Reparations with emancipatory functions in transitional contexts

Colombian institutions have a long tradition of establishing exclusionary relations with the victims of the armed conflict. This has been especially dramatic in the department of Cauca, particularly in areas of continuous violence such as Caldono. The project raises the question as to what standards the process of reparations to the victims of the conflict should adopt. It is a question of identifying the conditions so that the actions to be carried out within the framework of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) are truly participatory and correct the hierarchical visions that have historically denied victims a voice and agency.

The project aims to propose a methodology for dialogue that will help to vindicate the dignity and voice of victims and survivors of reparation processes. This will be articulated around a methodological proposal that integrates the emancipatory aims into three elements: a) the concretion of the effective voices of the victims and communities, b) the determination of the object and design of the reparation, and c) the supervision of the reparation measures.

Specific objectives

• Characterize the reparations granted to victims of the conflict by the Justice and Peace process, in terms of their capacity to build democratic processes in a real sense.

• Identify the situations of subordination and exclusion faced by the victims in Caldono, based on the voices of leaders representing various groups in vulnerable conditions.

• Make a methodological proposal for reparations with truly emancipatory ends, in the current transnational context, that adopts international standards for the protection of rights.

• Validate the methodological proposal in a seminar-workshop with members of social and/or community organizations.

(Project in progress)