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The mandate of the Colombian Truth Commission is to contribute to the clarification of the events that took place within the framework of the Colombian armed conflict for over 50 years; to promote the recognition of the victims and the responsibilities of those who participated directly and indirectly in the conflict; and to promote coexistence in the territories in order to guarantee non-recurrence.

In addition, in a way that is unprecedented in transitional justice processes, the Commission works directly with the Colombian community living abroad, as an actor-subject deserving attention and participation. According to the Commission itself, at least 500,000 Colombians living abroad have requested international protection, and this does not include the second generation or people who left the country without requesting protection status.

The Commission recognizes the importance of including the experiences and voices of this Colombia living outside Colombia in the story of the country that is being shaped. It has therefore generated a territorial deployment at the international level that has involved processes of support for the Commission in 23 countries in Europe, North America, Central America, the Andean region and South America.

In Europe, the work has been guided by ICIP, in its role as the Commission’s technical secretariat, and participation has basically been structured on three levels:

• Nodes or support groups for the Commission;
• Internodal working groups;
• Interviewers for the taking of testimonies.

In this process, the Commission has trained around 90 people to take testimonies from victims of the armed conflict residing in Europe, in order to contribute to the clarification of the facts through a unique methodology with a psychosocial approach.

To promote this support network, one of the main methodological concepts in the process has been to create spaces for participation and coordination among diverse actors: victims of various armed actors who are not organized, organizations of Colombian victims, peace and human rights activists, organizations in host countries, and people from the arts world and from academia, among others.

Along these lines, in Europe, there are 15 support groups in 10 countries: Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain (Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid, Basque Country and Valencia), France and South of France, Italy, Norway, United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland. These nodes are spaces for the convergence of people and organizations that meet to join efforts and previous experiences in memory and peacebuilding in support of the Commission’s mandate.

In addition, there are intermodal groups, as coordinating spaces throughout Europe in relation to specific thematic areas: gender, psychosocial accompaniment, recognition of victims, relatives of victims of enforced disappearance, and second and third generations in exile.

On 26 September 2016, the Final Agreement to End the Armed Conflict and Build a Stable and Lasting Peace, between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo), was signed.

As a result of the Peace Agreement, a series of Transitional Justice mechanisms were created that are part of a Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparations and Non-Recurrence. One of these instruments is the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Recurrence, which formally began its work with a three-year mandate in November 2018.  The objectives of the Commission are as follows:

• To clarify the patterns of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law violations; the causes and factors of persistence, impacts and forms of resistance; as well as the relationship between drug trafficking, paramilitarism and land dispossession in relation to the internal armed conflict.
• To promote the recognition of the victims as important subjects for the transformation of the country; the voluntary acknowledgement of responsibilities by the perpetrators (direct and indirect); and the recognition by society that these violations must not be repeated.
• To contribute to coexistence in the territories, providing an opportunity to regain trust, to learn to engage in dialogue with opponents and to relate to each other peacefully.

In addition, it has the mandate to work with the Colombian community living abroad, as an actor-subject that deserves attention and participation.  According to the Commission itself, of the more than five million Colombians living abroad, at least 500,000 have requested international protection, which does not include the second generation or people who left the country without requesting protection status.

The degree of involvement and participation of the diaspora in the Colombian Truth Commission is unprecedented in transitional justice contexts. This work with victims abroad has led to the creation of support groups for the Commission’s work (also called nodes) in 23 countries worldwide, 10 of them in Europe.

The pandemic of COVID-19 is directly, or indirectly, affecting millions of people across the planet. Although the challenge is shared around the world, each country, each community and each person experiences is it from their own circumstances and uncertainties and, thus, the futures they face are different. Wherever it is present, COVID-19 is disruptive to social dynamics and public policies. This disruption may provoke additional threats to peace and security. However, it could also generate reflections and responses that could construct new realities that are supportive, sustainable and just.

The series “Covid Impacts on Peace and Security” aims at sharing reflections on the consequences of the pandemic around the world from a peacebuilding perspective.

