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32. The Shell and the Seed: Lessons from the Negotiation with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
- Author:
- Marta Ruiz
- Publication Date:
- 10-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- The achievement of total peace is not a new goal for Colombia. For the better part of the last 30 years, most government administrations have attempted to negotiate or subdue all existing armed groups either simultaneously or sequentially. However, the results so far have been partial and insufficient to address the structural causes and persistent factors behind a 60-year internal armed conflict. The product of a collaboration between ICTJ and the researcher, journalist, and former commissioner of the Colombian Truth Commission, Marta Ruiz, this study presents new points of view and reflections on the negotiations with the paramilitary forces in the first years of 2000. These reflections can be useful not only to inform public debate but also as input for decisionmakers and those who design strategies for negotiation and the pursuit of total peace underway today in Colombia. The first part explains the genesis of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) and describes their transition from drug traffickers to political and military actors. It presents evidence that since the 1980s the Colombian state has attempted to negotiate with drug traffickers using different narratives about their nature. The second part describes what happened at the Santafé Ralito negotiation table, the discussion’s agenda, and how the political context affected the process. It also shows how political timing, in particular President Uribe's reelection, affected the process’s outcome. The big question it asks, one with no single answer, is why, if negotiations were being held with drug traffickers, there was no real talk of dismantling drug trafficking. The third part assesses the consequences of the process, both in terms of justice and reintegration. It attempts to explain how the demobilized armed groups were reactivated in the territories.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Armed Forces, Negotiation, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
33. Advancing Victims’ Rights and Rebuilding Just Communities: Local Strategies for Achieving Reparation as a Part of Sustainable Development
- Author:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Publication Date:
- 11-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- This comparative study examines strategies used by local actors to facilitate the operationalization of reparations for victims of widespread human rights violations, while highlighting the synergies between these efforts and sustainable development. The study is based on the fieldwork of ICTJ and its partners in four contexts—Colombia, The Gambia, Tunisia, and Uganda. These countries represent a range of different situations, where the progress made, challenges faced, and overall political and institutional contexts vary significantly. Nonetheless, comparison of the approaches used across the cases offers valuable insights for those working in these and other contexts. In The Gambia, the truth commission and legislation for reparations have created expectations among victims, but a program has yet to be implemented. In Uganda, the legal and policy framework for reparations exists, but there is no enabling legislation or mechanism to provide them as a result of stalled political will. In Tunisia, the truth commission recommended reparations, but the political and economic situation make operationalization unlikely. In Colombia, challenges faced by reparations have informed the design of restorative sanctions that include reparative projects but are yet to be implemented. The major insights gained from this comparative study relate to the specific ways in which reparations can contribute to individual and community well-being and development; innovative and effective approaches to ensuring victims and communities receive reparations and support, including through collective action, engagement with government, and grassroots initiatives; the integration of victims’ needs and priorities into development policies and models; and the reparative elements of complementary accountability and reform measures that are participatory, address corruption and marginalization, and contribute to gender justice and equality. The report offers practical guidance and policy recommendations for advancing reparations as an integral element of broader societal efforts to facilitate inclusion, justice, peace, and development.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Sustainable Development Goals, Accountability, Reparations, and Truth and Reconciliation
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Africa, Colombia, South America, Tunisia, and Gambia
34. Seeing the Forest for More than the Trees: A Policy Strategy to Curb Deforestation and Advance Shared Prosperity in the Colombian Amazon
- Author:
- Timothy Cheston, Patricio Goldstein, Timothy Freeman, Alejandro Rueda-Sanz, and Ricardo Hausmann
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Does economic prosperity in the Colombian Amazon require sacrificing the forest? This research compendium of a series of studies on the Colombian Amazon finds the answer to this question is no: the perceived trade-off between economic growth and forest protection is a false dichotomy. The drivers of deforestation and prosperity are distinct – as they happen in different places. Deforestation occurs at the agricultural frontier, in destroying some of the world’s most complex biodiversity by some of the least economically complex activities, particularly cattle-ranching. By contrast, the economic drivers in the Amazon are its urban areas often located far from the forest edge, including in non-forested piedmont regions. These cities offer greater economic complexity by accessing a wider range of productive capabilities in higher-income activities with little presence of those activities driving deforestation. Perhaps the most underappreciated facet of life in each of the three Amazonian regions studied, Caquetá, Guaviare, and Putumayo, is that the majority of people live in urban areas. This is a telling fact of economic geography: that even in the remote parts of the Amazon, people want to come together to live in densely populated areas. This corroborates the findings of our global research over the past two decades that prosperity results from expanding the productive capabilities available locally to diversify production to do more, and more complex, activities.
