Tag Archives: Latin America

Colombia ceasefire is a step forward for the culture of peace

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At CPNN we have received numerous statements welcoming the recent ceasefire in Colombia. Here are some of them.

Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations:

“Today the Colombian peace process validates the perseverance of all those around the world who work to end violent conflict not through the destruction of the adversary, but through the patient search for compromise,”

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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, President of Colombia, at the ceremony in Havana for the signing of a ceasefire
(click on photo to enlarge)

Amada Benavides, FUNDACIÓN ESCUELAS DE PAZ, Colombia:

Today at 12:39 when President Santos and the FARC leader signed the agreement, all of us, our partners and myself, only can to cry. After 60 years of war, we not really believe what it happened in that moment. Many of us never think in could seeing this moment. 

At night, we had a workshop about WOMEN, DIVERSITY AND PEACE and the feeling turned between hope, fear and anxiety. Hope for the possibilities the agreement has. Fear for many populations is not yet convinced in the benefits of peace; and anxiety for all the work we have in this moment.

Peacebuilding moment starts just now. Today we need more support than ever.

Thanks for your words and solidarity.

PEACE NOW…. PEACE EDUCATION THE WAY. 

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Question(s) related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile:

“El poder llegar a esta etapa, de este nivel de acuerdo, que significa el fin del conflicto armado, a la definición de un cronograma muy claro de cómo se va a implementar este proceso y asegurar que los colombianos puedan vivir por primera vez en paz, creo que es algo realmente histórico.”

(CPNN translation: “The ability to reach this stage, this level of agreement, which means the end of the armed conflict, defining a very clear timetable of how to implement this process and ensure that Colombians can live for the first time in peace, I think it is something truly historic ”

Kofi Annan, Chair of The Elders:

“We are encouraged by the work so far accomplished in Havana and by the perseverance of both parties in moving the peace process towards a successful conclusion. We commend the important roles that Norway and Cuba are playing as guarantors and Chile and Venezuela as accompanying countries, as well as the US. We also welcome the role a United Nations political mission will play in providing independent and credible international verification of the ceasefire.”

Ernesto Zedillo, member of The Elders:

“Colombia is on the cusp of reaching an historic agreement. The Colombian people deserve peace and I sincerely hope they will seize this opportunity to end the violence they have lived through for generations, to bring redress for millions of victims, and to bring real opportunities to the people of the regions most affected by conflict. Peace is not an event but a process. It must be a national project, bringing together all Colombian patriots in an inclusive fashion, across political rifts, to have a respectful debate when they vote on the agreements and to ensure they are fully implemented.”

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Ceasefire between FARC and the government of Colombia is sealed in Cuba

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An article from News Marti (translated by CPNN)

On Thursday, June 23, Colombia ended over half a century of bloody armed conflict, with the signing of a historic agreement for ceasefire and disarmament between the government of Juan Manuel Santos and the leftist guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC ).

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The delegate of the FARC in Cuba, Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, alias “Timoshenko” (right) and the president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos (left) with the president of Cuba, Raul Castro (center) with the peace agreement in their hands.
(click on photo to enlarge)

The final peace agreement will be signed in Colombia, said the president of that country Juan Manuel Santos, who thanked Cuba and Raul Castro for hosting the peace process.

At a ceremony held in Havana, Santos and the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Rodrigo Londoño, or ‘Timoshenko’, listened to the reading of an agreement detailing how some 7,000 rebels will lay down arms and how they will demobilize once the final peace agreement is signed.

The announcement was made by the delegates of the guarantor countries, Cuba and Norway, in the presence of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the presidents of Mexico, Chile, Cuba, Venezuela, among others in the region.

“The decision of the parties represents a breakthrough step, the peace process is irreversible,” said the president of Cuba, Raul Castro. “Peace will be the victory of all Colombia but also throughout our America.”

The FARC agreed to surrender their weapons and leave them in the hands of the UN, which will build three monuments with them.

(Click here for the original Spanish article)

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Question(s) related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

Does Cuba promote a culture of peace?

