Colombia: The Truth Commission

Truth Commission for Coexistence and Non-Repetition (Colombia)

The subtitles explain the structure, mandate, and operating approach of Colombia’s Truth Commission for Coexistence and Non-Repetition, created under the Colombian peace process (the Framework of the Oslo/Cologne Theater Agreement and Decree-Law 588 of April 2017), with a mandate beginning November 2018.

Nature and mandate

• An autonomous, independent state body with a three-year mandate.
• Led by 11 commissioners (men and women) selected through a public process, representing varied ethnic and professional backgrounds.
• Goal: build a collective narrative of the internal armed conflict so Colombian society can:
  • recognize victims, and
  • understand the conflict to support non-repetition.

What the Commission will do

• Listen to many voices—especially victims—and also:
  • responsible parties,
  • witnesses, and
  • affected sectors (directly or indirectly).
• Contrast and verify accounts using reliable, verifiable sources.
  • The Commission can request information and data from any institution, including classified government information.
• Collaborate with other parts of the “system of truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition,” including:
  • the Unit for the Search of Disappeared Persons, and
  • the Special Jurisdiction for Peace.
• Produce a final report that is not a single unified narrative.
  • Instead, it will compile stories and perspectives reflecting different experiences and dynamics of the conflict.

Core objectives (as stated)

1. Elucidate key events and patterns of rights violations during the conflict, focusing on collective cases, responsibilities, and impacts on those most harmed (including combatants and their families).
2. Analyze the causes and factors that prolonged the conflict, including group actions, participating institutions/sectors, and behavioral patterns.
3. Pay special attention to harm to political participation and democracy.
4. Deepen analysis on complex phenomena such as paramilitarism, state/elite conspiracies/“seizure” references (as mentioned in the subtitles), and drug trafficking.
5. Highlight positive actions by communities and institutions that helped them cope with the conflict’s impacts.

Who it centers

Prioritizes historically silenced and most vulnerable communities, including:

• women
• people of diverse sexualities
• children and adolescents
• senior citizens
• disabled people
• indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and Roma communities
• small-scale farmers

Method and safeguards

• Uses a psychosocial approach to avoid re-traumatization or harm to victims.
• Conducts work across territories to understand conflict dynamics locally.
• Includes listening to victims of displacement, including those in exile.
• Respects cultural dimensions and supports artistic expression as part of recovery and dialogue.
• Employs social mobilization, education, and communications, relying on pluralistic and balanced citizen participation, all aimed at non-repetition.

Key takeaway

Overall, the subtitles emphasize that the Truth Commission is designed to produce an evidence-based, multi-perspective account of Colombia’s internal armed conflict—focused on victims and marginalized groups—and to support societal transformation through recognition, understanding of responsibilities, and prevention of future violence.

Presenters / contributors

• No individual presenters or contributors are named in the provided subtitles.