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On Monday, 30 January, the Parliament of Catalonia’s First Conference on Peace brought together the peace movement organizations of Catalonia and representatives of the organizations awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.  The objective of this event, co-organized by ICIP and Lafede.cat, was to reflect on the role of civil society in the context of the war in Ukraine.

The conference, which was opened by the vice president of the Parliament, Alba Vergés, featured speeches by the president of Lafede.cat, Ares Perceval, and ICIP president Xavier Masllorens.  Coinciding with the School Day of Nonviolence and Peace, Perceval highlighted the ever-more important task of working for peace and preventing school conflicts.  For his part, the president of ICIP emphasized the importance of building peace in civil society, citing the organizations awarded the Nobel Prize as an example.

Contributions of Catalan peace organizations

Under the title “Peacebuilding alternatives for a paradigm shift: Contributions of Catalan organizations,” the first panel of the day brought together representatives of Catalan peace organizations: Albert Caramés of FundiPau; Ana Villellas of the School for a Culture of Peace; Tica Font, of the Centre Delàs; Luca Gervasoni, of Novact; and Pilar Font, of Peace Brigades International.

Their speeches highlighted the need to work to prevent conflicts and promote positive peace based on social justice.  They recalled the strength of the peace movement, for example, in the demonstrations of precisely twenty years ago against the war in Iraq, and pointed out the need to network and build critical alternatives without losing hope.

Defence of human rights in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus

The organizations awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2022 participated in a roundtable entitled “Civil society facing war and authoritarian regimes: Ukraine, Russia and Belarus,” where they shared their experiences.  Oleksandra Romantsova, executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine), spoke about the efforts of Ukrainian civil society to advance towards democracy and demanded justice to clarify the war crimes committed in Ukraine.  She added that her organization is working to bring “Putin and all those responsible for this war before the international justice system to have them punished.”

Natallia Satsunkevich, a member of the Interim Board of the Viasna Human Rights Center (Belarus), stated that the leader of her organization and Nobel Peace Prize laureate is in prison and that she had to leave the country two years ago and cannot return.  She spoke about the lack of freedom in Belarus and asked Catalans to express their solidarity with the 1,500 political prisoners in her country.

For his part, Aleksander Cherkasov, former chair of the Board of the Memorial Human Rights Center (Russia), described the current war in Ukraine as one more crime on the list of war crimes committed by Putin’s regime, along with Chechnya and Syria.  He also stated that “Russia has declared war on non-governmental organizations” such as his own, so he had to flee the country eight months ago.

Developing a crosscutting narrative

The Parliament’s First Conference on Peace was closed by the director of ICIP, Kristian Herbolzheimer, as vice president of the Catalan Council for the Promotion of Peace, and the deputy and parliamentary board member, Carles Riera.  In the context of the war in Ukraine, Herbolzheimer recalled that wars are avoidable and that the pacifist message is not utopic.  He also called for the creation of “a crosscutting narrative” in response to the war “that allows us to make Putin understand that his aggression is unacceptable, that Ukraine is and will continue to be an independent while, at the same time, questioning a weapons logic that divides the world.”

The deputy of Parliament Carles Riera thanked the entities organising the event and urged them to start working on next year’s edition.

On 30-31 January, representatives of the three Nobel Peace Prize 2022 initiatives will visit Barcelona and Madrid in a delegation organized by ICIP and NOVACT.

The delegation will consist of Oleksandra Romantsova, executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine); Natallia Satsunkevich, member of the Interim Board of the Viasna Human Rights Center (Belarus); and Alexander Cherkasov, chair of the Board of the Memorial Human Rights Center (Russia).  These three civil society initiatives – one individual and two collectives – were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last October for their work in reporting war crimes and defending peace and human rights.

To mark the occasion of their visit, on 30 January, School Day of Nonviolence and Peace, the Parliament of Catalonia will host the first Conference on Peace organized in collaboration with ICIP and Lafede.cat.

