Category Archives: News from Colombia

“Pasts Imperfect: Talking about Justice with Former Combatants in Colombia,” in Genocide and Mass Violence: Memory, Symptom and Recovery

08 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by in News from Colombia, Publications

≈ Leave a comment

IMG_0337 (1)http://www.amazon.com/dp/1107694698/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_aMfLub0AQ9VKM

Pleased to be among such a wonderful group of colleagues. My chapter is “Pasts Imperfect: Talking about Justice with Former Combatants in Colombia.”

Download here Theidon_PastImperfect.2014

United States Institute of Peace, Colombia Forum, September 30th

29 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by in Interviews and Podcasts, News from Colombia, Speaking Engagements

≈ Leave a comment

Historical Memory and Transitional Justice in Colombia

093015-Historical-Memory-and-Transitional-Justice-in-Colombia-event

http://www.usip.org/events/colombia-peace-forum-historical-memory

Historical Memory and Transitional Justice in Colombia

Forum Examines Key Report on Colombia’s War
In the past year of peace talks, the Colombian government and the FARC have been negotiating how to address rights of the victims to truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-repetition. The parties recently created a working group on transitional justice, and have made progress on these complex issues. The next event in USIP’s Colombia Peace Forum series, on September 30, will analyze the role of historical memory in relation to these transitional justice issues. This has been one of the most difficult areas of negotiations.

Authors of Basta Ya! Colombia:  Memories of War and Dignity, produced by Colombia’s National Center for Historical Memory, will present their findings for the first time to a U.S. audience. Joined by academics and practitioners, they will examine lessons from this initiative that might contribute to the design and implementation of the national truth commission currently being crafted as part of the peace process in Havana.

The event will be co-sponsored by the Washington Office on Latin America, the International Center for Transitional Justice and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The discussions will take place in English and Spanish with simultaneous interpretation in both languages. The event will be streamed live without interpretation; webcasts will be posted later in both languages.

To participate via Twitter, use the hashtag #ColombiaPeaceForum.

Panelists

  • Virginia M. Bouvier
    Senior Advisor on Latin America Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • David Tolbert
    President, International Center for Transitional Justice
  • Juan Méndez
    Washington College of Law, American University, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
  • Kimberly Theidon
    Henry J. Leir Professor of International Humanitarian Studies, Fletcher School, Tufts University
  • Cynthia Arnson
    Director, Latin American Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
  • Lisa Laplante
    Associate Professor of Law, New England Law, and Director, Center for International Law and Policy
  • Alejo Vargas
    Associate Professor, Universidad Nacional- Colombia
  • Adam Isacson 
    Senior Associate for Regional Security Policy, Washington Office on Latin America
  • 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, Center for Historical Memory
  • Anthony Wanis- St. John
    Associate Professor, American University
  • David Crocker
    Senior Research Scholar, University of Maryland- College Park
  • Elizabeth “Lili” Cole
    Senior Program Officer, Center for Applied Research on Conflict, U.S. Institute of Peace

Colombia Peace Forum: Paths to Reintegration

06 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by in Announcements, Interviews and Podcasts, News from Colombia

≈ Leave a comment

http://www.usip.org/events/colombia-peace-forum-paths-reintegration

Peace negotiators seeking to end Colombia’s five-decade-long conflict are beginning to tackle the final issues, including how to reintegrate former insurgents into civilian life. Join the U.S. Institute of Peace on Jan. 29 in a discussion of this vexing question with experts including a former negotiator at the peace talks in Havana.

mural of dove
Photo Credit: The Real Estreya/Flickr

As the parties in the talks prepare for their 32nd round of negotiations in early February, the key remaining issues to be resolved focus on establishing processes that ensure victims of the war will be able to secure their rights to truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees that violations won’t be repeated. Another challenge regards negotiating how former combatants and their associates will make the transition back to civilian life, a process known as demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration (DDR).

Two panels at this Colombia Peace Forum on Paths to Reintegration will analyze the successes and pitfalls of DDR processes from around the world, lessons from Colombia’s past reintegration efforts, and policy recommendations in a new report from the International Crisis Group (Read the report).

The program will feature:

  • Virginia M. Bouvier
    Senior Advisor for Latin American Programs, United States Institute of Peace
  • Alejandro Eder
    Former High Commissioner for Reintegration
    Former Alternative Plenipotentiary at the Havana Peace Talks
  • Mark Schneider
    Senior Vice President and Special Adviser on Latin America, International Crisis Group
  • Susan Reichle (Invited)
    Counselor, U.S. Agency for International Development
    Former Head of Mission, USAID in Colombia
  • Daniel Millares (TBD)
    Mission to Support the Peace Process, Organization of American States
  • Kimberly Theidon
    Senior Fellow, Latin America Program,  Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
  • Adam Isacson
    Senior Associate for Regional Security Policy, Washington Office on Latin America
  • Julie Werbel
    Senior Security Sector Reform Advisor, U.S. Agency for International Development

Video of the event: