Colombia’s Transitional Justice System: Reflections, Lesson-Sharing and Sustained Peace

#Ireland #Colombia #Transitionaljustice #IrelandColombiaRelations

The Department of Foreign Affairs, in association with Notre Dame University and Queen’s University’s Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, was delighted to host a discussion on “Colombia’s Transitional Justice System: Reflections, Lesson-Sharing and Sustained Peace”, which took place in honour of the visit of an esteemed Colombian delegation to Ireland. Panellists included Luz Marina Monzón, Director of the Unit for the Search for the Disappeared; Catalina Díaz, Judge at the Special Jurisdiction for Peace; Marta Ruiz, Former Commissioner of the Truth Commission and Kroc Institute Fellow; and Laurence Simms, Joint Secretary to the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast. They were also joined by Eamon Gilmore, EU Special Envoy for the Colombian Peace Process and EU Special Representative for Human Rights.

Colombia has embarked on an ambitious path toward peace, reconciliation, and justice through the implementation of the comprehensive 2016 Peace Agreement. Supporting the implementation of this Agreement is a key pillar of Ireland’s relationship with Colombia, a priority of the European Union and an essential objective of Ireland’s Strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean. Building on existing close collaboration in this area, this panel event explored the approaches taken in Colombia’s transitional justice system and in both peace processes more broadly, drawing on the expertise of its participants to find parallels and discuss areas where lessons can be shared.