“The Catalan social entities and institutions that work for the promotion of peace, together with the Parliament of Catalonia, are especially pleased to present the work of these three entities as part of the first Conference on Peace organized by the Catalan chamber,” declared ICIP director Kristian Herbolzheimer.

The conference will consist of two roundtables.  The first one, Peacebuilding alternatives for a paradigm shift: Contributions of Catalan organizations, will feature five representatives of Lafede.cat’s peace work area.  They will talk about the challenges of peacebuilding concerning the evolution of armed conflicts and the interrelation between the concepts of peace and security.  And they will also present proposals for a Catalan public policy for peace.

The second panel, entitled Civil society facing war and authoritarian regimes: Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, will feature the participation of the representatives of the three initiatives awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Gabriela Serra, president of the Catalan Council for the Promotion of Peace, and Pere Aragonès, president of the Government of Catalonia, will close the conference.

The event will begin at 4 pm and is open to the public.  To attend this event, prior registration at the Parliament’s website is required before the deadline of 25 January.

On the same day, 30 January, the delegation from the three countries is expected to meet with various representatives of Catalan institutions, including a meeting with the president of the Government of Catalonia and with the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau.

Visit and activities in Madrid

On 31 January, following the events in Barcelona, the delegation will travel to Madrid, where they will participate in various meetings with government representatives and address the Congress of Deputies.  An event organized by the Coordinating Committee of Development Organizations and open to the public will occur in the afternoon.  This event will be held at Casa Encendida at 6:30 pm and will feature the participation of representatives of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates as well as the researcher Felip Daza.  Daza is the author of the report entitled Ukrainian nonviolent civil resistance in the face of war, published by ICIP and NOVACT.  This document analyzes a total of 235 actions of nonviolent civil resistance displayed in an interactive map. It includes a set of recommendations addressed to governments and Ukrainian and international civil society to strengthen nonviolence to transform the conflict.

“These activities aim to raise awareness of the key role that these three entities are playing.  Over the last few years, they have promoted the role of protest, documenting war crimes, human rights violations and abuses of power.  Their work is an important example of the significant role that civil society can and must play in preventing crises and building peace,” says NOVACT director Luca Gervasoni.

Biographies of the representatives of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureates

Oleksandra Romantsova is the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine) executive director.  She coordinates the management of war crimes documentation and promotion of the results of this documentation as part of the “Tribunal for Putin” global initiative.  She participates in field missions around Ukraine.

Natallia Satsunkevich is a member of the Interim Board of the Human Rights Center of Viasna (Belarus).  The Nobel Prize was awarded to the President of Viasna, Ales Bialiatski, currently imprisoned by the regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko.  As part of the legal aid team, Satsunkevich helps victims of human rights violations to obtain reparations.  She is currently undergoing criminal proceedings in Belarus due to her political activism.

Alexander Cherkasov is the chair of the Board of the Memorial Human Rights Center (Russia).  Memorial has been documenting human rights abuses in Chechnya and assisting victims since the beginning of the armed conflict in 1994.  It later expanded its work to neighbouring republics as human rights abuses spread to the broader North Caucasus region.

The ICIP has announced the call for nominations for the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2023, which aims to publicly recognize individuals, entities or institutions that, outstandingly and extensively, have worked and contributed to promoting and building peace.

It is the twelfth edition of the Award, corresponding to 2023, and the call will be open until March 20, 2023. The applications can be registered electronically, through this site (in Spanish), or they can be registered in person at any administrative register of the Spanish state and an embassy or consulate outside Spain.

The ICIP Peace in Progress Award consists of public recognition, a sculpture created by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, artist and activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, called Porta del sol, and 6,000 euros. The award ceremony takes place annually in an institutional ceremony at the Parliament of Catalonia.

Any natural or legal person can submit nominations to the ICIP Peace in Progress Award, but self-nominated candidates will not be accepted.

