Last May, a Harvard Kennedy School team traveled to Colombia to conduct extensive interviews about the recently completed peace process between the government and the FARC guerrillas. The result is a set of two multimedia case studies covering a range of issues and perspectives related to this negotiation, one of the lengthiest and most innovative ever attempted in a conflict-torn country.
"Peace and Justice in Colombia" explores the tradeoffs between these two goals and the debate over the meaning of justice and accountability that unfolded not only at the negotiation table, but in Colombian society at large, threatening the fate of the peace process.
In "Colombia’s Peace Negotiations", we look at the combination of external and internal negotiations, focusing first on the strategies that were used by the government and the FARC to overcome their deep mistrust, and then on the risks of losing internal support, as evidenced by the Colombian government’s defeat in the referendum.
The cases feature video interviews with the lead government negotiators and members of the FARC negotiating team. Victims share their experiences and their views on the kind of justice they seek. Also interviewed are political leaders who question some of the decisions and outcomes yielded by this process, as well as human rights experts.
These cases can be used to inform class discussions about transitional justice, human rights, negotiations, and the role of victims in peace processes, among other issues.