Transitional Justice and Victims' Rights before the End of a Conflict: The Unusual Case of Colombia

2010 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEMIMA GARCÍA-GODOS ◽  
KNUT ANDREAS O. LID
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Unusual Case ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Clear Link ◽  
The Law ◽  
Armed Actors

AbstractIn a context of continuing armed conflict, a comprehensive scheme of transitional justice has been developed in Colombia since 2005 through the Law of Justice and Peace, with the aim of achieving peace with one of the armed actors in the conflict, the paramilitary groups. The clear link between the demobilisation of illegal armed groups and the rights of the victims is the main feature of the Colombian process. This article provides a systematic review of the implementation of the law, focusing on the institutions, mechanisms and procedures put in place to fulfil its goals. Emphasis is given to the legal category of ‘victim’, victims' rights and victim reparation measures. By exploring how the scheme works in principle and in practice, we are able to assess the prospects for victims' rights in Colombia today.

The Oxford Handbook of International Law in Armed Conflict

2014 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right

TheHandbookconsists of 32 Chapters in seven parts. Part I provides the historical background and sets out some of the contemporary challenges. Part II considers the relevant sources of international law. Part III describes the different legal regimes: land warfare, air warfare, maritime warfare, the law of occupation, the law applicable to peace operations, and the law of neutrality. Part IV introduces key concepts in international humanitarian law: weapons and the notion of superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering, the principle of distinction, proportionality, genocide and crimes against humanity, grave breaches and war crimes, internal armed conflict. Part V looks at key rights: the right to life, the prohibition on torture, the right to fair trial, economic, social and cultural rights, the protection of the environment, the protection of cultural property, and the human rights of the members of the armed forces. Part VI covers key issues such as: the use of force, terrorism, unlawful combatants, the application of human rights in times of armed conflict, forced migration, and issues of gender. Part VII deals with accountability issues including those related to private security companies, the need to focus on armed groups, as well as questions of state responsibility brought before national courts, and finally, the book addresses issues related to transitional justice.

scholarly journals Lessons for the law of armed conflict from commitments of armed groups: identification of legitimate targets and prisoners of war

2011 ◽  
Vol 93 (882) ◽  
pp. 463-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandesh Sivakumaran
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Prisoners Of War ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Law ◽  
Rules Set

AbstractArmed groups frequently issue ad hoc commitments that contain a law of armed conflict component. These commitments detail the obligation of the relevant armed group to abide by international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, or particular rules set out in the commitment. They commit the group to abide by international standards, sometimes exceed international standards, or in certain respects violate international standards. Although these commitments are often overlooked, they offer certain lessons for the law of armed conflict. This article considers the commitments of armed groups with respect to two specific areas of the law that are either of contested interpretation or seemingly inapplicable to non-international armed conflicts, namely the identification of legitimate targets and the prisoners of war regime.

scholarly journals Corredores y territorios estratégicos del conflicto armado colombiano: una prioridad por territorializar en la geopolítica de los actores armados / Strategic corridors and territories in the colombian armed conflict: a priority for territorializing for

2020 ◽  
pp. 9-36
Author(s):  
Luis Gabriel Salas Salazar
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Political Geography ◽  
The Political ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Regional Process ◽  
A Priority ◽  
Armed Actors