Please check with the ICIP (convocatories@icip.cat) before registration deadlines if you submit from abroad. Nomination of candidates by e-mail will not be accepted.

Previous granted

In previous editions, the Award was granted to the Basque Country’s associative network in favour of peace (2022), the activist from Congo, Julienne Lusenge (2020), the Coalition of Families of the Disappeared in Algeria (2019), the Mexican organization Cauce Ciudadano (2018), the activist Arcadi Oliveres (2017), Peace Brigades International (2016), the Capuchin friar Joan Botam (2015), WILPF (2014), the ex-general Jovan Divjak (2013), Madres de Soacha (2012), and the struggle of conscientious objectors and “insubmisos” (people who refuse to do military service or any substitute social work) represented by Pepe Beúnza (2011).

The same year, in 2011, in a special edition of the Award, the Parliament of Catalonia was honoured for representing the continuity and legacy of the institutions “Pau i Treva” and “Consolat de Mar.”

After two years of work and virtual meetings, the Platform for Peacebuilding in Mexico, of which ICIP is one of the promoters, met for the first time this week in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.

The Platform is a space for dialogue and synergy that brings together people and organizations linked to the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), the Civil Service for Peace of Pan para el Mundo and the First International Forum for Peacebuilding in Mexico.  This forum was held in Barcelona in 2019 and organized by ICIP, Serapaz and Taula per Mèxic.

During this process, other organizations joined the group and participated in various activities in Chiapas.  These include Aluna, CCC México, Consorcio Oaxaca, Coreco A.C., Energía y Estrategia, Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, Serpaj México, Sipaz, SweFOR, Taula per Mèxic and the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative.  They all form part of this Platform, which also brings together activists, journalists, artists and academics committed to transforming violence in Mexico through a peacebuilding approach.

From 25-28 October, the Platform organized an international forum and an Indigenous peoples’ meeting and held several other meetings to discuss the present and future of the organization.  A visit was also made to Acteal, a community in Chenalhó, Chiapas, with great symbolic significance.  On 22 December 1997, paramilitary groups, allegedly acting in collusion with the State, killed 45 Indigenous Tzotzil people, including four pregnant women and 18 minors.  It was at the House of Memory and Hope in Acteal where a statement announcing the formal constitution of the Platform was read.

A forum as the first public event

The Platform’s first public event was the International Forum for Peacebuilding in Mexico, held at the Daniel Zebadúa Theater in San Cristóbal de las Casas on 25 October.  The objective was to reflect on and analyze the challenges posed by the current violent situations in Mexico’s various territories.

More than 500 people attended the Forum, organized around four panels.  The aim of the opening panel, “Keys to building peace: a global reflection”, was to discuss the strategic frameworks for peacebuilding that have been promoted in other places, including needs and obstacles.  Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize winner; Marta Ruiz, former commissioner of the Truth Commission of Colombia; and Luis Jorge Garay, academic and international consultant, shared their reflections.

The second panel, entitled “Security, justice and territory” was based on the question “How can we end violence?” especially in the context of a crisis of human rights and insecurity in Mexico, to identify the various actors that perpetrate violence from a territorial standpoint.  This panel was led by Jenny Pearce, of the London School of Economics, in the United Kingdom; Guillermo Trejo, of the University of Notre Dame, in the United States; and Francisco Huaroco Tomás, of the Indigenous community of Cherán.  The session was moderated by Yésica Sánchez Maya, of the Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad, A.C.

The third panel, entitled “Restorative practices, dialogue and reconstruction of the social fabric” was presented by Gloria Abarca, an expert in Education for Peace, and featured the participation of Lenin Torres, of the Center for Research and Social Action (CIAS Por la Paz), Lina Ibáñez, of Diálogos Improbables (Colombia), and Abel Barrera of the Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Montaña Tlachinollan.

