International Crisis Group

Local Governments after the Conflict: The Potential Pitfalls of a Centralised Peace Process

from Crisis Group’s blog, “Latin America Crime & Politics”

by Christian Voelkel

Despite tensions triggered by FARC’s kidnapping of three members of the security forces last month and the military killing of a high-ranking guerrilla commander, the current peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) stand a fair chance of ending five decades of guerrilla warfare in the South American country. But local authorities in conflict zones remain ill-equipped to cope with the challenges they will face if a peace agreement is reached.

This lack of preparedness partly reflects the long-standing institutional weaknesses of many departments and municipalities. But the centralised nature of the current peace talks has arguably further complicated the situation for many local authorities. Negotiations are taking place in Havana, the capital of Cuba (which also serves as one the official guarantors of the process), and the relatively small government negotiating team does not include representatives of regional or local interests. As the talks are being conducted on a confidential basis, the space for direct participation has been limited, although a series of initiatives, including a webpage, regional discussions organised by the peace commissions of Congress and a civil society forum in Bogotá on rural development, has provided participatory channels.

Such a set up may increase the chances that a deal will be reached, but it may also create problems further down the line. The successful implementation of any agreement would not be in the hands of the negotiators. Other actors, including local governments would need to assume lead roles. But as Antioquia’s governor Sergio Fajardo pointed out shortly before the launch of the talks last November, local officials have so far largely remained on the sidelines of the peace process:

“As far as I know, no [local] office holder was given an explanation as to what is happening or what will happen. Businessmen yes, and some journalists. This is an error that perpetuates the perspective of the central power that it decides and then gives orders to the territories. […] If we do not take into account from now on the local office holders of the entire country, we will be in serious problems.”

Local officials and community members have largely echoed these concerns. For instance, one local government official from Urabá (Antioquia), one of Colombia’s most conflict-affected regions, told Crisis Group in a recent interview that his municipality had not yet been able to give much thought to the implications of the peace process, as they were struggling to keep up with reintegrating the existing group of demobilised paramilitaries and guerrillas.

FULL POST (Crisis Group)

Photo: kozumel/Flickr

from 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2013 | Foreign Policy

by Louise Arbour

And now, for some good news — Colombia

Finally, a political solution to Colombia’s long and bloody guerrilla war may be in sight. Following a year of secret contacts, formal peace talks between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas opened in October 2012.

The broader dynamic of the conflict also encourages a political settlement. The FARC has been weakened militarily, and this generation of leaders have possibly their last opportunity to vindicate decades of struggle by signing a peace deal that allows the guerrillas to participate in building peace. The government operates from a position of strength — its military advantage, if not decisive, appears irreversible.

The success of the talks is not assured. Differences over policy issues on the agenda are substantial, skepticism toward the FARC remains widespread among many in Colombia, and — even though a majority of Colombians back the process — support for the negotiations has been falling. But mainstream political forces remain committed to the talks, and opponents have so far failed to make much headway. The security forces are also better aligned with the civilian leadership than in the past and have a seat at the negotiation table, reducing risk of the coordination failures between political and military agendas that have marred previous peace attempts.

A decade of intense counterinsurgency warfare has greatly weakened the combat strength of the guerrillas and pushed them into ever more remote rural hideouts, substantially reducing their impact on the major urban centers. But the conflict still costs lives on a daily basis, holds back socioeconomic development, and impedes the consolidation of a truly inclusive and pluralistic democracy. The road ahead will not be short or smooth, but Colombia cannot afford to miss this chance for peace.

FULL ARTICLE (Foreign Policy)

Photo: xmascarol/Flickr

FARC ceasefire impossible to verify: analysts | AFP via Times of Malta 

A ceasefire declared by Colombia’s FARC rebels this week will prove impossible to verify without external monitoring, with the government already accusing rebels of violations and other armed groups still active. 

The FARC promised a unilateral two-month halt to military operations Monday at the start of its latest negotiations with the Government – being held in Cuba – but experts say the gesture may have little effect.

FULL ARTICLE (AFP via Times of Malta)

Photo:Utenriksdepartementet UD/Flickr

Land restitution law undermines rebels - Colombia’s Santos | Reuters

By Jack Kimball

Negotiations to end five decades of war started out bumpy this week when Ivan Marquez, lead negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, called Santos’ restitution law a “trap.

“When these gentlemen from the FARC say this law is a lie it’s because … they know full well that this is something that takes away from one of their propaganda banners,” Santos said on his radio program.

One of the FARC’s main grievances since taking up arms in 1964 has been the unequal distribution of land, which has been concentrated in the hands of a few since the Spanish conquered the region around the 16th century.

Since coming to power in 2010, Santos’ government has pushed through reforms such as the restitution of land to displaced peasants. The move was seen as paving the way for peace talks with the rebels.

FULL ARTICLE (Reuters)

Photo: Globovisión/Flickr

Colombia: Peace at Last? (AUDIO) | Huffington Post

By Kimberly Abbott, Communications Director for North America at the International Crisis Group

Peace negotiations began this week between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (known as FARC), a guerrilla group that has waged a half-century long offensive against the government. The talks in Oslo, Norway are being billed as Colombia’s best chance for peace in decades.

Indeed, a number of developments on the ground give this round of negotiations a shot at real success. To start, the government of President Santos (and President Uribe before him) has crippled the FARC militarily — killing several of its leaders, pushing them out of urban areas, and damaging the group’s ability to communicate. In addition, Santos has begun to respond to many of the underlying grievances that have fueled the FARC insurgency by instituting political reforms in areas such as land restitution and victims’ rights. These moves have shown a willingness to compromise that make the FARC’s case that war is the only option far less compelling.

This has created new incentives for the FARC, too, to come to the negotiating table. The government’s campaign has heavily damaged their military structure and capacity and made it ever clearer that change will not come about through military means. There is also an awareness that over the years FARC’s political ideology has grown more and more distant from reality.

FULL ARTICLE (Huffington Post)

Colombia’s missed opportunity to include women in peace talks | AlertNet

By Anastasia Moloney

“Not only are women the main victims of the Colombian conflict but they make up about 50 percent of the Colombian population. Women bring different perspectives and qualities that should be at the negotiating table,” Pfeiffer said. 

“It’s not only a question of common sense but Colombia has obligations with international treaties,” Pfeiffer added. 

Including women at the main negotiating table would bring Colombia in line with its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), as well as United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008), said Pfeiffer.

FULL ARTICLE (AlertNet)

Photo: momentcaptured1/Flickr

Will Colombia have peace at last? | Miami Herald

By Louise Arbour, Crisis Group’s President and CEO

More than two generations of Colombians have suffered armed conflict, kidnappings, drug trafficking and violence. Now, a political solution to the Western Hemisphere’s oldest conflict may be in sight.

Peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) will start in Norway next week. The talks will continue in Cuba and may be extended to include another guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN).

FULL ARTICLE (Miami Herald)

Photo: The Advocacy Project/Flickr

Latin America and Caribbean Views - Colombia’s missed opportunity to include women in peace talks | AlertNet

By Anastasia Moloney 

BOGOTA (AlertNet) - A decade after the last attempt to end Latin America’s longest-running insurgency failed, the Colombian government and the country’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are to sit down at the negotiating table in the Norwegian capital Oslo later this month.

They will begin to thrash out thorny issues such as victims’ rights, land ownership and cocaine production, in the hope of ending Colombia’s nearly 50-year-old war.

But there is a notable omission. There are no women on the government’s chief negotiating team.

FULL ARTICLE (AlertNet)

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