Achieving 'total peace' in Colombia? : synergies between human rights and development

Abstract

In 2016, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP) signed the historic peace accord after a decades-long armed conflict involving the government, as well as various far-right paramilitary groups and leftist guerrilla groups - the largest of which being FARC-EP. Although FARC-EP and paramilitary groups have laid down arms, other insurgency groups remain, and violence continues, especially in rural areas. Elected in 2022, President Gustavo Petro seeks to extend the peace accord and address the structural elements of the conflict in a strategy he calls ‘total peace.’ To many Colombians, Petro’s victory represents a historic opportunity to achieve social justice, especially since the peace accord has not been fully implemented. In the context of this dialogue of total peace, this dissertation examines how Colombia has historically addressed socioeconomic inequality, rights, and development in its engagement with transitional justice mechanisms and processes to achieve peace. Through a critical analysis of discourse on transitional justice, I find that Colombia has emphasized the need to promote the socioeconomic well-being to achieve peace, while incorporating language that aligns with the understanding of the right to development as an emergent international standard