{"id":7817,"date":"2016-09-30T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T12:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.journals.law.harvard.edu\/ilj\/?p=7817"},"modified":"2016-10-19T23:36:05","modified_gmt":"2016-10-20T03:36:05","slug":"history-in-action-colombia-prepares-for-plebiscite-on-peace-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/ilj\/2016\/09\/history-in-action-colombia-prepares-for-plebiscite-on-peace-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"History in Action: Colombia Prepares for Plebiscite on Peace Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kelsey Jost-Creegan*<\/span><\/p>\n

This article is the first of a series of articles to be published on the Colombian Peace Process over the course of the next weeks. We hope to offer in-depth and substantive analysis to an English-speaking and international audience, reflective of the many rich debates that are currently taking place in Colombia.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This Sunday, Colombian citizens will decide whether to approve the Peace Agreement reached on August 24th<\/sup> between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia \u2013 People\u2019s Army (FARC). The Agreement was signed on Monday, September 26th<\/sup> in Cartagena, Colombia, but a favorable vote is essential for the Peace Process to move forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Background: The Colombian Conflict <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Colombian Conflict is the longest-running<\/a> armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere, and the only one that continues to be active. The conflict has left<\/a> over 260,000 people dead, 45,000 people disappeared, and 6.6 million people displaced. The conflict is highly complex and involves a number of actors that have evolved over time, including leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and national armed forces.<\/span><\/p>\n

Atrocious crimes\u2014murder, disappearance, displacement, sexual violence, torture, and massacres\u2014have been committed at different points in the conflict by all parties involved. The Latin America Working Group explains<\/a>, \u201c[r]ural, impoverished, and marginalized communities\u2014including Afro-Colombians, indigenous, and women\u2014were disproportionately affected by the violence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The current conflict has its roots<\/a> in the formation of armed leftist guerilla movements that spread across Latin America in the 1960s, opposing political elites and extreme socioeconomic and regional inequality. While these movements were in some ways novel, political violence revolving around<\/a> issues of land rights and rural inequality had been a reoccurring problem<\/a> since Colombia\u2019s founding. Conflicts<\/a> in the 1920s between landowners and small-scale farmers in Colombia\u2019s coffee region, the 1948 assassination of presidential candidate Jorge Eli\u00e9cer Gait\u00e1n, and the subsequent ten years of conflict known as \u201cLa Violencia\u201d are just a few examples of this unrest.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia \u2013 People\u2019s Army (FARC)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The FARC<\/a>, formed in 1964, was one of these guerilla groups. It follows<\/a> a Marxist-Leninist ideology, and has its roots in campesino<\/em> (peasant farmer) advocacy for land rights. It began as one of a number of campesino<\/em> groups<\/a> fostered by the Communist Party (PCC) that declared \u201cindependent republics\u201d in the countryside, where the government\u2019s institutional presence had always been weak. The FARC\u2019s campesino <\/em>forebears declared an independent \u201cRepublic of Marquetalia\u201d in 1964. When the government responded with heavy military force\u2014sending nearly 2,000 soldiers to counter a settlement with less than 100 members\u2014the campesinos<\/em> retreated into the jungle. Two months later, the 48 remaining campesinos<\/em> signed<\/a> the Agrarian Program of the Guerrillas, effectively establishing the FARC.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beginning in the 1970s, and increasing significantly in the 1980s, the FARC became involved<\/a> in drug trafficking and kidnapping to finance their movement. Their involvement with drugs began by imposing taxes on farms growing drugs, but with time escalated to include direct production and export. Right-wing paramilitary groups<\/a> also consolidated and expanded during this period, prompting a severe escalation in violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time<\/a>, the FARC transformed significantly. In 1982 the organization \u201ctransformed . . . from a defensive group to an offensive national entity.\u201d In the 1990s it broke off from the PCC, although it continued to preach Marxist-Leninism. It was around this time that the FARC developed the highly hierarchical structure<\/a> under which it has operated to this day.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is estimated that, at its peak, the FARC had<\/a> nearly 20,000 members, though that number has diminished<\/a> to between 6,300 and 7,000 active members today. The FARC is also believed to have an affiliated militia<\/a>; estimates for the number of militia members vary anywhere from 5,800 to 13,000 and there is little consensus as to their role and whether they are armed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The New Peace Agreement: 4 Years of Negotiations, 6 Parts, and 300 Pages <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The current Peace Agreement is the result of nearly four years of negotiations held in Havana, Cuba. Formal negotiations, which began on November 19, 2012, followed two years of preliminary negotiations to determine negotiation process.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not the first time that the Colombian government has tried to negotiate with the FARC. Presidents Belisario Betancur (1982\u20131986) and Andr\u00e9s Pastrana (1998\u20132001) both oversaw negotiations. However, both attempts failed and the violence continued. This is the first time the groups have reached a full agreement and, accordingly, the first time such an agreement will be put to a vote.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Final Agreement for the End of the Conflict and the Construction of a Stable and Lasting Peace<\/a> is lengthy and complex\u2014composed of Six Parts and totaling nearly 300 pages, it covers topics ranging from land reform to drug policy to transitional justice. Later articles in this series will provide a detailed breakdown of each Part.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the Agreement\u2019s length and complexity, there have been concerns about the extent to which the voting population will be able to make an informed decision, particularly given the quick turnaround between its release and vote (just over a month). To this end, the Colombian High Commissioner for Peace established a website<\/a> summarizing the Agreement\u2019s main points in both Spanish and a variety of indigenous languages<\/a>. Civil society organizations have also made audio recordings<\/a>, online videos<\/a>, and Whatsapp groups to cover main takeaways and answer questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Approval Process: Where are we now? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A multistep approval process began to unfold once the Agreement was announced.<\/span><\/p>\n

Developments to Date <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n