CAPAZ PANEL ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Our next event on the Spotlight on Peace Calendar is a panel on the “Situation of human rights defenders, two years on from the signing of the Final Agreement”. The event will take place on Thursday October 4, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. at the CAPAZ Institute -Claustro de San Agustín- in Bogotá. Entry is free of charge and open to the public until seating capacity is reached.
Participants in the event include: Camilo González (INDEPAZ); Efraín Villamil (Confederación Nacional de Juntas de Acción Comunal-JAC); Soraya Gutiérrez (CAJAR), y Carlos Guevara (Defensoría del Pueblo).
This is the second event on the CAPAZ Spotlight on Peace Calendar, an academic programme which includes spaces of exchange and discussion on topics related to the current challenges of the implementation of the peace accords between the Colombian Government and the demobilised FARC-EP guerrilla group.
Human rights defence in Colombia
Although advances have been made in the implementation of some of the points of the Final Agreement, the social leaders safety situation sets out an urgent need to analyse aspects such as the characteristics of the territories where the activists reside or in which they are active; the dynamics between the communities and other actors -armed or not- present in these areas; and political (or opposition) participation and the related State guarantees.
Great reception for the CAPAZ Spotlight on Peace inaugural event
Full house at the inaugural event. / Photo: Juan David Bravo
CAPAZ began its Spotlight on Peace activities on Thursday, September 6, 2018 with the roundtable “Perspectives for the Final Agreement under the new government in Colombia”. We highlight the highlevel of attendance and participation by people interested in CAPAZ’ work and in the respectful discussion of peace-related topics in Colombia.
Angelika Rettberg, researcher at Universidad de los Andes; Humberto de la Calle, former presidential candidate and leader of the Government Delegation in the negotiations with the FARC-EP guerrilla; and Father Alberto Franco, human rights defender and director of the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (CIJP) guided the discussion in the inaugural event.
From an academic perspective, Angelika Rettberg analysed aspects of the implementation of some of the points of the Final Agreement. Until this year, Rettberg was a plenipotentiary member of the Government Delegation in the negotiations with the ELN guerrilla and director of the MA in Peace Studies at Los Andes.
During the event, she emphasised the nature of her participation as a researcher. She highlighted the fact that academic work provides an opportunity for in-depth analysis of peace building in the country.
Humberto De la Calle talked from his perspective as leader of the Government Delegation in the negotiations in Havana. / Photo: Claudia Maya
Durante la mesa redonda organizada por CAPAZ, la profesora Rettberg enfatizó el carácter de su participación como investigadora y resaltó la oportunidad que da la labor académica para analizar en profundidad aspectos de la construcción de la paz.
Humberto De la Calle highlighted the advances made in the implementation of some of the points agreed upon in Havana. He was emphatic in stressing the need for public opinion to “read the Final Agreement document very carefully”. De la Calle stressed that the newly elected government of Iván Duque should not misinform the public on what has been written in the accords.
Father Alberto Franco talked about the situation in the territories in which implementation of the agreements is taking place. Thanks to his recognised defence of human rights and his work with communities directly affected by the armed conflict, Father Franco categorically asserted that Colombia is “not a perfect example of rule of law”. He specifically referred to the difference between what was agreedand the reality experienced in the territories.
The victims should be at the center of the implementation, said Father Franco. / Photo: Claudia Maya
The Spotlight on Peace Calendar will continue through to December 6, 2018. All those interested are invited to follow the information on events, published on the CAPAZ webpage and its information services.
Press release on the first event of the Spotlight on Peace Calendar by the information services of Universidad Nacional de Colombia (in Spanish).
For more information on the CAPAZ Spotlight on Peace Calendar, you can write to us at: eventos@www.instituto-capaz.org