- Topic:
- Economic Growth, Deforestation, and Green Economy
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, South America, Latin America, and Amazon Basin
35. Fall 2023 edition of Strategic Visions
- Author:
- Debbie Sharnak, Gregory Urwin, Richard Immerman, and Beth Bailey
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Strategic Visions
- Institution:
- Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy, Temple University
- Abstract:
- Contents: News from the Director……… 2 Note from the Davis Fellow…. 7 CENFAD Community Interviews Dr. Debbie Sharnak……. 8 Dr. Gregory Urwin……… 16 Dr. Richard Immerman.. 23 Dr. Beth Bailey……….... 33 Book Reviews Moral Majorities Across the Americas: Brazil, the United States, and the Creation of the Religious Right, reviewed by Lucas de Souza Martins…………………….. 41 Peruvian Foreign Policy in the Modern Era, reviewed by Casey VanSise…………………… 44 Freedom's Captives: Slavery and Gradual Emancipation on the Colombian Black Pacific, reviewed by Audrey Rankin............... 47
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, History, Slavery, Political Science, and Religious Right
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Colombia, and United States of America
36. Climate Change and the Political Economy of Hydropower Disruption
- Author:
- Jonathan Guy, Ishana Ratan, and Anthony Calacino
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)
- Abstract:
- Hydropower is the predominant renewable energy source globally and will play a key role in transitioning countries away from fossil fuels. Yet hydropower production is threatened by the effects of climate change, with significant implications for both energy security and the energy transition. In this policy brief, UC Berkeley PhD candidates Johnny Guy and Ishana Ratan, together with co-author Anthony Calacino, explore preliminary evidence from Brazil, Colombia, and Nepal that shows the multifaceted challenges hydropower-dependent nations face, and divergent responses governments have taken in response. They demonstrate why, in the face of increasing uncertainty, hydropower-dependent countries—already vulnerable to the impacts of seasonal disruptions to power supply—must develop robust strategies for load balancing and project risk management.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Strategic Competition, Geoeconomics, and Hydropower
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, Brazil, Colombia, South America, Nepal, and Global Focus
37. Resolver dos problemas de salud rural a la vez: Aportes al abordaje sindémico de la malaria y la leishmanaisis cutánea en el posconflicto colombiano
- Author:
- Lina Pinto-García
- Publication Date:
- 03-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
- Abstract:
- La malaria y la leishmaniasis cutánea son enfermedades transmitidas por insectos que se presentan año tras año en la ruralidad colombiana. Suelen afectar a poblaciones que habitan, laboran o transitan a través de zonas remotas y disperas del territorio nacional. Las estrategias de salud pública a través de las cuales el estado aborda estas dos enfermedades responden a un paradigma biomédico de la salud, en el cual priman los programas llamados “verticales” por enfocarse en una sola enfermedad a la vez. Este policy paper presenta argumentos de tipo epidemiológico, político e histórico para abogar por un abordaje integrado —sindémico— de la malaria y la leishmaniasis, en medio de un escenario de (pos)conflicto. Se basa en datos cualitativos recolectados en dos proyectos de investigación relacionados, así como en literatura académica y gris relevante. No sugerimos la fusión de dos programas verticales, sino una integración que resulte en un mejor manejo estatal de la leishmaniasis, jalonado por el de la malaria, desde un entendimiento estructural, territorial y socialmente arraigado de la salud.
- Topic:
- Development, Malaria, Post-Conflict, Disease, and Leishmaniasis
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
38. Hacia la consolidación del sector de cannabis no psicoactivo en Colombia: Una hoja de ruta para la acción conjunta
- Author:
- Javier García Estévez, Freddy Zapata Vanegas, and Andrés Guerrero Alvarado
- Publication Date:
- 11-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
- Abstract:
- Este documento tiene como objetivo presentar una propuesta de hoja de ruta para la consolidación del sector de cannabis no psicoactivo en Colombia a través de la identificación de acciones, alianzas y compromisos en los componentes técnico productivo, de negocio y humano.
