On Wednesday, November 28, USIP and the Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF) co-hosted roundtable discussion on Colombia. The meeting was closed and off the record, by invitation only. Guest speakers included Zoraida Castillo Varela, Lutheran World Relief’s country director for Colombia; Gustavo Balanta Castilla, executive director of the Fundación Surcos in Cartagena, Colombia; and Lisa Haugaard, executive director of the DC-based Latin America Working Group Education Fund.

Attendees included academics from George Mason University, American University; representatives of the Colombian and Norwegian Embassies; Chemonics and CHF International (USAID-funded implementers); ActionAid, Jesuit Refugee Services, Lutheran World Relief, Global Rights, Center for International Policy, Washington Office on Latin America, U.S. Office on Colombia, and USIP.

The meeting focused on implementation of the Victims and Land Restitution Law, the titling of lands (particularly on the Caribbean coast), security and human rights concerns for victims attempting to reclaim their lands, and the increasing new displacement, particularly in rural Cartagena. The panelists discussed the conclusions of two fact-finding missions on these topics in April 2011 and June 2012. (The conclusions and concerns can be found in “Still a Dream: Land Restitution on Colombia’s Northern Caribbean Coast” [PDF] by Annalise Romoser, Lisa Haugaard and Zoraida Castillo.

Speakers agreed that the Victims and Land Restitution Law is a good law, but implementation has been slow and filled with problems including lack of local capacity and training of local authorities to manage implementation. The law gives great responsibility to municipalities, but no funds, legal guidance, or support from the national level. There is also a lack of funds to implement the law, a dearth of willingness and goodwill among some local authorities to do so, and widespread confusion about new mechanisms and institutions under the law.

Legal accompaniment for victims of the conflict is badly needed. The local Committees for Transitional Justice have sometimes provided forums for victims to present their cases, but these same victims are often threatened following their participation. The speakers underscored the need for efficient, effective programs to protect victims and those asking for land. They urged that protection be appropriate and tailored to each community’s specific needs. They also cited the constant stream of threats against land judges and those engaged in the land restitution effort or the efforts to obtain collective titles.

Likewise, they discussed the issue of land titling and underscored the need for collective and individual titling as an important vehicle for preventing further displacement, and the need for prior consultation with communities affected by government-supported or international development projects.

Some present were concerned that Afro-Colombian perspectives were not represented by either of the negotiating parties in Havana, and that there was a need to create a means to channel for their voices to be heard.

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• Land, Property, and Conflict
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