Keywords
truth
justice
reparation
democratic security
peace policy
How to Cite
Abstract
The “Justice and Peace Law”, recently passed by the Colombian Congress has been subject to keen debate. Human Rights NGO has criticized it because it does no comply with human rights standards regarding, truth, justice and
reparation. However, beyond the legalistic analysis, it is important to bear in mind the particular circumstances of a democracy threaten by powerful irregular armed groups and of a historically weak State that is, however, presently doing its best to regain the monopoly of force and reestablish the rule of law over the
territory by the implementation of a democratic security policy that has, in only three years, shown positive results in terms of an important reduction of human rights violations. Nevertheless, this effort cannot ignore the fact that a military
solution that allows for the implementation of strict standards of justice is not only unfeasible but also very costly both in human and material resources. Therefore, the Government has offered a negotiated settlement to all illegal groups that demonstrate their commitment to peace and declare a cease of hostilities with international verification. This peace and reconciliation policy needs a legal framework that reaches an appropriate balance between peace and justice and offers incentives to members of irregular armed groups who decide to surrender weapons and demobilize. This legal framework, that facilitates peace processes as well as individual and collective demobilization, is precisely the “Justice and Peace law”, which shows an important commitment to victim’s rights, not only because it has incorporated those rights expressly, but also because it has, for those rights to be implemented, created new institutions and strengthened other already in place.
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