Voice of America
29 Jun 2022, 11:36 GMT+10
Bogota, Columbia - A Truth Commission presented its final report on Colombia's armed conflict Tuesday, urging the government, military and rebel groups that are still fighting in the countryside to recognize the suffering victims have endured and ensure that political disputes are no longer solved through violence.
The commission is made up of academics and representatives of civil society groups and was set up as part of a 2016 peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that ended five decades of conflict in which at least 450,000 people were killed.
It was tasked with documenting war crimes and publishing its findings in a digital format that will be available to the public. The commission also issued a series of recommendations aimed at stopping future conflicts from taking root in Colombia, including changes to drug policy and transformations in the nation's military forces.
The commission's final report is based on interviews with 30,000 war victims, military leaders, former guerrilla fighters and five former Colombian presidents.
The 900-page report said 50,000 people were kidnapped between 1990 and 2018 as a result of Colombia's armed conflict, often by rebel groups who kept hostages for ransom. It also said that more than 7 million people were forced to flee their homes and that 56,000 civilians were killed by Colombia's armed forces, including 6,300 people who were killed in remote areas and presented to authorities as rebel fighters killed in action.
The report called for major changes to Colombia's military and police forces, which have received more than $8 billion from the U.S. over the past two decades.
It said the military's objectives should be re-evaluated and that all human rights violations committed by security forces should be tried by civilian courts.
The truth commission's report also discussed drug related violence in Colombia and called on the nation's government to regulate the drug trade so that its profits go to government agencies and not drug trafficking groups. It suggests that Colombia restart peace negotiations with the National Liberation Army, Colombia's largest remaining rebel groups.
The Truth Commission's recommendations are not legally binding. But some will likely be implemented by Colombia's new government, which will take over in August. President-elect Gustavo Petro attended the ceremony where the report was presented to the public and said its recommendations would 'effectively become part of Colombia's history.'
The leftist senator, who was once a member of a rebel group, said during his campaign that he will re-establish diplomatic relations with neighboring Venezuela whose socialist government is not recognized by the United States. Petro has also called for reforms to Colombia's defense forces, suggesting the police should stop being used for military operations and be placed under greater civilian oversight.
The presentation ceremony was not attended by President Ivan Duque, who was in Portugal for the U.N. Ocean Conference. So the Truth Commission's president, Jesuit priest Francisco de Roux, handed the report and its recommendations to Petro instead.
'We are confident that President Petro will incorporate these recommendations into institutional spaces of dialogue and debate, so that we can make the changes that are needed,' De Roux said.
A separate war crimes tribunal called the Special Jurisdiction for Peace is also investigating crimes that happened during the armed conflict.
Get a daily dose of Chile Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Chile Sun.
More InformationBEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Brazil late last year, the Portuguese edition of...
BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- On the banks of the shimmering Huangpu River that cuts through the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai sits...
Port of Spain [Trinidad and Tobago], July 4 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his first official visit to Trinidad and Tobago...
by Xinhua writer Jiang Hanlu BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- On the banks of the shimmering Huangpu River that cuts through the Chinese...
Astana [Kazakhstan], July 2 (ANI): Minakshi (48kg) and Pooja Rani (80kg) guaranteed India two medals on Day 3 of the World Boxing Cup-Astana,...
Accra [Ghana], July 2 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ghana on Wednesday, marking the start of his five-nation tour....
VILNIUS, Lithuania – A growing body of research suggests that selectively restricting a single nutrient in our diet could have profound...
New Delhi [India], July 4 (ANI): Keeping the door open for diplomacy, Iran has stated that any negotiation process with the US is meaningless...
New Delhi [India], July 4 (ANI): India needs to urgently take steps to reduce its growing dependence on Chinese imports, according...
(250704) -- MOSCOW, July 4, 2025 (Xinhua) -- This photo taken on July 3, 2025 shows a view of the Afghan embassy in Moscow, Russia....
(250704) -- SEVILLE, July 4, 2025 (Xinhua) -- People attend the Fourth United Nations Conference on Financing for Development at the...
Ukrainian officials claimed at least 13 impacts, with blurred-out footage showing large fires lighting up the skyline Ukrainian officials...