On 28 March, the Colombian guerrilla group ELN announced a unilateral cessation of activities during the month of April as a humanitarian gesture in light of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This announcement followed the appeal made to that effect by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The ceasefire officially ended on Thursday 30 April.

In view of this situation, ICIP and the Fundación Ideas para la Paz (Ideas for Peace Foundation) of Colombia have developed infographics that analyze the background of the ceasefire, its implications and possible future scenarios for the country.

The ICIP has announced the call for nominations for the tenth edition of the ICIP Peace in Progress Award. This prize aims to publicly recognize individuals, entities or institutions that, in an outstanding and extensive manner, have worked and contributed to the promotion and building of peace.
The deadline for submitting nominations is July 1st. Submission of applications can be registered electronically, provided that a digital compatible certificate is available, or at any administrative register of the Spanish state, and at 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.
In previous editions, the award was granted to 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, 2011, in an extraordinary edition of the award, the Parliament of Catalonia was honored for representing the continuity and legacy of the institutions “Pau i Treva” and “Consolat de Mar.”

The call for entries for the fifth edition of the ICIP Hip Hop for Peace Contest was launched in September. The contest aims to give visibility to the commitment and creativity of young people in the field of peace culture.
As in previous editions, the contest has two categories. The first one is open to students in secondary school, vocational training school and senior high school in Catalonia; the second category is open to young people between the ages of 12 and 25 who participate in youth, cultural, civic or social-educational action centers or organizations in Catalonia. In both cases, participating groups must have at least three members.

To participate, groups must compose a hip-hop piece with original rhymes and make a video recording of its performance lasting no more than four minutes. The lyrics of the songs must be related to the celebration of diversity; coexistence in urban areas or schools; criticism of violence; the denunciation of human rights violations; solidarity with people who are trapped by, or fleeing, armed conflict; or the role of youth in peacebuilding.

The deadline for submitting videos is 1st February 2021, coinciding with the commemoration of the School Day of Nonviolence and Peace (DENIP).

The contest is being organized in conjunction with the Department of Education, the Directorate-General for Youth of the Generalitat of Catalonia, and the Catalan Agency for Cooperation to the Development.

The Coalition of Families of the Disappeared in Algeria (CDFA) was created in Paris in May 1998 by a group of mothers of disappeared persons in Algeria in order to raise national and international awareness about the cases of enforced disappearances that took place during the Algerian Civil War in the 1990s. That same year the association organized a demonstration in front of the National Observatory of Human Rights in Algiers which, since then, has become a weekly event.

Since its establishment, CFDA has coordinated the movement of the mothers of the disappeared and has promoted the creation of various committees throughout France, including SOS Disparu(e)s. The group is currently the only organization that offers assistance and support to relatives of disappeared persons in Algeria, despite the lack of institutional recognition in the country. The organization strives to achieve a peaceful and democratic transition in Algeria with the establishment of a process for truth, justice and reparation and for the full observance of fundamental human rights and freedoms.

The activity of CFDA and SOS Disparu(e)s includes the production of more than 5,400 dossiers with information related to disappeared persons. As a result of this work, the organization reported around 5,000 cases to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. CFDA is a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Federation Against Enforced Disappearances and has observer status in the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

