Colombia’s transitional justice tribunal for rights violations committed by former leaders of the government's military and FARC militants started collecting evidence this month to prepare for its first hearings.
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) tribunal, founded under the 2016 peace deal between the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is set to try cases representative of the a litany of rights violations committed during the armed conflict.
Speaking to press the JEP president Mirtha Patricia Linares said,
This is a historic moment that marks the starting point of what it means for a country like this to heal wounds through the recognition of truth and responsibility.”
Leaders of the FARC, which is now a political party, alongside government officials, will be required to testify in tribunals to recount any involvement they may have had in killings, sexual violence, kidnappings, bombings and other rights violations.
Over the last five decades some 220,000 people are estimated to have been killed by the conflict.
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