Interview: Colombia without war
Future of the peace deal with the FARC depends on Constitutional Court ruling
A comprehensive peace deal that was broadly negotiated between President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), Rodrigo “Timochenko” Londoño, signed in the presence of heads of state and sanctioned by popular vote. This was the victorious outcome anticipated by the Colombian government to put an end to one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts in the region, but it was thwarted by one detail: the victory of the “no” vote in the October referendum.
Following the setback in the ballot, a new deal was drafted and approved by the Colombian Congress on December 1 – this time, without public consultation. Nevertheless, the power struggle between the government and the opposition, which rejects the terms of the deal, is not expected to end any time soon.
To better understand the topic and its complexity, Conectas interviewed the Colombian lawyer and human rights activist Viviana Bohórquez Monsalve, who explains what has changed in the deal approved by Congress and analyzes the challenges to its implementation.
“The technical discussion is whether the consultation should be popular or representative – popular meaning another referendum and representative meaning approval by Congress. I think there is a section of the Court that wants to support the peace process and move on, but it is a decision with technical aspects that does not make the solution to the problem so easy,” said Monsalve.
Read the interview below:
Conectas: What has changed in the new deal compared to the one that was rejected by Colombians in the October referendum?
Viviana Bohórquez Monsalve: The new peace deal has twenty-six points. In general terms, the spirit of the deal has been kept. One of the key issues was the recognition of the FARC as a political organization, with the possibility of winning seats in Congress. This point has not been altered: in exchange for laying down their weapons, the FARC will earn five seats in the Senate and another five in the Lower House starting in 2018. On the other hand, the new deal makes it clear that the members of the FARC who are put on trial will face the country’s criminal justice, something that the organization did not accept. One point that represents a major change is the power of the Monitoring Commission, which had a great deal of decision-making power over the implementation of the deal and contained members of the FARC. Its role has been significantly reduced so it does not clash, for example, with decisions of the Constitutional Court.
Conectas: How did the government, the FARC and the opposition behave after the referendum?
Monsalve: The first thing that occurred [after the result of the referendum] was a social mobilization organized by university students who demanded a new peace deal. The mobilization was huge and it injected new energy into the process and raised hopes of moving forward. The government did not have a very clear plan B, but after a few days it decided to meet with representatives of the NO campaign and listen to their proposals. The FARC also listed to the proposals from the NO campaign and met in Havana with some representatives of civil society and Catholic and evangelical churches. I was personally in Havana at the meeting between the FARC and the women’s and LGBT organizations discussing the issue of gender in the agreements. Many people voted against the referendum on account of the manipulation of this topic, on the claims that it was promoting homosexuality. This is why the churches joined the discussion, even suggesting that the LGBT community be removed from the peace deal, ignoring the fact that nearly 2,000 victims from the conflict have been from this group. Generally speaking, the government attempted to do the job in few days and draft a new agreement together with the FARC, receiving delegates indicated by the opposition to hear their proposals.
Conectas: Why was it decided this time only to approve the deal in the National Congress?
Monsalve: The decision was taken by the government, since it has the support of 70% of Congress. The Democratic Centre [the opposition] did not want to participate, did not turn up to vote and, for this reason, the result was unanimous.
Conectas: Does the new deal have any political legitimacy without a public consultation? What has the reaction been of the Colombian population?
Monsalve: The new deal has little legitimacy and clearly the leaders of the opposition are not happy and want to delay the process until 2018, when the next elections will be held. Moreover, the Constitutional Court still has to decide on the constitutionality of Legislative Act No. 1 of 2016, better known as the “Legislative Act for Peace”, which contains provisions on legal instruments to facilitate and assure the implementation and normative development of the deal to end the conflict and the construction of a stable and lasting peace. The Court has already begun discussing the issue, but no decision has been released. The technical discussion is whether the consultation should be popular or representative – popular meaning another referendum and representative meaning approval by Congress. I think there is a section of the Court that wants to support the peace process and move on, but it is a decision with technical aspects that does not make the solution to the problem so easy.
Conectas: What are the challenges to the implementation of the deal?
Monsalve: If the Court declares it constitutional to approve the deal through legislation, the government can continue its implementation, albeit with a divided country and with the FARC distrustful about what will happen. The FARC is unlikely to get behind a process if there are no guarantees of its implementation within the next few years, particularly given the proximity of the elections, since the new president could change the rules of the game. The population has been mobilizing on the streets, but increasingly less. What’s more, the current president, Santos, has a low popularity rating. The Court ruling is expected to be given before the end of the year. In Congress, a faster passage for the legislation will then be approved, as the Special Jurisdiction for Peace would take more than a year to be created under ordinary circumstances. Therefore, to implement the deal, the approval would be made by fast track, which would speed up the passage of the bills and legislative acts needed to implement the agreement. But all this, of course, will depend on the decision of the Constitutional Court.