Finally, the fourth panel, entitled “The cultural and spiritual dimension of peacebuilding” featured the participation of academic and social activist Pietro Ameglio, journalist and member of Quinto Elemento Lab, Marcela Turati, and the Bishop of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mons. Rodrigo Aguilar.  The session was moderated by Carla Ríos, of the Brigada Marabunta.  In this panel, participants exchanged points of view and experiences on how education, spirituality, art, culture and journalism are crucial elements for transforming the mechanisms that justify and support the perpetration of violence in society.

The panels’ content and conclusions are available through this link.

An Indigenous people’s meeting on the second day

The event entitled Tejiendo la palabra, dialogando entre pueblos, jointly organized by the Slamalil K’inai Platform for Peacebuilding in Chiapas, took place on Wednesday, 26 October, following the Forum.

More than 200 people from various Indigenous communities in several Mexican states participated in this conference, which took place at the Diocesan House in San Cristóbal de las Casas.

During the day, participants analyzed the reality of Chiapas and other Mexican states in six panels (Community protection and security; Reconstruction of the social fabric and peacebuilding; Support for processes of victims; Youth; Women; and Economic alternatives, land and territory, autonomy and self-determination).

A working session and a visit to Acteal

On the third day, Thursday, 27 October, the Platform held a meeting featuring the participation of more than thirty people from its member organizations.  This internal work session aimed to develop a shared vision in light of Mexico’s many challenges to peace and to provide the Platform with its own strategies and methodologies.

Finally, on Friday, 28 October, day four of the event, members of the Platform and participants in the Forum visited Acteal.  This coming December marks the 25^th anniversary of the massacre that turned this small community into an example of struggle, resistance and dignity of Indigenous peoples.

During the visit, the Platform members held a symbolic ceremony to introduce the group, and a statement was read announcing its establishment and its main objectives.

In the coming months, the Platform intends to continue working “to promote the transformation of the structural and cultural conditions that generate the crisis of armed violence in Mexico,” according to the statement.  Therefore, promoting an inclusive, just, transformative and lasting peace is essential.  “In other words, to fulfil all the conditions that allow everyone to lead a dignified life.”

Eleven years after the International Conference of Aiete, which led to the definitive end of ETA violence and the beginning of a new era in the Basque Country, Basque society still faces pending challenges for the achievement of a complete peace.

These challenges include the creation of a common, inclusive and social memory to explain the Basque conflict to future generations, the recognition and honoring of all the victims of violence, the promotion of new spaces for dialogue and trust among people with different sensibilities, and the processes of healing wounds that remain open.

Following the conferral of the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2022 to the Basque Country’s associative network in favor of peace, ICIP has produced a video featuring the voices of some of the award-winning organizations in order to highlight the successes achieved so far and the challenges that still remain on the road to peace.

Participants include Aitziber Blanco (Foro Ciudadano Donostia), Agus Hernán (Permanent Social Forum), Maider Maraña (Baketik Foundation), María Oianguren (Gernika Gogoratuz), Iñigo Retolaza (MemoriaLab program) and Paul Ríos (Elkarri/Lokarri).

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian civil society has spontaneously and courageously organized to counter the military occupation through hundreds of nonviolent actions, including civil disobedience, road blockades, civilian evacuation or communication campaigns. 

The report Ukrainian Nonviolent Civil Resistance in the Face of War, prepared by Professor Felip Daza within the framework of a joint ICIP and Novact project, examines the Ukrainian nonviolent civil resistance between February and June 2022 to identify the organizational dynamics and the characteristics of the different actions, their evolution and the impacts and supports they have achieved.

The document analyses 235 nonviolent civil resistance actions shown on an interactive map. It includes a set of recommendations addressed to governments and Ukrainian and international civil society to strengthen nonviolence to transform conflicts.

