jurisdiction for Peace
Academics and social organizations, including Dejusticia, analyzed the political convenience and the constitutional justification of the project that is being discussed in Congress.
Read MoreLand in transition: transitional justice, land restitution and agrarian policy in Colombia
This new Dejusticia publication presents an analysis on the transition processes in Colombia in order to address conflicts related to land ownership, tenure and use.
Read MoreLand restitution, housing policy, and productive projects: Ideas for the post-agreement period
This document aims to examine the results of the land restitution process, with emphasis on its articulation with housing and income generation policies, central components that restitution and return require in order to guarantee victims decent living conditions in terms of livability and economic sustainability.
Read MoreAssessment of Existing National Action Plans (NAPs) on Business and Human Rights (2017)
The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ), and the Center for the Study of Law, Justice, and Society (Dejusticia) are pleased to release an updated report on Assessments of Existing National Action Plans (NAPs) on Business and Human Rights (August 2017).
Read MoreStrategies for a rural transitional reform
The best way to face the challenges posed by the implementation of the Peace Accord in rural policies and to pay off the historic debt to Colombian peasants is to deepen the restitution efforts and to integrate them to a broader agrarian policy.
Read MorePrison is not the only sanction in transitional justice mechanisms
César Rodríguez defended that the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-Repetition is in line with the Constitution. Regarding penalties, he affirmed that international law discusses effective sanctions, not imprisonment.
Read MoreThe reform that gives stability and legal certainty to the Peace Agreement is constitutional
Dejusticia defended the constitutionality of the Legislative Act that gives legal certainty to the Final Agreement, and stressed that its contents respond to fundamental rights and international humanitarian law norms.
Read MoreThe Constitution of 1991 is open to peace and the profound changes it requires
What is the nature, scope and type of control that the Constitutional Court must exercise over the Legislative Acts issued to implement the Final Peace Agreement? Intervention by Rodrigo Uprimny before the High Court.
Read MoreDejusticia defended a decree that allows the Court to suspend terms of ordinary proceedings and focus on the implementation of peace
Dejusticia defended the decree that allows the Constitutional Court to suspend ordinary processes to concentrate on the norms that implement the Peace Agreement, but emphasized that this interruption can not be undefined.
Read MoreDebates on the action of restitution
This document provides an analysis and reflection on the legal challenges of the implementation of land restitution action, the peculiarities of its mechanisms and procedures, and its more complex challenges.
Read MoreDejusticia intervened regarding the constitutionality of the Search Unit for Missing Persons
The decree meets the formal and material requirements to be declared enforceable. The decree was issued by the president, who is the competent authority and is also aligned with the criteria of connectedness and strict necessity.
Read MoreDejusticia intervened in defense of the amnesty law
Dejusticia intervened before the Constitutional Court in the process of constitutional revision of the law that grants amnesties, pardons and special penal treatments (Law 1820 of 2016).
Read MoreIntervention before the Constitutional Court in the revision of Decree-Law 249 of 2017, which regulates a specific hiring process for manual eradication for the implementation of the peace process
Dejusticia asked the Constitutional Court to declare invalid Decree-Law 249 of 2017 (DL 249/2017), for two reasons: in issuing this rule, the President of the Republic exceeded the special powers for peace because it did not demonstrate the strict necessity to regulate this subject by this extraordinary way; and the contracting procedure that regulates DL 249/2017 violates the constitutional principles governing public procurement.
Read MoreIntervention in Litigation against the Law of Zones of Interest of Rural, Social, and Economic Development (ZIDRES)
The intervention regards the constitutionality litigation of Law 1776 of 2016 (Law Zidres), which began due to different litigation that are currently being revised by the Constitutional Court.
Read MoreDejusticia’s Intervention in Constitutional Court Public Hearing
The public vote of the peace accord to achieve a constitution in peace and a constitutional peace.
Read MoreIntervention in Litigation Alleging Unconstitutionality of Resolution 339 of 2012 Establishing Peace Negotiations in Havana
We intervened in an unconstitutionality case presented by ex-Public Prosecutor Eduardo Montealegre Lynett, against the expression “agreement”, contained in the general agreement for the end of the armed conflict and building of a stable and durable peace, found in the annex of Resolution 339 of 2012, promulgated by the President of the Republic.
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