Los recientes estudios e investigaciones del conflicto armado en Colombia han hecho referencia a la posible existencia de corredores y territorios estratégicos, no obstante, no han ofrecido evidencias concretas de su existencia, ni mucho menos han logrado caracterizar su territorialidad. El trabajo investigativo que aquí se presenta tuvo como objetivo analizar e interpretar la dinámica de las territorialidades de los corredores y territorios estratégicos de los actores del conflicto armado colombiano, en el periodo 1990-2009, desde una perspectiva de la Geografía Política. Las evidencias empíricas de esta investigación permiten establecer que la dinámica de las territorialidades de estos espacios estratégicos del conflicto armado colombiano se ha desplegado a través de tres niveles: en el nacional, en el regional y en el subregional-local. Para cada uno de ellos existe una dinámica territorial, en donde los actores armados han configurando una condición multiescalar de las territorialidades de los corredores y territoriosgeoestratégicos en Colombia.Palabras clave: Colombia, Conflicto Armado, Corredores Estratégicos,Geopolítica, Territorios estratégicos. Abstract Recent studies and investigations of the armed conflict in Colombia have made reference to the possible existence of corridors and strategic territories. However, have not offered concrete evidence of their existence, much less have they managed to characterize its territoriality. This researchwork’s aim is to analyze and interpret the dynamics of the corridors’ territories, as well as the Colombian armed actors’ strategic areas during the period of 1990-2009, from the Political Geography perspective. Empirical evidence from this research allows us to establish that the dynamics of the territoriality of these strategic areas of the armed conflictin Colombia, have been deployed across three levels: national, regional and local sub-regional. For each, there is a regional process, where armed groups have been setting up a multi-scale status of the corridors’ territories and geo-strategic areas in Colombia.Keywords:Armed Conflict, Strategic Corridors, Colombia, Geopolitical,Strategic territory.

Part IV The Right to Reparation/Guarantees of Non-Recurrence, B Guarantees of Non-Recurrence of Violations, Principle 37 Disbandment of Parastatal Armed Forces/Demobilization and Social Reintegration of Children

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duthie Roger ◽  
Mayer-Rieckh Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Social Reintegration ◽  
Criminal Violence ◽  
The Right

Principle 37 focuses on the disbandment of parastatal armed forces and the demobilization and social reintegration of children involved in armed conflicts. It articulates measures designed to prevent the transformation of conflict violence to criminal violence through the dismantling and reintegration of all armed groups engaged in abuses, and outlines comprehensive responses to the injustices experienced by children during armed conflict. This chapter first provides a contextual and historical background on Principle 37 before discussing its theoretical framework and practice. It then examines the importance of reintegration processes and how they can be affected by transitional justice measures, along with their implications for former child combatants. It also highlights the relevance of measures for dealing with unofficial armed groups from an impunity standpoint, as well as the efforts of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs to address them.

1 The Scope and Structure of This Book

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
McLaughlin Robert
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Legal Doctrine ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Law

This introductory chapter argues that most difficulties encountered in the application of the law of armed conflict (LOAC), or in proffering fixes for alleged lacunae in LOAC, are dealt with through exegetical analysis from modern rules and their underpinning principles. This is generally undertaken with a view towards progressive development of the law. Nowhere is this more currently apparent than in relation to grappling with the status and obligations of non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in the context of non-international armed conflict (NIAC). The chapter then presents three assumptions. The legal assumption is that the threshold between civil war and international armed conflict (IAC) is not an exact correlate of that between NIAC and IAC. The doctrinal assumption is that the harmonization of NIAC and IAC LOAC will never be total. Finally, the historical assumption is that a true rendering of the utility and influence of a legal doctrine is born of an assessment of its uses as an analytical tool, not just as a label for an outcome. The chapter also sets out the methodological background to the project: why and how this book will examine recognition of belligerency, and some clarifications on terminology.

Personal Self-Defense and the Standing Rules of Engagement

2018 ◽  
pp. 109-124
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Ford
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
The Law ◽  
The U.S

The U.S. military Standing Rules of Engagement (SROE) restrict the use of force in armed conflict to either self-defense or “mission-specific” rules of engagement, which refer to the use of force against members of enemy armed forces or organized armed groups that have been “declared hostile.” This bifurcation of authority works well in an international armed conflict, where the enemy force is uniformed and easily distinguished. In these circumstances, the overwhelming number of engagements are against identified hostile forces. In many non-international armed conflicts, however, combatants actively attempt to camouflage their status, and U.S. forces find themselves engaging enemy forces under a self-defense framework. This creates problems. Consider, for example, a situation where three individuals of unknown affiliation launch an attack against a U.S. military convoy in Afghanistan. After a short engagement, the attackers get in a van and speed away from the attack site. The U.S. convoy is disabled, but an unmanned aerial vehicle tracks the van as it retreats into the desert. Thirty minutes later an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter arrives on scene above the still-retreating van. Can the Apache attack the vehicle? The van is retreating and poses no threat, thus self-defense principles would not allow for the use of force, despite the fact that the occupants are clearly directly participating in hostilities. This chapter addresses three questions: Why are the SROE drafted in this manner? What is the basis in the law for the SROE’s approach to self-defense? What are the problems presented by this approach?