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The bilateral ceasefire and surrender of the weapons will begin with the signing of the final peace agreement and this last point will have a term development of 180 days.

To this end, a monitoring group composed of delegates from the UN will be created by the FARC and the Colombian government to verify the delivery of the guns.

Also announced was he creation of areas and camps for demobilized guerrillas and commitment by the authorities to combat paramilitary groups, by means of a special unit of the Colombian police.

It will also seek to protect political parties, including the movement that “emerge” from the transition from the FARC to civil and political life.

There are still outstanding issues related to the countersignature of agreements to give legal and legal support to them so that they cannot be overturned by a subsequent government. Santos’s mandate ends in August 2018.

“The final peace agreement will be signed in Colombia”, Santos said. “Today I finally thank Cuba and President Raul Castro, our generous host.”

The former president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, is opposed to the peace process. He said that with this agreement, “the word peace has been wounded” and the Colombian Constitution and international treaties have been violated.

“The word peace has been wounded by accepted those responsible for crimes against humanity such as kidnapping, car bombs, recruitment of children and rape of girls, and by allowing them to spend not a single day in jail and to be elected to public positions,” he said in a statement.

“Impunity, besides being the midwife of further violence, means that the Agreements of Havana is in violation of the Constitution and international treaties to which Colombia is a signatory,” said Uribe.

The former president, who has not been in favor of dialogue with the guerrillas, began several weeks ago a campaign of “civil resistance” to the Havana agreements, including collecting signatures and public demonstrations.

Uribe said Thursday that the Santos government has agreed to “negotiate with terrorists” our democratic model, economic freedoms and social policies.”

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Colombia: No peace without Education for Peace

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An report from Amada Benavides (translated by CPNN)

The meeting “Education, Pedagogy and Cultures of Peace” in Bogota, Thursday May 19, developed an analysis of the cultural changes in academia, social and community sectors that are needed for peace in Colombia. Speakers included Alicia Cabezudo, specialist in Education for Democracy, Citizenship, Culture of Peace and Human Rights; Amada Benavides, President of the Schools of Peace Foundation; Manuel Rojas, an expert in management, evaluation and systematization of educational innovation and building cultures of peace in contexts of violence and risk; and Marcela Villegas, coordinator of the Education Alliance for Building Cultures of Peace-UNICEF. The moderator was Jorge Palacio, representative of IDEP, the Institute for the Development education. Participants also included teachers, academics and trainers who shared their experiences and daily reflections. Together, they reaffirmed that there will be no peace unless there is peace education to transform the culture, and this requires a renewal of pedagogy.

Benavides
Click on the photo to enlarge

From the academic standpoint, according to Alicia Cabezudo, we need a pedagogical movement that understands citizenship as a historical subject, and that deconstructs the war from the practices and experiences at the neighborhood, local and community levels. From the social standpoint, according to Manuel Rojas, cultural change towards peace depends on each of us as individuals, freeing outselves from the culture of war in language and practice; leaving aside individualism. Likewise, from the community perspective, it is necessary to collectively rebuild the social fabric, as explained by Marcela Villegas, taking into account the experiences of peace cultures that have developed locally. These are the practices recognized by the National Meeting on Education for Peace held last year, and presented by Amada Benavides.

The meeting was organized by Psicoandinos (The Chapter of Psychology Alumni from the University of the Andes), the Education Alliance for the Construction of Cultures of Peace, the Institute for Educational Research and development -IDEP-, Uniandinos for Peace and the Schools of Peace Foundation, celebrating its fifteenth anniversary, in order to ensure a role for education for the construction of cultures of peace in the political and public agenda of Colombia.

(Click here for the original version in Spanish)

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Guatemalan Women Healing Toward Justice: Speaking tour

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An announcement from the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala

We are excited to announce our Fall 2016 speaking tour Guatemalan Women Healing Toward Justice, featuring Maudí Tzy of the Alliance to Break the Silence and End Impunity! Through her work as a psychologist and a member of the Community Studies and Psycho-social Action Team (ECAP), Maudí has played a crucial role in integrating healing practices into movements for social and environmental justice in Guatemala.

