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Since President Álvaro Uribe took office in August 2002 a dialogue process and subsequent demobilisation of paramilitary groups has taken place in Colombia, with 31,671 members of illegal armed groups pledging to lay down their arms. Amidst intense pressure from paramilitary groups, there is a danger that the process is utilised to guarantee impunity and does not ultimately lead to the dismantling of paramilitary structures. The absence of the victims in the process has also been criticised as one of its main failures. This working paper explores the international legal framework with regards to justice, truth and reparation and asks to what extent Colombia’s very own tailor-made framework is in line with these parameters, especially in the light of the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the Justice and Peace Law.

The author concludes that the current paramilitary demobilisation process is partial and fragmentary, not including actors as important as the guerrilla groups. The nature of Colombia’s peace process raises doubts about whether the country really is in a transitional process and whether the mechanisms of transitional justice are the right ones for a context still deeply marred by violence.

Additional findings include:

• pressure from Colombian civil society and the international community has played an important part in making the government more inclined towards victims’ rights
• it is important to note the undeniable progress, thanks in large part to the incalculable contribution of the media, which is being made in guaranteeing the victims’ and Colombian society’s right to the truth
• the most important obstacle that stands in the way of the current demobilisation process is the effective dismantling of the paramilitary structures, with their huge economic, political and social power in vast regions of the country.
  

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