The risks of defenders of the right to land and territory in the post-peace agreement scenario in Colombia

The risks of defenders of the right to land and territory in the post-peace agreement scenario in Colombia – a view from the region is a joint publication by Protection International and Pensamiento y Acción Social (PAS) that throws light on the reality for land rights defenders in a post-peace agreement Colombia, as well as looking at the implementation of the peace agreement in regions most affected by the 50 year conflict.

In 2016, the signing of the peace agreement between the national government and the FARC meant for Colombian society both the end of the oldest armed confrontation in the continent and the beginning of a process of social changes that would lay the foundations for a stable and lasting peace. With this, the peace agreement was expected to give a safer scenario to defenders of the land and territory.

However, because rural social realities in Colombia are complex and although the transformations proposed in the peace agreement contain immediate actions, it is not plausible to expect that the mere signing of the 2016 agreement would, by itself, lead to change. At the national level, the legislative and institutional changes committed to the implementation of the peace agreement are slow and face permanent advances and setbacks, many things happen in the regions that may reflect the real country, while the national discourse continues to reflect the formal country.

This publication presents the results of PI and PAS’ research on how the implementation of the peace agreement and the regional realities in Colombia is affecting the defense of rights associated with land and territory, the risks associated to them, the priorities and the actors involved.

Here you can find the complete publication and the executive summary. Both documents are only available in Spanish.