After evaluating all of the entries submitted, the jury of the third edition of the ICIP Hip-Hop for Peace Contest, corresponding to 2018, has announced the winners. This competition aims to promote creativity and give visibility to the commitment of young people in the field of peace culture. In this third edition, the award-winning entries address very current issues such as the refugee crisis, the defense of feminism and the denunciation of violence against women. There were also messages defending respect, equal opportunity, social inclusion and non-discrimination because of race or sexual orientation.
In Category 1, aimed at students in secondary school, senior high school and vocational training school in Catalonia, the winning video clips are:
Salgamos de esta celda (Let’s leave this cell), a video clip created by “Las fugitivas del silencio,” made up of students from Manuel Vázquez Montalbán Secondary School in Sant Adrià del Besòs (Barcelonès), who have won the possibility of recording in a professional studio. The piece launches a message of solidarity with refugees, especially women.
You say you feel sorry for refugees
Yet in the street you glare at them
(…) All of this, as a woman, is even more complicated
Traveling for their future, with children or while pregnant
Without any protection, at risk of being abused
¡Basta! (Enough!), a video clip created by students from Vilanova del Vallès (Vallès Oriental) Secondary School, winners of a hip-hop workshop. This is a piece denouncing the abuse of women and is based on the “No means no” slogan.
If women say no means no
No, no no! Respect!
Tots som iguals (We are all equal), a video clip created by young people from L’Àngel Special Education Center, in Amposta (Montsià), awarded a special mention. In this case, the piece calls for social inclusion, equal opportunity and respect for people with special needs.
There is only one race, the human race
We are all brothers, even if we don’t share the same blood
The only disability is not realizing that we are all equal
In Category 2, aimed at young people between the ages of 12 and 25 who participate in youth, cultural, civic or socio-educational action centers in Catalonia, the winners are:
Infame, caprichosa y estúpida (Despicable, capricious and stupid), a video clip created by young people from the Vitamina project of the Carta de la Pau Foundation, winners of a recording in a professional studio. The video clip also touches on the subject of solidarity with refugees fleeing military conflicts and calls for the free movement of people.
No one chose place of birth
I am lucky not to be hungry
(…) Closing borders is an act that hurts us
We become prisoners of an imaginary line
Diversitats (Diversities), a video clip created by young people from the Torre Bassas Youth Center in Rubí (Vallès Occidental), winners of a hip-hop workshop. This piece aims to denounce prejudice and discrimination, with a particular emphasis also on gender violence.
I respect your sexuality and your way of thinking
Open your mind so that you can move forward
(…) You judge people unnecessarily
Without knowing what they think or what they do
Reflejos (Reflexes/Reflections), a video clip created by a group of young people in work-linked training at Càritas-Girona, winners of a special mention. In this case, the piece is a cry against racism that denounces, in first person, the discrimination that young people experience.
We want to study, we want to move forward
Nowhere do they let us in
We walk down the street while people glare
Because they think, without looking, that we are terrible
The award-winning groups will be honored at an institutional event that will take place at 12 noon on Thursday 28 February at the ICIP offices (Tapineria, 10, 1st floor, Barcelona). Participants in the event include ICIP president Xavier Masllorens and the head of the Catalan Youth Agency, Cesc Poch. The event is closed to the public and attendance is by invitation only.
The ICIP Hip-Hop for Peace Contest, which has reached its third edition, aims to give visibility to the commitment and creativity of young people in the field of peace culture. The event is organized in conjunction with the Department of Education and the Directorate-General for Youth of the Generalitat of Catalonia. A total of sixteen video clips were submitted in this third edition.