The work confirms that some resistance actions contributed to stopping the invasion in the country’s north and hindered the institutionalization of the military occupation in its early stages. Likewise, nonviolence has created conditions and strategies to maintain social cohesion and community resilience in the face of fear and uncertainty caused by the invasion. It has also strengthened local governance, thanks to the empowerment of social actors and better coordination with local authorities.

Organized civil society has also allowed the construction of a comprehensive system for the development of evacuation, transportation and relocation tasks for people affected by the violence. Likewise, the work of monitoring war crimes carried out by human rights defence organizations has prevented the legal defenselessness of the population and has empowered communities to report abuses.

According to the author of the report Felip Daza, “the nonviolent civil response of the Ukrainian people is a unique experience that can serve as inspiration for other armed conflicts, but above all, it is the seed to rebuild the country and weave regional alliances to stop the barbarity of war”.

Methodology and types of actions

The research is based on fieldwork on the ground, carried out between April 2 and 18, 2022, by the author Felip Daza and the photographer and camera operator Lorena Sopena. 

During the stay, data and witnesses were collected from interviews with 55 political and social actors in the country, including representatives of public institutions, NGOs, activists, academics and religious institutions.

Information collection has enabled an interactive map with 235 verified and systematized nonviolent actions from February 24 to June 30, 2022. The registered steps are divided into three types: acts of protest and dissuasion (148), movements of nonviolent intervention (51) and measures of non-cooperation (36).

The most numerous actions were protests, including demonstrations and public gatherings, registered above all in the country’s south, in the areas under Russian occupation, and during the first weeks of the invasion.

As of April, the demonstrations were drastically reduced due to the repression, with arbitrary arrests and kidnappings of activists. On the contrary, the resistance adopted a strategy based on covert actions, disobedience and non-cooperation. For example, initiatives such as hanging coloured ribbons in municipalities, communication campaigns via social networks, letters of resignation signed by Melitopol school directors, or some teachers’ refusal to teach with Russian programs stand out.

Nonviolent intervention actions became popular at the beginning of the invasion, with the blockade of Russian tanks by Ukrainian citizens and the construction of barricades. These actions had a direct impact, pushing back Russia’s military objectives. The report also notes that nonviolent civil resistance helped stop the invasion in the country’s north.

The report includes a list of ten recommendations for governments, organizations and civil society in Ukraine and internationally, including material and financial support for resistance actions, creating protection programs for activists and investigations of war crimes, or influencing the design of security that puts people and communities at the centre.

The Ukrainian Nonviolent Civil Resistance in the Face of War report has been published in the ICIP Reports collection as a joint project with Novact and with the collaboration of Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena and the German NGO Corridors. The work is available in electronic format in Catalan, Spanish, English and Ukrainian.

On Wednesday 21 September, coinciding with the celebration of the International Day of Peace, ICIP presented the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2022 to the Basque associative network in favor of peace.  The ceremony took place in the auditorium of the Parliament of Catalonia and featured the participation of representatives of the 17 award-winning organizations and initiatives.

All of these civil society peace initiatives jointly received the award “for their contribution to the advancement of peace, the end of political violence and the creation of new frameworks of coexistence and reconciliation.” These award-winning initiatives include several organizations that have played a key role in advancing towards resolution of the conflict, such as the Permanent Social Forum, the now-dissolved Coordinadora Gesto por la Paz and Elkarri/Lokarri. Also included are organizations that work for peace education and the promotion of coexistence and human rights, through the Forum of Associations for Peace and Human Rights Education, where Gernika Gogoratuz, Baketik and Bakeola play an important role.

The award also recognizes the Gernika Peace Museum Foundation, Foro Ciudadano Donostia, UNESCO Etxea, the Fernando Buesa Foundation, Emagune, the Ahotsak women’s network, Eskubidez, the experiences of dialogues with victims such as Encuentros Ciudadanos-Memoria Lab, the Encuentros Restaurativos between ETA prisoners and victims, and the BatzART! initiative.

