Stefan Peters (left) and Peter Ptassek during the signing of the project extension agreement on February 10, 2021 in Bogota. Photo: German Embassy in Colombia
CAPAZ will continue its academic work on transitional justice in Colombia, accompanying the mandates of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) and the Commission for the Clarification of the Truth (CEV) in Colombia. Thanks to funding being extended for the project “Stabilization of Peace in Colombia through Justice and Truth and the Protection of Human Rights“, CAPAZ will be able to support efforts to consolidate and socialize the mechanisms of transitional justice. Through its Federal Foreign Office, the German Government has guaranteed further funding of approximately 915,000 Euros for the initiative, to be executed in 2021 and 2022.
Learn more about the project (Spanish): “Estabilización de la Paz en Colombia por medio de Justicia y Verdad y Protección de Derechos Humanos”
Project news
The year 2021 will mark a milestone as it is the deadline for victims’ organizations to submit their reports to the JEP, and it is when the Truth Commission will complete its mandate and subsequently deliver its Final Report.
In this new period of project execution, legal publications with the JEP, research to support the presentation of the Commission’s Final Report, together with workshops, seminars and academic meetings with experts on transitional justice issues will be crucial. “As a novelty and contribution from academia, we will contribute to the debate on the important role of the security sector in preventing human rights violations in a post-conflict context”, affirms project coordinator, Indira Murillo.
The impact of the project in Germany
The project will also continue working with Nodo Alemania, a group that supports the Truth Commission’s mandate in Germany. “Many people had to leave Colombia as a result of the internal armed conflict. The country groups supporting the Truth Commission make it possible for their voices and the truth they have to tell to be heard as part of the peace process in Colombia“, says CAPAZ Academic Director and Professor of Peace Studies at Justus Liebig University Giessen, Prof. Dr. Stefan Peters.
The project is a joint effort by the CAPAZ Institute, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, the Centre for the Study of Latin American Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure (CEDPAL) at the University of Göttingen, the Commission for the Clarification of the Truth (CEV), and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).
Press release (.pdf, in Spanish) / Pressemitteilung (.pdf, Deutsch)
(NWText: Claudia Maya. English: Tiziana Laudato)