International organisations recognise work of Colombian Truth Commission

In a press release, organisations state that accepting the recommendations of the Final Report will be a key step towards building a future in the midst of differences and achieving peace as a right and a duty that must be fulfilled.
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The Norwegian Human Rights Fund supports the following statement as part of the International Community on Alert for Colombia at Peace:

Bogota, 5 July 2022. The international civil society organizations that sign this communique welcome and support the independent and rigorous exercise undertaken by the Truth Commission, led by Father Francisco de Roux, S.J., along with the 11 commissioners and their teams. They have all worked more than full time for almost four years.

The Final Report is, no doubt, a “message of hope and of a future” for a nation that has been violated and broken, and it’s a clear step to ruling out violence as a way of processing conflicts in Colombia. It is a major contribution to going forward in peacebuilding with accurate information, pulling together the testimonies of thousands of persons who were victims of the conflict in Colombia and abroad, while also helping to bring about conditions so that defending human rights doesn’t mean putting your life or freedoms at risk.

"The Final Report is, no doubt, a message of hope and of a future"

We share with the Commission the certainty that Colombians – by recognizing the truth of the events that unfolded throughout the long armed conflict – will be able to build a future amidst differences, making it possible to achieve peace as a right and a duty that must be carried out, as stated in the Constitution of Colombia.

As international organizations we embrace the recommendations of this Final Report, we will support the Follow-Up Commission, and we will join efforts for them to be made known to and appropriated by the communities in the territories in which we have a presence, and each of us, acting within our mandates, will continue following up on the humanitarian and human rights situation of Colombia, for we are convinced that “There is Future if there is Truth.”

Resources

Download the full press release by clicking here.