Challenges and alternatives towards peacebuilding. Israel Biel Portero
of the demobilized guerrillas to abandon them. Some went to other areas, others reintegrated into their communities of origin, while a significant number defected or joined some of the criminal organizations present in the areas. In Tumaco, those who remain are still not assured of conditions that cover their basic needs and in Policarpa, the ETCR no longer exists.
The difficult challenge of Nariño
The internal armed conflict has left innumerable victims and unhealed wounds throughout the territory that impede putting an end to the cycle of violence. According to data from the “Registro Único de Victimas” (2018) or “Single Registry of Victims”, there are more than 8,500,000 people registered as victims of the conflict, of which more than 350,000 correspond to the department of Nariño, representing 23% of the department’s total population. This data shows evidence of a thorny issue: a quarter of the Nariñense population are or have been victims of the internal armed conflict.
The victims in the general regional context, and Nariño in particular, are mostly indigenous, Afro-descendant and campesino populations. While it is true that ethnic communities have formally been allocated a special protection of their rights, they have substantively been victims of their systematic violations. The State has repudiated its responsibility over them and, in most cases, they have suffered double victimization, since their basic needs and the violations of their rights have been ignored.
Hence, it is necessary to reconsider, not only at the national level but also from the regional institutional sphere, what should be the proper treatment of the victims in order to avoid their revictimization, tending to the reparation of their rights in an integral way so that not only their condition as victims, but also the historical, economic and political factors that placed them at a disadvantage, compared to other groups within the population, are taken into account. Therefore, talking about the rights of victims and their reparation necessarily implies an intersectional approach.
In addition to the above, despite the fact that the FARC-EP abandoned their arms and began its process of reintegration into civilian life, there have been other armed groups of paramilitary origin, together with criminal gangs and foreign cartels, who are contesting territorial control, especially in relation to drug trafficking. In the absence of territorial control exercised by the FARC, the conflict has intensified. With this, the number of victims in the regions near the Pacific has increased, in contrast to the situation in other territories of the country where this number has decreased. As the “Fundación Paz y Reconciliación” or “Peace and Reconciliation Foundation” points out, one of the most relevant indicators, when analyzing the security conditions in the post-conflict stage, is the number and rate of homicides. It can be observed that in the four main cities and the rest of the country there was a decrease from year to year, while they have risen slightly in post-conflict areas (2018a).
Finally, in a transversal manner to all the problems addressed, we must mention the stagnation of the productive processes and rural development in the regions. Due to the dynamics of the conflict, many communities have had to continue their productive economy with illicit crops. When they have refused to obey the requirements of armed actors in this regard, they have been arbitrarily deprived of their territories. Institutional abandonment, coupled with the threat of illegal actors, has increased their situation of vulnerability and marginalization in the countryside.
It is necessary for the State to implement policies that allow for the recovery of fallow lands, the imposition of progressive tax burdens and the arrangement of land for its distribution among those with fewer resources within the rural population, for which the formalization of property rights, with mechanisms that prevent their appropriation illegally, is essential. Development must be planned in the territories, strategies built from the bottom up, campesinos must organize the settlements, which requires an institutional redesign that allows for the dream of a countryside at peace where social justice is fulfilled (PNUD, 2012).
Against this backdrop, we can identify some especially urgent challenges. First, it is necessary to implement a comprehensive rural reform that promotes the development of the regions, contributing to reducing inequality and poverty gaps. Second, an execution of measures aimed at the disarticulation of networks that promote illicit activities based on drug trafficking, as well as the structuring of a true and effective policy for the substitution of illicit crops, is urgently needed. Third, urgent attention should be given to the paramilitary phenomenon and to act against the increase in selective killings within the communities that occupy the post-conflict territories. And fourth, none of this can be truly robust without the prompt implementation and complete regulation of the JEP, whose main function will be to ensure the rights of the victims. In order to address these challenges, a real political commitment is needed, mainly aimed at recognizing the importance of these territories and their inhabitants, the need to make a greater investment in different spheres, such as education, health and employment, a drive to promote infrastructure, a greater institutional presence and rethinking the function of the land according to constitutional parameters.
Conclusions
In Colombia, especially in rural territories, conflicts associated with land use and tenure and the difficulties associated with decision-making have been catalyzing factors for the violence derived from the internal armed conflict. These have also contributed to widening the inequality and poverty gap. The department of Nariño has not been exempt from such consequences, since more than half of its population is located in rural areas.
With the signing of the “Final Agreement for the End of Conflict and the Construction of a Stable and Lasting Peace”, a transitional justice process has begun on which the post-conflict must be founded. After the disarmament and demobilization of the FARC, there are three great pillars for the construction of a stable and lasting peace. The first, the question of the Colombian countryside, which requires a comprehensive rural reform and a solution to the problems of illicit drugs. The second, the transformation of armed confrontation into political discussion, as well as the opening of democratic spaces. And, thirdly, the rights of the victims, which are structured around a system of judicial and extrajudicial mechanisms aimed at guaranteeing truth, reparation, justice and non-recurrence.
Progress in the implementation of the Agreement has been accompanied by great difficulties and setbacks. Although the victimizing events decreased significantly in much of the country, in some areas, the social dynamics derived from the conflict have experienced serious complications. This is the case of Nariño, where violence has escalated and the murder rate shows a worrying upward trend. The quantity of crops for illicit use has increased in the Nariñense fields, with the voluntary replacement programs not having flourished to the desired extent. It is important to rethink the strategies for this region and, among other measures, increase public investment, state presence, access to resources and productive projects, as well as promote accompaniment and technical advice. The construction of a stable and lasting territorial peace involves urgently and comprehensively addressing these challenges.
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