Reform to the security sector after the peace agreement in Colombia

The Colombian Peace Agreement (concluded between the Colombian Government and the FARC-EP) does not explicitly spell out security sector reform, but it touches upon the issue in various contexts. The two most prominent elements are “political participation” and “ending the conflict”. In the context of political participation the agreement provides for the development of an Integral Security System for the Exercise of Politics (Sistema Integral de Seguridad para el Ejercicio de la Política) comprising four key elements: regulatory and institutional amendments, prevention measures, protection measures, and evaluation with follow-up mechanisms.

The current exploratory study aims to review these items in the light of what is known as ‘reform to the security sector’ in the context of (post-conflict) peacebuilding, even though Colombia is not a typical post-conflict country, in the sense that its security apparatus is not undeveloped but on the contrary, has been modernized, professionalized and increased since 2000. This is the main reason why the forces controlling the State security are reluctant in talking about this type of reform.

The project will be carried out from a perspective that combines the following areas: international relations, international law and constitutional law.