- Topic:
- Business, Public Health, and Cannabis
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
39. El lugar de las reivindicaciones económicas dentro del proceso de paz, el escenario de transición y los movimientos de mujeres y feministas en Colombia
- Author:
- Diana Montealegre Mongrovejo
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
- Abstract:
- El presente documento de política analiza las estrategias y posturas que emprendieron los movimientos de mujeres y feministas en torno a reivindicaciones económicas y de justicia redistributiva en el más reciente proceso de paz en Colombia (2012-2021). Por su estrecha relación con discusiones recientes sobre desarrollo y paz, se priorizan las reivindicaciones relacionadas con la Reforma Rural Integral y los Planes de Desarrollo con Enfoque Territorial. Metodológicamente se llevaron a cabo para este estudio entrevistas semiestructuradas además de la revisión de comunicados, informes y sistematizaciones de las organizaciones de mujeres y feministas. Lejos de mostrar a estos movimientos como homogéneos, con una sola voz o actuando entorno a estrategias unificadas, se analiza precisamente la diversidad de posturas políticas, puntos de encuentro, desencuentro y tensiones. Las recomendaciones formuladas están orientadas principalmente a la reflexión sobre el lugar de lo económico en las más recientes negociaciones de paz, el escenario de transición por estas habilitado y en los propios movimientos.
- Topic:
- Social Movement, Reform, Economy, Feminism, and Peace Process
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
40. The Migration Risk Environment: Challenges to Human Security for Venezuelan Migrant and Refugee Women and Girls Pre- and Post-Migration to Colombia
- Author:
- Catalina Correa-Salazar, Kathleen Page, and Ana Martínez-Donate
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on Migration and Human Security
- Institution:
- Center for Migration Studies of New York
- Abstract:
- The Venezuelan crisis has unleashed multiple forms of sociopolitical violence against its population and created a context of unmet needs, insecurity, and human rights violations. Outward migration caused by this situation has been linked to health emergencies in neighboring countries. Venezuelan migrant and refugee women and girls (VMRWG) are among the most affected. We conducted a cross-sectional qualitative and Participatory Action Research (PAR) project to characterize the risk environments for VMRWG across migration phases, analyzing pre-departure, transit, border crossing, and resettlement risk factors for health and security through semi-structured interviews (n = 30) and human cartographies (n = 16). We found cross border risk and protective factors that inform cross-border health initiatives, migration policies, and human rights efforts for both the migrant and host communities. Findings and Recommendations • Migratory trajectories of VMRWG from Venezuela to Colombia represent a risk environment for women and girls, connecting cross-border contexts through armed actors’ control, culturally reinforced gender roles and limited social and economic resources. • Long-term sustainable migratory policies that are culturally sensitive and include a gender-approach to health should operationalize how gender roles are intimately connected to HIV risk and mental health disparities through reinforced structural factors. Such policies must address these structural factors. • The public health system needs to incorporate and align with programmatic efforts implemented by international platforms (United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), AID4AIDS, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also known as Doctors Without Borders) targeting screening for infectious diseases (including HIV and mental health disparities) in border crossings and borderlands. Sustainable policies to bridge gaps between services and populations and to decrease growing HIV cases depends on these strategies. • Policies and programs of local governments (city and municipality level) addressing mental health disparities need to be expanded through peer leaders and civil society networks of care to guarantee wellbeing and quality of life after resettlement. • International efforts and collaborations should capitalize on the re-opening of the border to establish inter-sectoral collaborations with Venezuelan NGOs and civil society organizations on both sides of the border to address gender-based violence, follow-up of cases, and access to services in sending and receiving communities. • In order to broach gaps and tackle access barriers in resettlement communities in Colombia, services must be provided in peripheric territories and neighborhoods where some vulnerable migrants resettle. These services must rely on health sector-community collaborations. • Public health sector efforts should be integrated and coordinated with family and child services on a local and national level Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar (ICBF), gender working groups, shelters, and citywide supported initiatives like the House of Women) to provide and promote access to social resources (education, jobs, and housing) for migrant women. • Health promotion strategies are necessary to decrease infectious diseases and violence-related trauma among migrants across borders. These strategies can include outreach through peer leaders, civil society organization campaigns, and HIV mobile testing and counselling. These services should be delivered in a culturally sensitive manner, capitalizing on in-place cross-border networks of support. In Colombia, sustainable efforts in policy and programs have been made to provide Venezuelans with access to health care and social services with the help of inter-sectoral working groups, national laws, and border commissions. However, there is an urgent need to expand the humanitarian response and the health sector coverage to gender-based violence impacting infectious disease risk and mental health trauma in host communities. Connecting pre- and post-migration contexts in South-to-South migration is paramount. Tackling these issues can improve the protection of human rights and resettlement conditions in host communities.
- Topic:
- Migration, Women, Refugees, Violence, Humanitarian Crisis, Human Security, and Girls
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, South America, and Venezuela