This was the case in Argentina and Chile in the late 1970s and early 1980s after the fall of authoritarian regimes that had committed widespread atrocities against civil opponents, real or imagined. In some cases, for instance, the parties may choose to adopt a full amnesty as a transitional justice alternative to prosecution. Colombia is not the first country to grapple with such a challenge, and it is often in the context of negotiating settlements to internal conflicts that the parties try to find some means of addressing atrocities other than criminal trials. Although both sides to the negotiation may have a strong interest in seeing those on the other side who committed crimes brought to justice, each side may also have a strong interest in ensuring that no members of its side– neither its fighters nor its leaders–are imprisoned for their conduct during the conflict. The problem, of course, is that those who committed crimes during the course of the conflict are members of–or, in some cases, senior actors in or leaders of–the very parties that are now negotiating the terms of a potential peace agreement. And yet we know that the issue of justice for crimes committed during the course of the conflict presents a potential impediment to efforts to conclude a negotiated resolution of the conflict. Media accounts suggest that negotiations between representatives for the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are inching closer and closer to a final peace agreement. In view of this grim context, Colombia today faces a major challenge in dealing with the issue of accountability for crimes committed during the civil war. Widespread atrocities, including torture and massacres of civilians, have been committed during the course of the conflict. Many of those killed in the conflict–indeed, most–have been civilians. Although we do not have definitive figures, credible estimates indicate that over 200,000 people have died during the course of the conflict, and millions have been displaced. The world is unfortunately all too familiar with the details and devastating human cost of Colombia’s fifty-year-old armed conflict, often described as the world’s longest-running civil war.
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