Four years have already passed since President Juan Manuel Santos signed that historic act known as the Victims and Land Restitution Law (Law 1448 of 2011) in a ceremony attended by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon. The Colombian State acknowledged then for the first time the existence of the victims of the internal armed conflict that has been going on for decades in the country, and that is not over yet. That day, Santos assured that this act was meant to ‘provide for the basis of a true reconciliation among Colombians.’

Four years have already passed since President Juan Manuel Santos signed that historic act known as the Victims and Land Restitution Law (Law 1448 of 2011) in a ceremony attended by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon. The Colombian State acknowledged then for the first time the existence of the victims of the internal armed conflict that has been going on for decades in the country, and that is not over yet. That day, Santos assured that this act was meant to ‘provide for the basis of a true reconciliation among Colombians.’

Months afterwards, several Decree-Laws were signed to establish measures for the attention, assistance, comprehensive reparation, and restitution of territorial rights for those victims belonging to indigenous peoples and communities (Decree Law 4633), to the Roma people (Decree Law 4634), and the Afro-Colombia, Raizal, and Palenque communities (Decree Law 4635). Moreover, three new entities were created: the Unit for Attention and Reparation of Victims (known as Victims Unit), the Land Restitution Unit, and the National Center of Historical Memory.

Acknowledgment and registry

By the 1st of June 2015, up to 7,438,023 victims had been acknowledged, and 5,889,658 of them are subject to attention. ‘The Single Registry of Victims is a technic-administrative tool for the acknowledgement and characterization of the victims of the armed conflict that allows us to organize the State response, and it is also a mechanism to dignify them, and for historical memory in terms of acknowledgement of what happened during the conflict. Today, the State knows more about the victims,’ said Paula Gaviria Betancur, head director of the Victims Unit. 

A study carried out by Harvard University says that the amount of victims who have already accessed reparations in Colombia – which is over 506,100 people – has no comparison in the world. Colombia aims to repair 12% of the population, while other countries in transition only think of a register that does not go beyond 1 per cent of their population.

Around 86% of the victims of the conflict are displaced, while the remaining 14% have suffered other victimizing events, including abandonment of dispossession of land, crimes against sexual integrity, forced displacement, forced disappearance, murder, kidnappings, landmines, and loss of properties, recruitment of minors, terrorist acts, threats, and torture.

Transformative and comprehensive reparations

To tackle this violations, it was decided that reparations may include five measures, depending on the sort of damages and their individual and collective aspects: rehabilitation, satisfaction, compensation, restitution, and guarantees of non-repetition.

Psychosocial recovery it one of the first steps to guarantee the social fabric is restored. In these years, the government has implemented the Program of Psychosocial Attention and Comprehensive Health for Victims (known as ‘PAPSIVI’), led by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, which has taken care of 82,156 people in the individual, family, and community levels. Moreover, the Victims Unit designed a strategy for the emotional recovery in the group level called ‘Entrelazando’, with the participation of 43,000 victims so far.

In order to generate wellbeing among communities, and taking into account that damages go beyond the material things, there are satisfaction measures such as the delivery of 174,022 dignifying letters; commemorations such as the National Day of Remembrance and Solidarity with Victims (April 9), the Day for the Dignity of Women Victims of Sexual Violence (May 25); the Unit has supported the delivery of mortal remains to 1,400 families with loved ones who had disappeared or been murdered; 24 events of acknowledgment of responsibility and forgiveness; 81 local initiatives of memory, and 148 satisfaction measures in collective reparations processes.

Regarding economic compensation, around 506,100 victims have received their compensation via administrative procedures, which allowed them recovering and transforming their life projects. A total of 163,168 of them voluntarily decided to participate in the program of accompaniment for the adequate investment of the resources. Around 20% chose to see investment opportunities in housing; 19% in education; 7% in productive projects; and 3% in rural real state, among others.

Nearly 4,000 victims have accessed to university studies, thanks to the scholarships provided by the Superior Education Fund. Other 80,791 participated in the financial education workshops (65% of them were women). Regarding restitution, the judges in charge of the process have issued 75,122 sentences of land restitution, comprising a little more than 94,300 hectares.

The conflict shattered the country, displaced peasants, and generated poverty. Today, the Victims Unit has accompanied more than 80,000 families in their process of return or resettlement, under the principles of willingness, safety, and dignity. Up to 165 plans of returns or resettlements have been elaborated in the national territory.

Lately, from the territories, 205 revitalizing projects were presented for return and resettlement processes, with a value of 13,000 million Colombian pesos. The Victims Unit would invest 70% of the resources and the remaining 30% would be put by the territorial entities, the community, and other strategic actors, such as international donors.

Rebuilding trust in those scenarios becomes one of the paramount aspects in the future peace-building process. Therefore, 303 groups and communities were included as collective reparation subjects, in processes that acknowledge their resistance, survival, and historic struggle for the restoring of rights. That happens in 134 peasant communities; 81 indigenous communities; 71 Afro-Colombian communities; a Roma community; and 16 national cases, which include women organizations, human rights organizations, political groups, journalists, and trade unionists.

Another measure: guarantees of non-recurrence, that is to say, knowing that those violent situations are not repeated anymore. The Victims Unit has promoted, in coordination with the National System for the Attention and Comprehensive Reparation of Victims, the elaboration of policies to prevent forced recruitment, a strategy for the access to justice, joint actions in terms of reconciliation, and investigations on cultural patterns, and others.

Prevention so as there is no more victims

The challenges of repairing victims in the middle of the conflict remain huge and make us think how to stop and mitigate violent events. The Victims Unit has become the main humanitarian agent in the country. ‘Since the Victims Law started, we have taken care of the 100% of humanitarian emergencies, and we have provided a response to more than three million applications related to humanitarian attention, for a value of 2.6 trillion Colombian pesos,’ said Paula Gaviria Betancur.

Even though forced displacement was diminished in 47% in the period 2010-2014 in relation to the previous four years, the Victims Unit has kept the strengthening of social and community infrastructure, and its technic advisory to territorial entities for the elaboration of contingency plans. Since 2012, more than 22,000 million pesos have been invested in 300 projects such as ‘Casa del Balcón’ in Chibolo (Magdalena department), the building of six dearadés (traditional buildings) in the region of Alto Andágueda, and three bridges in San Carlos (Antioquia department), which definitely have improved communities’ living standards.

A whole system of entities working for the victims

Implementation of the above-mentioned measures requires the coordination of the National System for the Attention and Comprehensive Reparation of Victims, formed by national entities (ministries, agencies, programs, and so on), territorial entities (governorates and mayor offices), and other institutions related to the implementation of the public policy for victims (NGOs, international cooperation, and others). That System manages institutional offer so as victims can access to initiatives that contribute to income generation, employment, housing, health, and education, among others.

Victims’ voices, paramount in these years

According to Paula Gaviria, ‘participation of victims in their own reparation processes means strengthening the Rule of Law.’ That is why this 10th of June, fourth anniversary of the Victims Law, was chosen to officially start the second National Roundtable for the Effective Participation of Victims, in which 300 representatives of victims from all parts in the country, and all victimizing events, will chose their delegates for the 2015-2017 period.

‘They will have a leading role on the 10th of June. Victims have become an example of how to overcome difficulties, and get involved in a democratic way in the decisions adopted in relation to the guarantee of their rights,’ concluded Paula Gaviria.