The ceremony was presided over by the first vice president acting as president of the Parliament, Alba Vergés, and ICIP president Xavier Masllorens, who highlighted “the work, so often hidden and discreet, of individuals, groups and organizations that strongly believe that good social coexistence is built one step at a time, and that have decided to support initiatives that build bridges, for a future free of hate and violence.”

In his speech, the president of ICIP also stated that “the ICIP Award is a wakeup call to public authorities so that they act with the responsibility and maturity that the circumstances require.”

In his speech, Jordi Armadans, journalist, activist and former director of FundiPau, the organization that submitted the winning candidacy, highlighted “the experience, testimony and extremely important work of the peace activists.” He praised the “difficult and arduous, but absolutely essential” activism of the award recipients and stated that “violence is not only criminal, but also absurd” and that “human rights are never the problem, but rather the solution.”

A plural and collective award

Representatives from the various award-winning entities and initiatives collected the award during the ceremony and Maria Oianguren, director of the research center for peace Gernika Gogoratuz, and Eneko Calle, member of the Permanent Social Forum, spoke on behalf of them all.

In their acceptance speech, the two representatives highlighted the plurality of the award-winning initiatives but at the same time “their shared commitment in favor of peaceful coexistence and the defense of human rights,” and the ability of all of them to build bridges between opposing actors and open spaces of reconciliation between people who differ. Oianguren and Calle expressed their gratitude for the award on behalf of a civil society that has contributed to a process “that is still incomplete” and of which “there are still many knots to untie” such as the “recognition of all the victims” or the fact that “all the accounts can be honestly told.”

In their joint speech they also defended the need to continue working to delegitimize the hegemonic culture of violence as a way to resolve conflicts and called on public administrations to promote policies in favor of peace.

At the closing of the event, the first vice president acting as president of the Parliament, Alba Vergés, highlighted the “courage” of the award-winning entities in “difficult moments.” She also pointed out that “they have been able to work together for a democratic solution” to the Basque conflict and that “they are still working to solve the pending issues with the same commitment.” Finally, she added that the ICIP Award “is an award for the whole of Basque society.”

There were approximately one hundred people in attendance at the ICIP Award ceremony including many representatives of the Catalan peace movement, members of the association of victims of terrorism UAVAT and members of Parliament.

The final report of the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition of Colombia was presented at the Parliament of Catalonia on 12 July.   It was a very emotional event, featuring victims of the Colombian conflict living in exile in Catalonia and followed by nearly 250 attendees.

The event, organized by ICIP in its capacity as Technical Secretariat of the Truth Commission in Europe, opened with music by Colombian singer-songwriter Marta Gómez and the opening remarks of the president of the Parliament, Laura Borràs, who highlighted “the commitment of the Parliament and the whole of Catalan society to the cause of peace.”

ICIP director Kristian Herbolzheimer then called attention to the three years of collective work of the Truth Commission and ICIP, which now comes to an end with the presentation of the final report: “After decades of armed conflict, Colombia is now paradoxically the leading international model for peacebuilding, while in Europe, we are once again amid polarization, bloc confrontation and war,” he pointed out.  The ICIP director also urged Catalan institutions and associations to maintain a strong commitment to the victims and to peace in Colombia.

Recognition for victims of the conflictlicte

The institutional ceremony was conceived as recognition of victims of the Colombian conflict exiled in Catalonia and all the people who have worked for years to build peace in Colombia.  That is why the highlight was a conversation between Marta Liliana Ramírez, a victim of the conflict living in Catalonia who contributed her testimony to the Commission, and Helga Flamtermesky, an interviewer in the process of taking testimonies and member of the Catalonia Node in Support of the Commission.  During the conversation, Marta Liliana Ramírez, mother of a disappeared person, explained that giving testimony to the Truth Commission and feeling listened to has given her dignity.