The International Catalan Institute for Peace (ICIP) presented the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2018 to the Mexican organization Cauce Ciudadano in a ceremony that took place in the Parliament of Catalonia on the evening of Tuesday 12 March. The event was attended by representatives of institutions and organizations dedicated to the promotion of peace and linked to Mexico and Latin America in general. Cauce Ciudadano, an organization founded in 2000 by young people who had been pandilleros (members of criminal gangs) has been awarded “for its work in the prevention of violence and the construction of peaceful alternatives for youth in settings characterized by crime, especially drug trafficking.”
The ceremony was presided over by the president of Parliament, Roger Torrent; the Minister for Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency, Alfred Bosch; and ICIP president Xavier Masllorens. Masllorens began his speech by expressing “dismay at the democratic decline being experienced in various places in the world, including Spain, and concern for every person who accepts cutbacks in rights and freedoms in the name of security.” He praised the work of Cauce Ciudadano for “providing a preventive and positive response to violence, as opposed to the repressive and securitizing measures of public authorities.”
A video on the history of Cauce Ciudadano was screened during the event and the Colombian journalist and writer Laura Restrepo, author of the commentary, highlighted “the organization’s commitment to peace and reconciliation, moral and civic education, reconciliation between the parties in conflict, reparation for damages, non-repetition and respect for the memory of victims.”
In her award acceptance speech the director of Cauce Ciudadano, Erika Llanos, popular educator and the first female member of the organization who is not a former pandillera, expressed her gratitude for the award and highlighted the commitment of Cauce Ciudadano to “transform fear and re-humanize daily life,” with its work both in schools and in prisons, and “to speak with those involved in crime and bring together victims and victimizers,” with a special emphasis on the fight for gender equality and the recognition of women. For his part, the founder of the organization, Carlos Cruz, in a moving speech, defended “a narrative of justice and peace beyond security” to reverse the climate of violence and crime in Mexico, and the need to “listen and love” to build peace and to organize at the social level to create “peace economies.” Cruz also dedicated a few words to Catalan politicians in prison and in exile, expressing his desire for their return home, the same desire he has for the thousands of disappeared people in Mexico.
In the closing ceremony, the Minister for Foreign Action, Alfred Bosch, defended dialogue and justice to build peace and he highlighted the work of Cauce Ciudadano to “make the world a better place.” The president of Parliament, Roger Torrent, evoked the memory of the politicians in prison and in exile, especially Carme Forcadell and the conseller Raül Romeva, “a woman and a man of peace, builders of peace, accused of violent uprisings that never happened.” Torrent recalled that “peace is not just an absence of violent attitudes; peace is built against repression, impositions and threats.”
Previously granted
The first edition of the award in 2011 recognized the struggle of conscientious objectors and “insubmisos” (people who refuse to do military service or any substitute social work) represented by Pepe Beúnza, the first conscientious objector to compulsory military service for ideological reasons in Spain. The same year, in an extraordinary edition of the award, the Parliament of Catalonia was honored for representing the continuity and legacy of the institutions “Pau i Treva” and “Consolat de Mar.”
Then, in 2012, the ICIP Award was granted to five Madres de Soacha (Mothers of Soacha) for their work in favor of peace and human rights in Colombia. The next year the award was granted to the ex-general born in Belgrade, Jovan Divjak, for his courage in the defense of Sarajevo during the Balkans War and his work in favor of the victims of that conflict.
In 2014, honored the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) for its century-long involvement in the work of women for peace, while in 2015 was granted to the Capuchin friar Joan Botam, promoter of numerous initiatives linked to peace and ecumenism.
In 2016, the ICIP Peace in Progress Award recognized the work carried out by Peace Brigades International in the support and accompaniment of human rights defenders.
In the last edition of the award, in 2017, the ICIP recognized the activist Arcadi Oliveres, for his commitment and tireless dedication to the promotion of peace, social justice and human rights.

On 25, 26 and 27 September, ICIP organized the First International Forum on Peacebuilding in Mexico together with Taula per Mèxic and the Mexican organization Serapaz. The event brought together forty speakers and more than a hundred attendees from the academic and cultural worlds, social activism, institutions and journalism. Three days of discussions about the opportunities and glimmers of hope that have recently emerged in Mexico to advance in peacebuilding, in a country with extremely high rates of violence: homicides, extortions, kidnappings, enforced disappearances and numerous human rights violations.

A number of experts participated in the Forum in order to address the current challenges that Mexico faces in various areas: from security, migration analysis, struggles for the defense of land and territory, the situation regarding freedom of the press and the need to make progress in the areas of truth, justice and reparation for victims.

The celebration of the Forum coincided with the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of 43 students in Ayotzinapa, in Iguala, an emblematic case of impunity, corruption and the lack of truth and justice that exists in the country. The father of one of the young students, Epifanio Álvarez, participated in the conference, bringing Barcelona his struggle and that of the thousands of families with relatives who have disappeared. Also participating was Yolanda Álvarez, mother of a person who disappeared in 2008 at the hands of the military and present director of Colectivo Búscame, an organization for relatives of disappeared persons.

The opening session of the Forum, on Wednesday, 25 September, was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfred Bosch, the general director of Cooperation, Manel Vila, the Deputy Mayor of Barcelona, Laura Pérez Castaño, along with representatives of ICIP, Taula per Mèxic and Serapaz.

Videos of the Forum sessions are available on the ICIP YouTube channel.

