CAPAZ, in partnership with the UN Verification Mission and with a number of partner universities launched the courses “Human Rights for Peace” and “Formulation, management and evaluation of social projects”. These are part of a training strategy for former mid-level commanders of the former FARC-EP guerrilla group, called “Training courses for reincorporation“. The courses are run by Universidad del Rosario and Universidad de Antioquia, respectively.
Human Rights for Peace
This course is run by CAPAZ founding partner, Universidad del Rosario. Professors Enrique Prieto and María Teresa Palacios, from the School of Law, are in charge of the training process, designed to provide knowledge and tools To enforce and protect human rights in the international system and the Colombian normative and political system. Among the topics to be studied on the course are the structure and functioning of the Inter-American Human Rights System, the influence of International Human Rights (IHL) on transitional justice processes and transitional justice mechanisms in Colombia, among others.
Professor María Teresa Palacio expressed the following during the introductory session: “It is a pleasure to be able to be in such a constructive and important space as this one. I have dedicated myself to working on various human rights issues and I believe that we can make this a participatory and constructive space where we can exchange ideas on important topics: human rights is a discourse that belongs in our daily activities”.
The formulation, management, and evaluation of social projects
This course is run by CAPAZ partner Universidad de Antioquia, with Professor Carlos David López of the School of Law and Political Science as its coordinator.
The course emphasises on providing practical tools, not just theoretical ones, to strengthen the students’ projects (social, economic, or productive). This is expected to promote the concept of project culture as an instrument that strengthens the social fabric and contributes to the construction of territorial peace in the country. Participants will also have the opportunity to learn about the components of the project management process, and understand the methodological applications required to address this type of initiative.
The course will analyse some of the projects implemented by the students. In other words, the participants’ management skills will be acknowledged, as they have led both productive and social processes in the form of associations or cooperatives that have been consolidated since the signing of the Agreements.
The launch
The launch event hosted members of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, CAPAZ representatives, and professors from the universities coordinating the courses. John Medina, Director of the Verification Mission’s Security Assurance Area, stated that one of the objectives is “to strengthen the ability to identify problematic situations and translate them into proposals. How do we transform a situation that is identified as an opportunity for change, as an option for improvement, and represent it in a document that is easily understood by our audience?”
Another representative of the UN Verification Mission, Nancy Guerrero, expressed her expectations about the course: “We are supporting this whole process, but it is for you. It is created by you and it is for you so that you can continue to build your capacities and continue to learn. To forge a better future for yourselves”. Finally, CAPAZ Science Collaborator, Rafael Quishpe, added that “the most important thing for us at CAPAZ is to think about the issue of economic reincorporation as something central to the process today. Some projects have also come out of the drive and self-management of the participants. The idea, then, is that this can provide them with much more practical tools to be able to continue along this path of project management, whether social or economic.
Although these two courses started this year, CAPAZ already has a programme organised for 2022, as part of which, other CAPAZ partner universities will be in charge of complementing this educational offer. Universidad del Rosario will be in charge of teaching a course on IHL and the Comprehensive System of Truth, Universidad de Ibagué will teach the course Classification of Productive Projects, while Universidad Externado de Colombia will be in charge of the course on Lessons and Tools for Leadership. Finally, Universidad de los Andes will coordinate the course on Lessons and Tools for Reconciliation.