The event also featured the participation of two members of the Truth Commission, Carlos Martín Beristain and Alejandro Valencia, who presented the main conclusions and recommendations of the final report, placing special emphasis on the chapter on exile: “Exile is oblivion; it is the consequence of many forms of violence.  And the report is a recognition of these ignored and invisible stories,” said Beristain.  The final report includes a series of recommendations to ensure a “more complete peace,” including reparation and dignification of the victims.

After their speeches, the two commissioners symbolically presented the report to Marta Liliana Ramírez and Dorys Ardila, a committee member for the follow-up of the Commission’s recommendations, who received it on behalf of all the victims in exile.

The documentary “Para volverte a ver,” produced by ICIP and Mandorla Films, was screened during the event.  The film narrates the contribution of the Colombian diaspora in Europe to the Commission’s work.  The documentary features four stories of life in exile, and two of its protagonists, Yanira Restrepo and Juana Sánchez-Ortega, were also present at the ceremony in the Parliament.

The ceremony ended with a performance by the musical trio Ensamble Ocasa which was met with big applause.

This event received support from Taula Catalana per la Pau i els Drets Humans a Colòmbia, the Catalonia Node and the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation.

The final report features 30,000 testimonies of the armed conflict

The Truth Commission of Colombia began its mandate in November 2018 to clarify the patterns and causes of human rights violations during the Colombian conflict, promoting the recognition of victims and contributing to coexistence.  The mandate will end this summer by disseminating the report in July and August.

The final report covers the events that took place in Colombia from 1958 to 2016 and are the result of a process of investigation and analysis based on a broad and pluralistic listening process that included victims, perpetrators, state security forces, businesspeople, ex-presidents, and other actors and sectors of civil society directly or indirectly related to the Colombian armed conflict.

The Commission has collected over 30,000 testimonies of the conflict, of which 2,000 are from exiles living in 24 different countries, including 800 in Europe and one hundred in Catalonia.

The Colombian armed conflict left a toll of nine million victims, of whom half a million were killed and 100,000 disappeared.  During the decades of conflict, one million people were forced to leave the country in search of protection.  Exile is almost always the last resort after other acts of violence.

Reception at the Palau de la Generalitat

On Tuesday, 12 July, the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Victòria Alsina, received Commissioners Carlos Martin Beristian and Alejandro Valencia at a meeting at the Palau de la Generalitat. The reception was also attended by the President and Director of the ICIP, Xavier Masllorens and Kristian Herbolzheimer, respectively; Marta Liliana Ramírez, a victim of the Colombian conflict exiled in Catalonia; and Dorys Ardila, a member of the committee following up on the recommendations of the Commission’s final report.

During the meeting, President Aragonès stressed the pride in “the support of the institutions and social movements of Catalonia to the peace process in Colombia”. They highlighted the work of the ICIP as the Technical Secretariat of the Truth Commission in Europe.

For her part, Minister Alsina reaffirmed the Government’s commitment so that Colombia “continues to be a priority country for Catalan cooperation, as it has historically been”.

The Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition of Colombia began its mandate in November 2018, intending to clarify the patterns and causes of human rights violations during the Colombian armed conflict, promoting the recognition of victims and contributing to coexistence. After more than three years of work, the Commission concludes this process in June 2022, presenting its Final Report and its subsequent dissemination, which will take place in July and August.

It has been an innovative mandate since, for the first time, a truth commission has included people living outside the country as participants. And ICIP has been a natural part of this process, acting as the Technical Secretariat of the Commission in Europe to accompany victims of the Colombian conflict in exile and promote their active participation.

In this capacity, ICIP has facilitated the creation of 15 working groups (nodes) in ten European countries, which have become spaces for participation, sharing experiences, and coexistence and dialogue among victims of the Colombian conflict living in Europe.

Additionally, several internodal groups have been created to address a range of thematic areas: gender, psychosocial support, recognition of victims, family members of victims of enforced disappearance, and second and third generations in exile.

