This policy briefing discusses the ways that local actors in Nariño, Colombia, create unarmed civilian protection strategies spontaneously in response to conflict dynamics. It proposes a working definition of Spontaneous Unarmed Civilian Protection (SUCP) and offers a set of policy recommendations to the international community, the Colombian state, and civil society and grassroots organisations, to strengthen these processes.
This policy briefing is an outcome of “Understanding Community-level and Spontaneous Unarmed Civilian Protection” Research Project led by the Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace at the University of Winchester, in partnership with Rodeemos el Diálogo (ReD, Embrace Dialogue) in Colombia. It was supported by the Network Plus “Creating Safer Space”, financed by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).