Guatemala

Most recently, Maudí has been working in a multidisciplinary team to support the women survivors of Sepur Zarco in their landmark case against former military personnel for sexual violence and slavery committed during Guatemala’s internal armed conflict. In February of this year, this case made history by successfully trying sexual slavery as a crime against humanity —a first in the Americas for a case carried out in a national court.

This October, the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) is honored to accompany Maudí Tzy on a tour of the Southwest and Western United States to celebrate this historic victory by building toward cross-border movements for gender justice and an end to violence against women!

Each year, NISGUA’s speaking tour gives local organizers an opportunity to connect their communities with an activist working on the front lines of social movements in Guatemala. This year, we look forward to connecting Maudí with students, youth, communities of faith, women, indigenous peoples, and communities of color to share strategies for resilience and struggle while exploring the international impact of the Sepur Zarco case. We are especially interested in creating opportunities for horizontal exchange with similarly impacted communities and those supporting survivors and struggling against patriarchal and state violence in their communities.

We can’t make this happen without your support!

This year’s tour is tentatively scheduled for October 7-21 and will focus primarily on the Southwest and West Coast regions. As I write this, we anticipate events in Austin, Tucson, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the Pacific Northwest, but no matter where you live, we want to hear from you!

If you live in or near these cities, contact us today at david@nisgua.org to learn about how to bring the tour to your community! If you live outside the region, reach out to learn about organizing a listening party in your city so that your community can tune

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Peace in Colombia Is Impossible Without Us, Women Declare

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Telesur TV

Colombian women, under the banner of “One Million Women for Peace,” are demanding a greater role in the peace talks between FARC insurgents and the government as negotiations wrap up.

Colombia women
Click on photo to enlarge and to read legend

The group has been growing its ranks in an effort to promote the signing of the peace deal and prepare for post-conflict stability, sociologist and human rights activist Gloria Florez told Prensa Latina on Wednesday.

According to the activist, the newly-formed bloc aimes to create a community movement to provide popular backing for the talks, which began in 2012, and promote implementation of the deal.

The movement brings together farmers, artists, journalists, youth and political representatives of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. On Tuesday, women at the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues insisted they be included in peace processes around the world because “women are pushing the culture of peace and not the culture of war.”

The decades-long conflict in Colombia has killed about 300,000 people, while six million remain displaced from their homes and another 45,000 remain missing. The “One Million Women for Peace” campaign argues that women are essential in building alternatives once the militarization is negotiated, said a former cabinet member of the Bogota municipality.

Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

The 40 articles in CPNN linked to this question make it clear that women indeed have a special role to play in the peace movement. See the following for an historical explanation of why this is true.

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

For the first time, a Peace Plan for Cali, Colombia

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from El Pueblo (translated by CPNN)

Establishing policies and guidelines in Cali and Valle for strategic and educational activities that promote a culture of peace, peaceful coexistence and reconciliation in southwestern Colombia: that is the purpose of the “Plan for Peace and Peaceful Coexistence”, a city project led by the Peace Advisory Council of Cali, under the administration of mayor Maurice Armitage.

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Counselor Rocio Gutierrez Cely
Click on photo to enlarge

According to Counselor, Rocio Gutierrez Cely, the “Plan for Peace and Peaceful Coexistence” is a guide prepared by the Peace Advisory Council, in consultation with different social actors such as the High Council for Peace and Human Rights of the Government of Valle, the Archdiocese, universities along with staff of the mayor’s office in Cali and agencies such as the Post-Conflict Advisory Council. The purpose is to engage the competencies of each organization in order to strengthen support, alliances and joint proposals that may be pursued by and with the population of Cali and Valle. ”

Advances of the “Peace Plan Agenda”

Counselor Rocio Gutierrez Cely presented the “Plan for Peace and Peaceful Coexistence” to the Mayor of Cali and his cabinet, which is working on several components, one of which has been called “Cali , city of peace promoters”. In making the presentation, he said “we have already made progress to strengthen actions to train leaders and community organizations, as promoters of peace through justice and reconciliation.”

