The Accord: Colombia’s Commitment to Peace

Virginia "Ginny" M. Bouvier takes a closer look at the pieces put in place by the Havana peace agreement that are meant to prevent a resumption of war and open the door for a genuine peace.

The Current Situation in Colombia: A USIP Fact Sheet

For more than a decade, the U.S. Institute of Peace has helped prepare the ground for a political solution to Colombia’s conflict, particularly with an eye toward post-conflict reconciliation. The Institute’s research and policy discussions stimulate fresh thinking on how to foster peace, while small grants and technical support help Colombians build capacity for mediation, conflict resolution and strategic planning. 

Colombian Rebels, Government Push Moves Ahead of Vote

The government and the FARC appear to be doing their best to make the peace plan irreversible. There has been a clear effort to speed up the timetable for securing the ceasefire that the decades-old antagonists agreed to even before the final deal, and to begin decommissioning the FARC's weapons—with or without the plebiscite's endorsement.

Colombian Women Mediators Prepare to Support Peace

USIP has been working with a network of 30 women mediators from a dozen regions of Colombia who are preparing to serve as catalysts for reconciliation in the aftermath of the peace agreement.

Q&A: Colombia Peace Deal Announced — What’s Next?

USIP's Ginny Bouvier, who has studied the peace process from the outset and advised Colombian government officials, civil society and others promoting a political solution to the conflict, comments on the accord and its prospects for ending the country’s decades of unrelenting violence.

Colombia’s Peace Accord on the Missing

Ginny Bouvier and Lisa Haugaard examine an agreement on the missing reached in October 2015 between the Colombian government and the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces. If well implemented, the agreement offers the chance to alleviate suffering and provide answers to families of the missing and to Colombian society at large.

Acuerdo de paz sobre desaparecidos en Colombia

Este informe analiza un acuerdo sobre los desaparecidos acordado en octubre 2015 entre el gobierno colombiano y las FARC-EP. Si se cumple bien, el acuerdo ofrece la oportunidad de aliviar el sufrimiento y de ofrecer respuestas a los familiares de los desaparecidos y a toda la sociedad colombiana.

Q&A: Colombia Breakthrough a World Model for Peace Talks

Ginny Bouvier stressed the importance of the role of the victims in the peace process in Colombia. She also highlighted compromises made by both sides to ensure that negotiations continued and what that means.

Colombia Considers War and Memory

Colombian peacebuilders pressed that the way forward depends on an effective justice system to transition from war to peace and on a national effort to recognize and honor the memories of all the conflict’s victims.

Colombia Peace Forum

Established with the peace talks in 2012, the USIP-based Colombia Peace Forum produces creative analysis of Colombia’s internal armed conflict and peace initiatives that informs the thinking of policymakers and opinion leaders in the United States and Colombia. The forum convenes academics, Colombia specialists, government officials and others to provide a platform where a variety of voices, including historically marginalized groups (human rights defenders, women, ethnic minorities, etc.), can be heard.