Subscribe to Our RSS Feed
Colombian voters will elect a new President this month; the controversial reign of Álvaro Uribe will come to an end. The first round of voting took place at the end of May and the two remaining candidates will learn their fate as voters once again take to the urns. In one corner is the close [...]
Insight on conflict: BLOG.
Posts Tagged ‘Colombia’
Presidential elections in Colombia: More of the same?
Colombia: 200 years of solitude?
In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ a defining characteristic of the town of Macondo is its isolation; from generation to generation, the isolation of its inhabitants results in all sorts of feelings and reactions. The theme is one very familiar for Colombians, for whom the absence of the state has been a [...]
VallenPaz
VallenPaz was established in 2000 and represents a wide social peace movement, which works for the transformation of the rural south-western zones in the Valle de Cauca and Cauca regions. It implements projects which create social, economic, technical and environmental conditions to guarantee that the region’s agricultural activities are productive, sustainable, profitable and equitable. VallenPaz [...]
Medios para la Paz (MPP)
Medios para la Paz (MPP) was created by a group of 80 journalists in 1998 to foster responsible journalism when reporting on the armed conflict and peace efforts in Colombia. MPP calls for media professionals to reflect on their role in the conflict and how they can help overcome conflict through thoughtful journalism. It also encourages [...]
Corporacion Nuevo Arco Iris (CNAI)
Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris (CNAI) is a Colombian non-governmental organisation which arose from the peace agreements signed between the Colombian State and a political organisation made up of ex-ELN combatants (Corriente de Renovación Socialista, CRS) in 1994. It actively promotes processes that contribute to the modernisation and democratisation of Colombia, ruling out armed violence as a [...]
REDEPAZ
REDEPAZ (Red Nacional de Iniciativas por la Paz y contra la Guerra – National Network of Initiatives for Peace and Against the War) was founded in 1993 after a series of peace initiatives. It is made up of national NGOs, civil society organisations and academics. The organisation supports, coordinates and disseminates local, regional and national [...]
Key people and parties
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC): The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) is the largest guerrilla group in Colombia. Established in 1964, fights for a revolutionary state based on Marxist-Leninist principles. It still exerts influence in the country’s south-west (Cauca, Narino and Putumayo departments) and north-east (Arauca department). [...]
Resources
Amnesty International: Reports and documents on humanitarian issues in Colombia. Conciliation Resources: Essays on the armed conflict in Colombia. Council on Foreign Relations: Papers and interviews on the Colombian conflict. Crimes on War Project: An overview and insight into the wider implications of the conflict in Colombia. The Economist: Series of articles and up-to-date news [...]
Conflict Timeline
1819: Independence forces of Simón Bolívar defeats Spanish army to set up the Republic of Gran Colombia with Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, as well as Colombia. 1948: The assassination of the left-wing mayor of Bogota, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, leads to the ‘Bogotazo’, massive urban riots and, subsequently, to a period of civil strife known as ‘La [...]
Stories
From the editors Oxfam Working Paper: Sexual Violence in Colombia (September 2009) This Oxfam Working Paper highlights how during 50 years of armed conflict in Colombia, sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war by guerrillas, military forces and paramilitaries. Sexual violence during conflict is used as a means of humiliation, breaking down [...]