Other joint strategies will be developed to reinforce the actions of the Peace Advisory Council of Cali. They already have the support of the High Commissioner for Peace and Human Rights, Fabio Cardozo Montealegre, for community reintegration and restorative justice, which is conceived as a means of alternative dispute resolution.

In conclusion, the Peace Counselor said that “peace is an attitude, a lifestyle that leads us to forgive, reconcile and to realize that as we prevent conflict and empower people, especially those living in vulnerable circumstances, we are building peace. We can do this by workshops and conferences. We need everyone to be involved regardless of their socioeconomic status or whether they are in the public or private sector. ”

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article)

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Colombia celebrates agreement to legally bind the peace accord

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An article from Prensa Latina

Parliamentarians, political parties and platforms like the Patriotic March celebrated today [12 May] the agreement signed by the Colombian government and the FARC-EP to legally ensure the agreements that have been reached in the Havana.

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Video about the agreement on HispanTV

Through his Twitter account, the legislator Iván Cepeda, co-chairman of the peace committee of the Senate, lauded the decision of the belligerents to “shield” or protect the agreements.

According to the attorney Humberto de la Calle, the chief government spokespersons in these discussions, the final document will have the category of Special Agreement under the terms of Article III common to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the cornerstone of international humanitarian law. It will then be incorporated into national law following its approval in Congress, followed by presidential approval, he said.

Since 2012 representatives of the Colombia executive and the Revolutionary Armed People’s Forces (FARC-EP) in Cuba have engaged in a dialogue to find a political solution to the civil war, an initiative that is expected to be concluded soon.

The Patriotic Union party said in a statement that this is one of the best news the Colombian people could receive in the face of the media and political campaign promoted by the extreme right against the peace process. In their view, it will facilitate compliance with the principles of sustainability and the stability of the accords.

The agreement will be binding and no one can change it one iota, according to the platform Patriotic March, led by former congressman Piedad Cordoba.

Referring to the development of the meetings with the FARC-EP, Humberto de la Calle said that the two delegations are working hard to define the terms of the bilateral and definitive ceasefire, the surrender of weapons and disarmament of the insurgents, areas of temporary location for the guerrillas and guarantees for the future of the demobilized.

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Civil society has a critical role to play in ensuring lasting peace in Latin America: Tunisian Nobel Peace prize winner Ali Zeddini, speaking in Colombia

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by Civicus

BOGOTA, 25th April: Speaking at a press briefing to mark the opening of International Civil Society Week 2016, Nobel Prize winning Tunisian activist Ali Zeddini highlighted the role that civil society must play if there is to be sustainable peace in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and other Latin American countries.

Zedini
Ali Zeddini
Click on photo to enlarge

‘From the political crises in Venezuela and Brazil to the Colombian peace negotiations, civil society must have a role in the whole peace process, before, during and after’, said Zeddini, who played a critical role in the peaceful revolution and democratic transition in Tunisia.

‘Civil society is the conscience of a people and as such must participate in the defence of the people’s interests,’ added Zeddini. “Tunisia’s example shows that organised civil society can provide education and support to move away from violence and this can inspire other countries.’

Liliana Patricia Rodriguez Burgos, Executive Director of Confederación Colombiana de ONG (CCONG), the Colombian host organisation for ICSW 2016 welcomed Zeddini and civil society leaders, including Danny Sriskandarajah, Secretary General of CIVICUS, the co-organisers of the conference.

#ICSW2016 is the largest and most diverse gathering of its kind with over 900 leading activists, thinkers and media from 109 countries meeting this week to celebrate the power of people and movements to fight human rights, democracy and development struggles.

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How can we develop the institutional framework for a culture of peace?

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Venezuelan constitutional legal expert and LGBTI activist Tamara Adrián praised the role that civil society plays saying, ‘In Venezuela there are no government numbers on violence, teenage pregnancy, access to medicine, and how many people go hungry. NGOs and academics provide research and raise awareness on these key issues’.

The gathering happens against the backdrop of a global repressive trend of increased attacks on the people and organisations that defend our basic human rights.

