Respect for victims, essential in Colombian peace

The Victims Unit joined on Monday the commemoration of the International Day of Peace (‘Partnerships for Peace – Dignity for All’). The Victims Unit’s head director, Paula Gaviria Betancur, said that ‘by daily taking care of the victims of the internal armed conflict, the government of President Juan Manuel Santos is showing that repairing victims means building peace.’

The Victims Unit joined on Monday the commemoration of the International Day of Peace (‘Partnerships for Peace – Dignity for All’). The Victims Unit’s head director, Paula Gaviria Betancur, said that ‘by daily taking care of the victims of the internal armed conflict, the government of President Juan Manuel Santos is showing that repairing victims means building peace.’

Gaviria mentioned that the 303 processes of collective reparations, the program of returns and resettlements, the strategy of emotional recovery at the group level, and the measures aimed at women victims of sexual violence are just some of the many initiatives the Unit has to allow victims restore the social fabric.

‘In the International Day of Peace, I would like to highlight all the citizens’ initiatives that contribute to peace-building, especially those of the people who were most affected by violence. Victims are recovering collective environments, and giving a new meaning to places that used to mean ‘harm’. Victims have become the main actors of peace,’ she said.   

The Victims Unit calls once again to respect victims’ human rights and dignity, as a basis for a stable and durable peace. ‘We’re convinced that thanks to the acknowledgement and the transformative reparations of victims, we are in the right way,’ she concluded.

• For more information (in Spanish), please check: http://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/es/reparaci%C3%B3n/la-paz-de-colombia-pasa-por-el-respeto-las-v%C3%ADctimas/406