Scenes from a rehearsal session with Colombia’s Cantadora Network, a network of singers using traditional Afro-Colombian music to preserve their culture and promote peace. Credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown.
GENEVA, 12 December, 2024 – The Special Jurisdiction for Peace – JEP in Spanish – has made public two important decisions in its macro-cases 3 and 7, respectively addressing the “false positives” scandal – extrajudicial killings committed by Colombian State agents – and the recruitment of children during the armed conflict. Summary of two major developments in Colombia’s transitional justice process.
Macro case 3
Starting with macro-case 3, the Section of the JEP issued in October 2024 its first decision addressing the cases of civilians killed by the Military and falsely presented as members of armed groups in the Caribbean Cost. The decision confirmed the charges against former military officers for crimes committed against indigenous communities.
A key aspect for the JEP was to fully assess the damages caused to the victims and survivors. To do so, it needed to ensure it could gather insights from victims to inform its decision on restorative sanctions to be pronounced against perpetrators, a type of sanction designed thanks to consultations with survivors to effectively repair the harm caused.
To support the JEP, Justice Rapid Response (JRR) deployed Psychosocial Support expertise to work with the transitional justice mechanism in developing a methodology on best ways to engage with victims in a trauma-informed manner, including indigenous communities. As a result, the JEP broadened its understanding of the crimes committed against victims as many of them decided to come forward and share critical additional information.
This led the JEP to conclude that other crimes amounting to persecution against indigenous groups have been committed during the conflict. The JEP will further decide on restorative sanctions that must satisfy victims’ rights.
Macro case 7
Turning to macro-case 7, the JEP issued in November 2024 a ruling charging six former members of the FARC-EP Secretariat of the war crimes of recruitment and use of children and other associated crimes.
JRR supported the JEP with legal expertise, in particular with the legal qualification of conducts associated with child recruitment and gender-based violence cases, and with psychosocial support expertise to assess the harm caused to victims of child recruitment and their families.
With the support of JRR’s expertise, the JEP developed a better understanding of the complex gender dynamics in effect within the ranks of the FARC that led to reproductive violence. This included crimes such as forced contraception and forced abortion that were committed systematically. According to the JEP, at least 24% of the girls recruited were subjected to forced contraception and 19% of the women were subjected to forced abortions.
With the support of the JRR Psychosocial Support Expert, the JEP analysed two conflicting narratives for children who were recruited: one of a fighter, one of a victim. This became even more complex for female combatants.
Acknowledging that they had been victims of sexual and gender-based violence meant for them betraying the cause and the group they had been serving since they had been recruited when they were children, leading many of them to keep secret the violations they endured. This injection of expertise supported the JEP in fully assessing the damage not only caused to children victim of recruitment and use by armed groups, but also to their families and communities more broadly.
These developments in macro-cases 3 and 7 constitute another step in the long quest for justice of the survivors and victims of the more than 60-year long internal armed conflict. JRR will continue working with the JEP and its other local partners to keep promoting the rights and access to justice for all victims and survivors.