GENEVA – UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today welcomed key victim reparation efforts in Colombia. These involve former leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) armed group and army officers who recognised their responsibility for gross human rights violations and abuses, as well as serious violations of international humanitarian law during the armed conflict.
“Colombia’s landmark restorative measures with respect to that conflict, now underway, are a global achievement for transitional justice,” the High Commissioner said.
“Ten years since the signing of Colombia’s historic Peace Agreement, these measures are helping advance the rights of victims of the country’s devastating armed conflict, and paving the way for truth, justice, reparations and sustainable peace and security,” said Türk.
Former leaders of the FARC-EP and army officers are currently working side-by-side in the San Antonio de Padua cemetery in Pitalito, Huila, attempting to locate and identify the disappeared, and return their remains to their families. This project forms part of victim restorative orders imposed by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace – the transitional justice tribunal established by the 2016 Colombia Peace Agreement.
Under this legal framework, individuals accused of serious crimes and violations who acknowledge their responsibility face restorative orders instead of custodial sentences in prison. The search for missing people in Pitalito is one such reparation measure.
“This joint collaboration between former adversaries is a powerful contribution to truth, reparation, and healing for victims and their families who have been affected by the conflict,” the High Commissioner said.
Türk emphasized the need for the Comprehensive System for Peace – which includes the Special Jurisdiction for Peace and the Unit for the Search of Persons Deemed Disappeared – to receive sufficient funding to fully implement its vital mandate.
“This cannot be a one-off. The judicial and non-judicial transitional justice mechanisms established under the Peace Agreement are indispensable to upholding victims’ rights and responding to their demands. It is paramount that this system, in which much has been invested, continues to be implemented,” he said.
The UN Human Rights Office supported the creation and work of the Comprehensive System for Peace, provided technical assistance, and ensured that victims’ rights remained at the centre of the Jurisdiction’s work.
