Victims submit proposals for guarantees for non-repetition before the Truth Commission

Through a document from the Movement of Victims of State Crimes (Movice) and the José Alvear Restrepo Bar Collective (Cajar), victims of the armed conflict asked the Truth Commission (CEV) for recognition of five events that would have been repeated during the years of violence.

The objective of the presentation of the report, which will take place on Thursday, April 21, “is to contribute to the construction of a broad and polyphonic account of the truth, to propose routes and actions to guarantee non-repetition and impunity, and to establish a difference between armed conflict and socio-political violence,” said El Cajar through a statement.

The document called “Five Truth Minimums on State Crime and its Configuration as a Genocidal Social Practice Committed in Colombia” aims to deliver a series of proposals to be included within the recommendations of the Truth Commission's final report.

The five facts referred to in the document and which were documented by victims, human rights organizations, international organizations and judicial decisions are:

(1) The State was responsible for the prolongation of the armed conflict.

2) There are doctrines and mechanisms from the organs of the State that have led to the elimination of broad critical and opposing sectors.

3) Paramilitarism has not been a third actor but a State strategy for the perpetration of political genocide.

4) State violence led to a restricted democracy.

5) State violence has had an economic background to favor the interests of some sectors and perpetuate the current model.

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On the responsibility of the State in the prolongation of the armed conflict, the groups of victims recommend to the CEV that negotiations with the ELN and other armed groups be re-established, the political participation of social movements and opposition organizations be guaranteed, and laws and regulations that punish criminal and disciplinarily to persons and public servants who obstruct or obstruct the implementation of the Final Peace Agreement, among others.

With regard to the existence of doctrines and mechanisms of repression from the State, the report recommends that State institutions, its security bodies and those members involved in the commission of crimes under international law be cleansed, as well as repealing the National Security Doctrine and with it, the concept of the “enemy” internal "and ensure that intelligence actions are genuinely controlled by human rights.

Based on the recognition of the state nature of paramilitarism, the document proposes that the CEV recommend to the State: publicly recognize its responsibility for the action of paramilitarism, its genesis and consolidation, constitutionally prohibit the formation, support and financing of paramilitary groups by the State and national or transnational corporations and determine the responsibility of countries such as the United States and Israel in the formation, financing and functioning of paramilitary groups in Colombia.

With regard to the political model, restricted democracy and the limitation to political participation, the report recommends that the commission promote actions that guarantee women's participation in different political and social settings, recognizing their situation, context and particularities and eliminating methods of repression violent, both direct and discursive and psychological towards processes of social mobilization.

Finally, with regard to the economic model, Movice and Cajar set out in the recommendations document, design and implement plans and projects to repair the environmental damage caused by extractive companies in the territories, and finally, to review and adjust cooperation agreements between companies, Ministry of Defence and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Nation.

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