Examining the Use of Amnesties and Pardons as a Response to Internal Armed Conflict

2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew G Reiter
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Internal Armed Conflict ◽  
The Past ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Lasting Peace ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Internal Armed Conflicts

The use of amnesty for human rights violations has been heavily criticised on legal, ethical and political grounds. Yet amnesties have been the most popular transitional justice mechanisms over the past four decades, particularly in the context of internal armed conflict. States justify these amnesties by claiming they are important tools to secure peace. But how successful is amnesty in accomplishing these goals? This article seeks to answer this question by analysing the use and effectiveness of 236 amnesties used in internal armed conflicts worldwide since 1970. The article first creates a typology of the use of amnesty in the context of internal armed conflict. It then qualitatively examines the impact on peace of each type of amnesty. The article finds that most amnesties granted in the context of internal armed conflict have no demonstrable impact on peace and security. Yet amnesties granted as carrots to entice the surrender of armed actors occasionally succeed in bringing about the demobilisation of individual combatants or even entire armed groups. More importantly, amnesties extended as part of a peace process are effective in initiating negotiations, securing agreements, and building the foundation for long-lasting peace.

Sanctions as a means of obtaining greater respect for humanitarian law: a review of their effectiveness

2008 ◽  
Vol 90 (870) ◽  
pp. 221-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie La Rosa
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
The Law ◽  
Compliance With The Law ◽  
Lasting Influence

AbstractThere are several aspects to reviewing the role of punishment in ensuring greater respect for international humanitarian law. First, there is the question of improving compliance with the law, second, the focus on the punishment itself and, third, the characteristics of the perpetrators. The situation of armed groups is dealt with separately. The article also examines transitional justice as an accompanying measure and the problem of how to take care of the victims. Finally, suggestions are presented which could help the parties concerned in the establishment of a system of sanctions capable of having a lasting influence on the conduct of weapon bearers so as to obtain greater respect for international humanitarian law.

scholarly journals TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE: THE REINTEGRATION OF CHILD SOLDIERS THROUGH POST-CONFLICT METHODS OF JUSTICE

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 474
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Barbosa-Fohrmann
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Made In

<p>This paper examines the problematic of child soldiers, based on inter alia the strategy of research <br />and study of the United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for <br />Children and Armed Conflict and on the priorities of the Machel Study. Here, national and international <br />law will be applied on countries where children are recruited by armed groups. Concerning domestic <br />jurisdiction alternative or traditional methods of justice as well as formal legal methods will be <br />addressed. Specifically, this paper will focus on three main subjects: 1) the possibility of prosecution <br />and judgment of adolescents, who participated in armed conflicts; 2) prosecution and judgment of war lords <br />and 3) civil reparation proportional to the damage caused by an armed conflict. These three subjects will <br />be construed according to (traditional or alternative and formal) national and international law. Finally, <br />some recommendations will be made in order to improve the system of reintegration of child soldiers in <br />post-conflict countries.</p>

scholarly journals Reclutamiento de migrantes en la frontera colombo-venezolana

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-54
Author(s):  
Diego Alejandro Pérez Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Academic Information ◽  
Drug Traffickers ◽  
Armed Actors

Recruitment has been a phenomenon present in the context of the Colombian armed conflict. Thus, illegal armed groups (ELN, dissent from the former FARC, paramilitary groups, drug traffickers, among others) have seen migration as an opportunity to increase the number of members in their ranks. Thus, the exodus of Venezuelans has become an attractive phenomenon for recruitment where armed groups take advantage of irregular dynamics and socio-territorial complexities to increase the range of action of attacks, fighting and presence. That said, the research question is: How has the flow of Venezuelan migrants on the Colombian-Venezuelan border contributed to the strengthening of illegal armed actors? Due to the lack of academic information, the investigation will use as collection instruments: interviews with academics, decision makers and journalistic work.

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