Notes on the role of the Armed Forces in reparation processes in Colombia.

• Author: Serna, Juan Guillermo Garcia
• Position: ARTICLE - Essay

ABSTRACT In this article, we present and reflect on the role of the Armed Forces in the reparation of the victims of the Colombian conflict. The article recognizes that reparation is a very important part of a comprehensive process involving truth, justice, compensation, forgiveness, reconciliation and non-repetition. The development of this article is a theoretical-reflective component of the triad: Truth, Justice and Reparation; it further develops the concept of reparation, and presents some international experiences in order to examine the elements that constitute successful reparation processes. Then, it reflects on and analyzes reparation in Colombia, and envisions some scenarios in which the Military Forces of Colombia could help to strengthen this process. Finally, it provides a series of reflections on the contributions and responsibilities of the Armed Forces in regard to the victims of the armed conflict in Colombia.

Introduction

In the context of negotiations in Havana, representatives of the Armed Forces were questioned about the possibilities and opportunities they have as key contributors to an eventual post-conflict agreement. One of the areas of greatest interest and attention is the process of reparation and the role the Armed Forces could play in this process. On the one hand, some members of the Armed Forces have suffered the consequences of war directly on their bodies and minds; on the other hand, the members of the Armed Forces are aware that, as actors in the conflict, they must assume responsibilities in the post-conflict era and find an opportunity to address their responsibility through the process of reparation.

Indeed, for the Armed Forces to question their role in post-conflict era means that they must recognize that in the heat of war they may have made mistakes and, in some circumstances, may have deviated from their mission or made errors in judgment, as in the case of homicides of persons protected (called false positives). In seeking to understand and engage in dialogue as part of the reparation processes, the Armed Forces as an institution must assume its role in a post-conflict scenario, and as an actor, provide opportunities for reconciliation and peace. The ultimate goal of the Military Forces in terms of the role they may play in the post-forces agreement is to recognize their achievements in accomplishing lasting peace for all Colombians.

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In this article, we present and reflect on the role of the Armed Forces in the reparation of the victims of the Colombian conflict. Reparation is a very important part of a comprehensive process involving truth, justice, compensation, forgiveness, reconciliation, and an end to the conflict.

The development of this article is a theoretical and reflective exploration of the triad Truth, Justice and Reparation. Subsequently, it develops the concept of reparation, and presents some international experiences of reparation, in order to provide a classification of the elements to be contained in a successful reparation process. Then, it reflects on and analyzes the process of reparation in Colombia, and envisions some scenarios in which the Military Forces of Colombia could help to strengthen this process in the country. Finally, it provides a series of reflections on the contributions and responsibilities of the Armed Forces toward the victims of the armed conflict in Colombia.

Truth, Justice and Reparation

Truth, justice and reparation are the three primary elements that have been part of the discussions undertaken in recent years in Colombia, from the agreements between the State and paramilitary groups in Santafe de Ralito, and the negotiations between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or "People's Army" (FARC-EP). These three elements correspond to the major issues that must be addressed in the processes in which the cessation of armed confrontation and the possibility of agreeing to peace is negotiated. In Colombia, the issues of truth, justice and reparation have great relevance due to the long-running nature of the conflict and the multiplicity of actors who have been part of it.

Colombian law 1448 of 2011 addresses truth, justice, and reparation, and states that victims' rights have to be enforceable in the State. The right to truth is characterized as imprescriptible and inalienable, a process of seeking to understand the reasons and circumstances surrounding the victims of events occurring in the armed conflict (Art. 23).

The right to justice obliges the State to conduct investigations that effectively shed light on the truth of what happened with respect to the victims of armed conflict (Art. 24). While reparation, according to the law, must obey the principle of comprehensiveness, which means that victims have the right "to be compensated properly, differentiated, transforming and effective for the damage they have suffered as a result of the violations" of their rights (Art. 25). Reparation also addresses "restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, in its individual, collective, material, moral and symbolic dimensions" (Art. 25).

As evident in the text of Colombian law 1448, these elements are related to each other almost inter-dependently; the successful outcome of these processes should look for a series of social and state changes that ensure the non-repetition of conflict, facilitate the processes of forgiveness, and promote the resocialization and reintegration of Colombian society.

The relationship between truth and reparation is especially intertwined, particularly considering the scope of the concept of truth in the reparation processes. International experiences such as that of Uganda reveal the opportunities and challenges of the process of telling the truth. The case of Uganda shows that the processes of opening to truth narratives provide a country "an opportunity to confront its past, official denials and imposed silences, and will provide victims with public validation of their suffering and make unquestionable the state's obligation to provide integral reparations." (1) In other words, the airing of truth narratives requires that societies, through their States, recognize victims who have left the armed conflict, and define and implement reparation tools, forms and programs.

The search for truth, justice, and reparation implies that the victims are the center of these processes, which means that emphasis should be placed on ensuring that victims are heard, that their suffering will be publicly recognized, that they are partakers of the reconciliation processes and are compensated for the suffering produced. (2)

It is important to clarify that truth alone is not enough to do justice and ensure restitution; similarly, it should be understood that these three elements (or rights, as expressed in the Victims Act), are exercised in a coordinated and complementary way to overcome the conflict situation and impose a state of lasting and stable peace.

Reparation?

As indicated, Colombian law considers that reparation should be comprehensive; however, the law lacks a clear definition of what reparation means. Some international cases, such as Uganda's "Working Bill," promoted by different social actors to generate the Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration process (DDR), include an explicit definition of reparation. Such a definition would contribute to the possibility that the Colombian Military Forces can understand and carry out their role in this process. Reparation is defined by Acirokop as "any remedy or any form of compensation, symbolic or ex gratia payment, restitution, reconciliation, satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition made with respect to the victims." (3) On the other hand, Borzutzki understands reparation as "the act of restoring something to a previous condition, to amend for wrong done, compensation, atonement, restitution. In Spanish, reparacion is defined as "desagravio, satisfacer al ofendido (relief, to satisfy the offended)." (4)

For the Comision Colombiana de Juristas, reparation seeks, as far as possible, to restore the situation in which the victims lived before the onslaught of violence in their lives. (5) Clearly, reparation should be understood by following the Ugandan "Working Bill," given that restoring the victims' situation, before violence, may not be possible. Reparation for the Armed Forces should be understood as different forms of voluntary compensation to contribute to the forgiveness process and the post-conflict reconciliation of Colombian society.

Reparation in the International Context

Like armed conflict, the nature of the reparation reflects the particular characteristics of the societies and groups of power involved. Therefore, the following lines present some examples of international reparation processes, identifying their scope and foci.

In the case of South Africa, a Committee on Reparations and Rehabilitation was established that initially recommended symbolic reparations. This type of reparation emerged as the most effective way to engage in reparation, due to the high number of victims involved in the conflict. The proposed reparations were characterized as "monuments, re-burial, streets nomination, and commemorative and Memory days." (6) However, with the passage of time, the same Committee raised the need to compensate the victims monetarily and provide psychological and medical assistance, given that the victims did not feel fully compensated by these symbolic gestures, and began to demand more tangible forms of reparation. (7)

In Rwanda, the reparation system is articulated within the Transitional Justice system called Gacaca. This system sought the prosecution of more than 100,000 people for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Although the first law that established the Gacaca system had an extended perspective on...