The peace process between the Republic of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) stands as a significant example of conflict resolution through negotiations, bringing one of the world’s longest-running armed conflicts to an end.

 

Colombia remained under Spanish colonial rule until 1808 and gained independence in 1826. Due to ideological divisions between the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, the country descended into intense violence in the late 1940s. Between 1946 and 1958, at least 200,000 people were killed and more than 2 million were forcibly displaced during the period known as La Violencia.

 

Although the conflict formally ended with a political compromise between the liberal and conservative elites, structural causes of violence persisted. Under the Accelerated Economic Development program, large landowners were granted incentives to boost agricultural production. Thousands of peasants were forcibly displaced from their lands under the pretext of “efficient land use,” triggering mass migration to urban centers.

 

The Colombian Communist Party (PCC), active since the 1930s, supported dispossessed peasants by forming “peasant self-defense units” and organizing “popular fronts” in urban areas. In rural regions, so-called “liberated zones” were declared.

 

THE FORMATION OF FARC

 

In 1961, Manuel Marulanda Vélez announced the establishment of the “Marquetalia Republic,” uniting liberated zones under a political framework. The government led by Guillermo León Valencia failed to suppress peasant resistance and sought support from the United States. In February 1962, U.S.-backed forces presented the government with the counterinsurgency strategy known as the Plan Lazo.

 

In 1964, the Colombian army launched a large-scale operation involving 16,000 troops against a small peasant community defended by 48 militants. Survivors retreated into the Andes Mountains and formally founded FARC the same year. Influenced by the Cuban Revolution, the ELN (1964) and later M-19 (1970) also emerged, though neither gained the mass support achieved by FARC.

 

PEACE TALKS

 

Initially emerging as a peasant rights movement, FARC expanded its influence during the 1980s. The first peace talks took place under President Belisario Betancur (1982–1986), resulting in a ceasefire. However, paramilitary violence and political assassinations derailed the process. Hundreds of members of Unión Patriótica, the political party formed by FARC supporters, were assassinated.

 

President Andrés Pastrana, elected in 1998 on a peace platform, launched the El Caguán peace process on 7 January 1999. The talks lasted 1,139 days and collapsed in February 2002 following the kidnapping of Senator Gechem Turbay.

 

Under President Álvaro Uribe (2002–2010), the “democratic security” doctrine significantly weakened FARC through military operations. FARC’s membership declined from approximately 20,000 to 8,000 fighters, while widespread human rights violations were reported.

 

OSLO AND HAVANA TALKS

 

Juan Manuel Santos’ election as president in 2010 marked a turning point. Secret negotiations mediated by Cuba and Norway between 2010 and 2012 led to the official launch of peace talks in August 2012. Negotiations held in Havana differed from previous attempts by focusing on a limited agenda:

 

*Comprehensive rural and land reform

 

*Political participation

 

*Victims’ rights

 

*Ceasefire and disarmament

 

*Implementation and verification mechanisms

 

The first chapter addressed land inequality, one of the conflict’s root causes. The agreement envisaged distributing 3 million hectares of land to small farmers, improving rural infrastructure and supporting agricultural production.

 

TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE MECHANISMS

 

As part of FARC’s transition into a political party, it was guaranteed five seats each in the Senate and House of Representatives in the 2018 and 2022 elections. One of the most innovative aspects of the agreement was the establishment of the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition (SIVJRNR), composed of three pillars:

 

*Truth Commission (CEV): Investigating the causes and impacts of the conflict

 

*Unit for the Search of Disappeared Persons (UBPD): Clarifying the fate of the missing

 

*Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP): Prosecuting conflict-related crimes

 

This hybrid model sought to balance punitive and restorative justice. Those who fully confessed their crimes were eligible for alternative sentences, while those who refused faced ordinary criminal prosecution.

 

In the 2 October 2016 referendum, the peace agreement was narrowly rejected. Following two months of renegotiation, the revised agreement was approved by Congress and signed on 30 November 2016.

 

DISARMAMENT PROCESS

 

FARC’s disarmament was completed under United Nations supervision. In 26 Transitional Local Zones for Normalization and Reintegration, 13,202 FARC members were registered and 8,994 weapons were handed over to the UN.

 

Following the signing of the agreement, systematic attacks against former FARC members and social leaders continued. According to Colombia’s Ombudsman Office (Defensoría del Pueblo), 395 former FARC members were killed between 2016 and 2023.

 

As of 2023, only 15 percent of the targeted 3 million hectares of land had been distributed.

 

Despite these challenges, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace placed victims’ rights at the center of the process and supported political and social reintegration. 

 

The Colombian experience demonstrated that punishment alone does not resolve conflict, while victim-centered transitional justice mechanisms can contribute to sustainable peace and social reconciliation.

 

Tomorrow: Process led Basque people toward peace and resolution

 

MA / Berivan Altan