Speakers participating in the Forum include representatives of the Collective for the Analysis of Security with Democracy (CASEDE), CIDOB, the Oaxaca Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Service for Peace and Justice (SERPAJ), the Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS), the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights, the Institute for Integrated Transitions, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame and the Human Rights Institute of Catalonia.

The Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council and Casa Amèrica Catalunya collaborated in the organization of the Forum.

The event is part of the ICIP work program “Violence outside the context of war.”

Coinciding with the celebration of the Forum, ICIP has published the monograph “Mexico: tracing opportunities for peace” in the Peace in Progress journal. It is available in English, Catalan and Spanish.

 

 

Cauce Ciudadano is an organization founded in 2000 by young former gang members, with the goal of offering comprehensive support and opportunities to other teens that experience and/or generate violence in settings characterized by social exclusion and a strong presence of drug trafficking and criminal groups.

The organization focuses on socio-educational and socio-community work in schools, public spaces, juvenile detention facilities and penitentiaries, with the aim of training young people as agents of social change. Since its inception, the organization has assisted 230,000 people and, in a country like Mexico, characterized by the war on drugs, Cauce Ciudadano has designed a model for the prevention of violence from a human rights perspective, with an emphasis on health promotion, attention to the damage caused and rehabilitation.

The ICIP Award ceremony took place on Tuesday 12 March at the Parliament of Catalonia. The ceremony was presided over by the president of Parliament, Roger Torrent; the Minister for Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency, Alfred Bosch; and ICIP president Xavier Masllorens.

On Thursday 13 September, ICIP held the seminar “How to tackle violence outside of armed conflict settings” at the Palau Centelles in Barcelona. The seminar brought together experts in the violence affecting various countries in Latin America, a region where 40% of the homicides registered worldwide occur. This violence is linked to common problems such as organized crime, drug trafficking, gangs, corruption, inequality and poverty.
After ICIP president Xavier Masllorens’ welcoming remarks, the initial reflection was given by Ivan Briscoe, director of the Latin American and Caribbean program of the International Crisis Group. In his comments he established connections between the political violence and the criminal violence affecting the region, which “are not isolated phenomena,” and he reflected on the new types of extremely cruel and selective violence aimed at political and social leaders, which states need to know how to tackle.
The following speeches were given by Jessica Cohen, an international security analyst, Katherine Aguirre (Igarapé Institute of Brazil), Raquel Willadino (Observatório de Favelas of Brazil), Carles Feixa (Pompeu Fabra University), David Bondia (Human Rights Institute of Catalonia), Marc Bosch (Doctors Without Borders), and Gisela Cardús (Catalan Refugee Aid Commission).
The different speakers highlighted the need to address the structural causes of violence (such as inequalities, social exclusion and a lack of opportunities); the need to establish more coordination at the local, national and regional levels; to study the violence from a multidisciplinary approach; and to search for individual responses for each type of violence based on strategies of prevention and conflict transformation which go beyond current militarization policies. As a matter of fact, regarding positive strategies, a special mention was made of the cases of cities such as Ciudad Juárez (Mexico), San Pedro Sula (Honduras) and Medellín (Colombia), which for years registered the highest rates of violence and which have undergone a progressive reduction in the number of violent deaths. A reflection was also made regarding the need to respond to violence within a framework of respect for and compliance with human rights. The conference also addressed direct consequences of violence, such as population displacement and demands for asylum or humanitarian action.
Oscar Mateos, the director of the ICIP program “Violence outside of armed conflict settings,” mentioned as final conclusions the need to study strategies for the prevention of violence and for social transformation in order to be able to offer life projects in very precarious contexts, and to build emancipating and liberating peace models, which prevent violence from becoming a routine phenomenon, as an alternative to securitized peace models. He warned of the inability of states to respond to this violence and of the need to place value on sub-state actors and the creative and hopeful power of civil society.
During the seminar, a minute of silence was observed in memory of Vicent Martínez Guzmán, former vice president of ICIP, and Anna Bastida, a former member of the ICIP Governing Board. With their academic and personal expertise, these two people worked notably in the field of peacebuilding and the promotion of peace.