Peace development and crisis prevention

Colombia has been afflicted for decades by internal armed conflict. The main parties to the conflict are guerrilla groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) and paramilitary units of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC). In the conflict, which is marked by overlapping political, socioeconomic, ecological and criminal causes, the state has so far been unable to prevail against the illegal actors. Over large areas of the country, the safety of the population cannot be guaranteed, state structures have only a weak presence, and the establishment of the social rule of law is being prevented.

The human rights situation has deteriorated with the growing intensity of the conflict. Every day, people leave their homes and flee to the big cities as internal displaced persons. Force is widely accepted as a means of conflict resolution. Key elements in this culture of violence are the large number of kidnappings and the influence of drug production and trafficking. This distinguishes the Colombian conflict from other countries in Latin America. The lack of trust between the state and civil society are the result and the main deficit of this situation.

GTZ projects address this deficit. The aim of the priority area is to provide complementary promotion for state and civil society actors. The measures focus on decentralising and strengthening state presence, developing constitutional structures and establishing a just and efficient justice system, and assisting civil society institutions and organisations in nonviolent conflict transformation and communicating conflict transformation methods.

There are currently three projects in progress within the priority area:

• The programme Supporting decentralisation and communal development for peace (PRODESPAZ), which has been running since 2002, aims at a constitutional presence, acceptance and “structural stability” for “more peaceful” and less violent development.
• Shortcomings in the administration of justice and a backlog of cases in the civil courts are two of the targets addressed by the project Strengthening the rule of law (FortalEsDer) (since October 2004). The goal is to enhance the efficiency of selected judicial and state control organs in performing their tasks.
• The programme Popular participation for peace (PACIPAZ), which has been running since July 2004, aims at promoting state institutions and civil society organisations for peaceful coexistence and constructive conflict transformation.