Testimonies: Treasures of collective truth

For working with the Colombian exile community, 90 people were trained as interviewers and chroniclers, most of them victims and women, and a total of 822 testimonies were taken in Europe (2,000 worldwide).

This collection of testimonies has given visibility to life stories, silences, emotional impacts, coping, resilience and contributions to host societies and has also promoted transformative listening and self-recognition of the victims.

Recognition of the victims

Another aspect of ICIP’s work as Technical Secretariat of the Commission in Europe is the creation of spaces for the institutional recognition of exiled victims. The process, coordinated with the Catalonia Node in Support of the Commission and with the support of the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation, includes promoting institutional proclamations and approving resolutions by municipal governments and social organisations.

Lleida became the first city in the world to approve a resolution recognising its Colombian exiled and migrant community. On 30 July 2021, the local city council recognised “the contributions of civil society organisations in Lleida towards a sustainable and lasting peace in Colombia and support of the migrant and exiled community.” Subsequent resolutions of recognition were approved in June 2022 in Sabadell and the Barcelona Municipal Council of International Cooperation.

Documentary: ‘Para volverte a ver‘

In this work area, ICIP, together with Mandorla Films, has produced the documentary Para volverte a ver, which narrates the contribution of the Colombian diaspora in Europe to the work of the Commission through four testimonies. The film will premiere in Lleida on 8 July, as part of the Cinemón film festival. It will also be screened in Barcelona at the presentation of the final report to be held at the Catalan Parliament on 12 July.

This short documentary was produced with the support of the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation. More information about the film and its creation process can be found on the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Para volverte a ver.

ICIP, the Barcelona City Council and Taula per Mèxic are preparing the forum “Journalism and Peacebuilding in Mexico: Protecting journalists, guaranteeing freedom of the press,” which will be held in Mexico City on 20-21 June.

The event’s purpose is to reflect on the needs facing critical journalism in Mexico and create a meeting place for professionals exposed to constant risks and threats.

With eleven journalists murdered since the beginning of the year, Mexico is today one of the most dangerous countries to exercise freedom of the press, one of the fundamental pillars for building peace.

The starting point for the forum organization is the “Barcelona protects journalists from Mexico” temporary shelter program promoted by the Barcelona City Council and Taula de Mèxic. This program aims to facilitate staying in the Catalan capital of journalists who are threatened for freely practising their profession. That is why the conference will feature the participation of several journalists who are part of the program and will address the importance of protection mechanisms and psychosocial support for threatened professionals.

The “Journalism and Peacebuilding in Mexico” forum will be held at the Centro Cultural Bella Época and features the collaboration of various associations of Mexican journalists, such as Artículo 19, CIMAC and Periodistas de a Pie, as well as the Aluna Acompañamiento Psicosocial organization.

A peacebuilding perspective

Participants include prominent communication professionals who have long become essential actors in advocacy, social transformation and peacebuilding in a country, Mexico, where severe human rights violations occur. Their role is crucial in researching, documenting and analyzing the multiple instances of violence, identifying those responsible for these acts of violence, and raising awareness of citizen and community responses that challenge them and propose alternatives.

The forum will kick off on Monday, 20 June, with an institutional welcome by representatives of ICIP, the Barcelona City Council and Taula per Mèxic. Participants on the first day of the forum include the general director of the Mechanism for the Comprehensive Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists of Mexico City, Tobyanne Ledesma Rivera and the representative in Mexico of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Guillermo Fernández-Maldonado. The keynote speaker will be Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker Daniela Rea.

Several roundtables will be held on Monday 20 June and Tuesday 21 June with the participation of journalists from Mexico, as well as from Colombia, El Salvador and Catalonia. The issues that will be addressed include the current situation of critical journalism in Mexico, the challenges of investigative journalism in violent contexts, the contribution of journalism to peacebuilding, psychosocial support for journalists under threat, and the instruments of comprehensive protection for communication professionals at risk.

You can access the program of the forum (in Spanish) here.