‘Civil society is facing a global crisis’, said Sriskandarajah, ‘CIVICUS is tracking serious human rights violations in 101 countries, from dictatorships to democracies. Politicians fear dissenting voices. Anti-terrorism measures and the notion of insecurity are being used to shut down citizen action. Political and economic inequality are on the rise. From activists to social movements, lawyers to media, now more than ever we need civil society to stand together in solidarity against a global tide of government repression.’

Amongst the most brutal examples of repressive acts are the harassment, physical violence and targeted killings of human rights defenders, human rights lawyers and journalists, which continue to increase. In 2015 alone, 156 human rights defenders lost their lives and the murders of Berta Cáceres and her fellow activist Nelson García in Honduras in March highlighted again the on-going crisis.

In Latin America land, environmental, and indigenous rights activists are being specifically targeted as mines, agribusiness and megaprojects such as dams are being pushed through in countries including Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Building peace from Colombian universities

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An article from Fundacion Escuelas de Paz, reprinted by the Global Campaign for Peace Education

“Peacebuilders” is a program that seeks the integral formation of 1,200 university students in Colombia, involved in the scholarship program “Dreams of Peace” of Bancolombia Foundation, in knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes conducive to building Cultures of Peace.

Colombia
Click on the photo to enlarge

Peacebuilders is carried out by Escuelas de Paz (Schools of Peace) Foundation based on the six components proposed by UNESCO in the 2000 manifesto for a culture of peace and non-violence. Also it works on the six pillars raised by the methodology of education for peace, known as “The Flower for the Culture of Peace”. Finally, as a transversal axis the Guiding Principles of UN Secretary General on the Participation of Youth in Peace Building were taken.

These participants will implement impact actions on their university communities through collective nonviolent actions that enable a more just society. Due to the national situation of peace talks between the government and the FARC guerrilla in Havana, Cuba, it was formed a group of 70 students leaders in building and advocacy of cultures of peace, historical memory and reconciliation, with capabilities for replication in the next semesters and to design and implement new actions for peace within the institutions in which they were formed.

In a first stage, 320 students have been trained in three cities in the country: Bogotá D.C, Cartagena y Manizales since July 2015. The scholarship program of Bancolombia Foundation is an initiative developed from the line of social management of Bancolombia, who have an interest in developing a program of high social impact, which aims to provide resources and conditions that allow students with specific characteristics as vulnerable conditions, to access to higher education in technical, technological and university programs nationwide.

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Mexico City: A system of mediation to be applied in all 16 delegations

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by Lemic Madrid, Azteca Noticias

In Mexico City a system of mediation will be applied as an alternative means to resolve conflicts in the communities of the 16 delegations; With this action, citizens in the capital city will be able to reach agreement with authorities to resolve issues of security, services and urban infrastructure.

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City Prosecutor Rodolfo Ríos Garza

The Superior Court of Justice and the Attorney General of the capital will promote the training of mediators who will work to ensure access to justice and the rights of all parties in conflict, seeking a satisfactory solution for the benefit of the community.

“The major objective of community mediation is to consider all people as citizens with rational capacity to voluntarily settle their conflicts, so that they do not need to reach the courts … They will be supported by a community mediator who legitimizes the process,” according to the President of the Capital City Court of Justice, Edgar Elias Azar.

During his participation in the signing of the agreement to implement the system in the 16 delegations of the capital, he said that in criminal matters, this strategy has generated savings of resources and time by establishing a dialogue between the conflicting parties.

As for the city prosecutor, Rodolfo Rios Garza, he said the mediation system has generated dividends by ensuring compensation for damage and by shortening the time required for the settlement of a conflict by means of a dialogue between the two sides.

“This can be seen through the activity carried out by mediation units in law enforcement, which, from January 2015 to February 2016, recorded 7,326 processes, leading to the signing of 1,871 agreements and 860 agreements with reparations, thus achieving the proper settlement of disputes between the parties involved in a conflict of criminal content,” said the city prosecutor, Rodolfo Rios Garza. He indicated that these results led to the decision to extend mediation to other areas of public life.

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article)

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