peace agreement – FoRB in Full

La Justicia por fin llego a la República Centroafricana, pero el trabajo del gobierno aún no ha terminado

Posted on 01/12/2022 by cswpress in Central African Republic ES, español, Sub-Saharan Africa ES

A finales de octubre, el Tribunal Penal Especial de la República Centroafricana (RCA), con respaldo internacional, emitió un veredicto en el primer juicio completo de la sala. El caso fue presentado contra tres líderes del grupo armado Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation (3R), que fueron declarados culpables de crímenes de guerra y crímenes de lesa humanidad.

Issa Sallet Adoum (alias Bozizé) fue condenado a cadena perpetua, y sus coacusados, Mahamat Tahir y Yaouba Ousman, recibieron 20 años de prisión cada uno.

Los tres fueron acusados de orquestar ataques contra las aldeas noroccidentales de Koundjili y Lomouna el 21 de mayo de 2019, en los quemurieron al menos 46 civiles desarmados y decenas más resultaron heridos. Se dice que los hombres atacaron a la población civil que no apoyaba a el 3R, atando y disparando a civiles antes de proceder a someter a las mujeres y niñas de las aldeas a violaciones masivas y violencia sexual.

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Justice at last in the Central African Republic, but the government’s work is not finished yet

Posted on 29/11/2022 by cswpress in Central African Republic, Sub-Saharan Africa

In late October the internationally-backed Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic (CAR) released a verdict in the chamber’s first full trial. The case was brought against three leaders of the armed group Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation (3R), who were found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Issa Sallet Adoum (alias Bozizé) was sentenced to life imprisonment, and his co-defendants, Mahamat Tahir and Yaouba Ousman, each received 20-year prison sentences.

All three were accused of orchestrating attacks on the northwestern villages of Koundjili and Lomouna on 21 May 2019 in which at least 46 unarmed civilians were killed and dozens more were injured. The men are said to have targeted civilian populations that did not support 3R, tying up and shooting civilians before proceeding to subject women and girls in the villages to mass rape and sexual violence.

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Colombia: Planting seeds of hope amid conflict and COVID-19

Posted on 01/12/202022/06/2021 by cswpress in Colombia, Latin America

30 November marked the fourth anniversary of the approval of a peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the FARC-EP) by the Colombian Congress. Four years later the country still has a long way to go, as violence continues in several departments and those working in peacebuilding find themselves increasingly targeted by armed actors. Add to this the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the picture is one of serious concern.

CSW spoke to Pablo Moreno, Rector of the Unibautista Baptist Seminary in Cali and Director of the Colombian Council of Evangelical Churches Peace Commission (CEDECOL).

“The COVID-19 pandemic has affected Colombia much like the rest of the world. There have been months of upheaval in the worlds of academia, work and religion. Periods of lockdown have shifted many areas of human life into the virtual realm, altering the physical meetings and face-to-face encounters we had become accustomed to.

In the midst of this, violence has increased in Colombia. Illegal armed groups occupying territories abandoned by the FARC-EP are fighting among themselves for control over drug trafficking routes. At the same time these groups are used to frighten the population to make them leave their homes so that they can build illegal mines, expropriate land, and expand their social dominance in a way that benefits them.

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Colombia: Plantando semillas de esperanza en medio de conflicto y el COVID-19

Posted on 01/12/202001/12/2020 by cswpress in Colombia ES, español, Latin America ES

El 30 de noviembre se cumple el cuarto aniversario de la aprobación del histórico acuerdo de paz, entre el gobierno colombiano y las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) en el congreso colombiano. Después de cuatro años, la paz sigue siendo un tema pendiente, ya que la violencia continúa y ha empeorado en varias regiones y quienes trabajan en la construcción de la paz, se encuentran cada vez más en la mira de los actores armados que actúan en la ilegalidad. Agregue a esto los efectos de la pandemia del COVID-19 y el panorama se vuelve de gran preocupación.

CSW habló con Pablo Moreno, Rector del Seminario Bautista de Cali (Unibautista) y Director de la Comisión de Paz del Consejo Colombiano de Iglesias Evangélicas (CEDECOL).

“La pandemia del COVID19 ha afectado a Colombia como todo el mundo, han sido meses de anormalidad académica, laboral y religiosa. Períodos de confinamiento han alterado el desarrollo histórico de los encuentros presenciales y ha producido un incremento de la virtualidad en todas las áreas de la vida humana.

En medio de esta situación, se ha incrementado la violencia en Colombia, grupos armados que ocuparon territorios dejados por las FARC se pelean entre sí el control del negocio del tráfico de drogas, al mismo tiempo estos grupos son usados para atemorizar a la población para que abandonen sus territorios y así puedan desarrollar la minería ilegal, la apropiación de la tierra y la expansión del dominio social en su favor.

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The cost of backtracking: delays in Colombia’s peace process risk a return to violence

Posted on 29/07/201924/06/2021 by cswpress in Colombia, Latin America

In November 2016 a revised peace agreement was signed between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–Army of the People (FARC-EP). The deal was considered a big win by many, bringing an end to a conflict which spanned over five decades and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

This celebration has been considered both “justified and premature.” In the following years parts of Colombia have enjoyed a somewhat fragile peace, but recent developments have raised concerns that this peace could shatter altogether.

Government foot-dragging

Particularly concerning is the current government’s approach to the 2016 agreement. Since his election in June 2018, the President Iván Duque Márquez-led administration has consistently slowed down the process of implementation.

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