Harbingers of Hope Peace Initiatives in Colombia

With the reelection of incumbent President Alvaro Uribe on May 28, 2006, a “ripe moment” may be emerging for resolving Colombia’s long-standing armed conflict. After exerting pressure on the guerrillas and demobilizing the largest paramilitary organization during his first term, President Uribe is well-positioned to pursue a political solution to the conflict. If he does not, the window of opportunity may close and the conflict could quickly intensify. • The Colombian state has a rich and varied history of negotiating peace at the national level with illegal armed groups. Increasingly, state authorities at local and regional levels, as well as individuals, groups, and communities within civil society, have gained experience in negotiating peace with armed actors and establishing mechanisms for the nonviolent resolution of conflict. • Since local peacebuilding involves informal, unofficial (“track two”) diplomacy, a central question is how these local experiences might contribute to “track two” diplomacy at the national level. • Vibrant, organized, and diverse, civil society actors are seeking ways to participate in a future negotiation while debating what form that participation might take. These actors generally agree on the need for citizen mobilization and peace education, political support for dialogue with armed actors, increased and broader citizen participation in any peace process, and solidarity with all the victims of violence. • Peace initiatives that cut across geographic lines offer opportunities for more comprehensive approaches. Women’s, indigenous, and Afro-Colombian groups have successfully organized at the local, regional, national, and, increasingly, international levels, and women’s groups have designed consensus peace agendas. These sectors have borne the brunt of the conflict and have high stakes in its resolution. • International actors can be most effective if they play a subsidiary or complementary role that supports and builds on local, regional, and national peace initiatives. They can provide financial or technical assistance, support basic human rights protection, and monitoring, and accompany peace and development initiatives. They also can facilitate consensus that will lead to public policies more conducive to the transformation of the conflict. • Contrary to the usual notion that peacemaking should take place before peacebuilding, post-conflict reconstruction, and reconciliation, and that humanitarian assistance should be emphasized overdevelopment, the case of Colombia suggests that concurrent pursuit of these goals can help reduce violence, mitigate conflict, and create conditions for a peace accord.