2014 Latin America & the Caribbean Workshops

With the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla group at the negotiating table, there is real hope for an end to the war in Colombia. After fifty years of unspeakable violence, peace in Colombia shimmers on the horizon. But peace must be built from the ground up. This workshop will bring visionary peacebuilders from Colombia to talk with you about the peace process and how respect for the rights of victims of violence to truth and justice are essential in order to construct a just and lasting peace.

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Every year, hundreds of thousands of Central American migrants travel through Mexico on their way to the U.S. border, fleeing spiraling violence and poverty in their home countries. Many are left with few options other than to travel clandestinely through regions dominated by criminal groups and corrupt officials who target migrants because they can be exploited with impunity. Advocates estimate that kidnapping, robbery, assault and extortion of migrants generates tens of millions of dollars each year for organized crime, funds that are fed back into organized crime’s infrastructure, strengthening its ability to commit violence against both Mexicans and migrants. Brave human rights defenders and faith communities provide humanitarian assistance and work to protect and defend migrants, but consequently fall victim to targeted attacks from both organized crime and corrupt officials. Join us to learn more about the current situation and what strategies for solidarity are likely to be most effective in this challenging context.

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Haiti and the Dominican Republic are uneasy neighbors, and the disparities between them create tensions and conflicts that manifest in many forms: trafficking, forced repatriations, labor exploitation, xenophobic violence, denationalization and statelessness. Dominican and Haitian civil society, mobilized affected people, international organizations and institutions, and faith based organizations have all worked to resist these expressions of interpersonal and systemic violence, but while some transformative peace-building has taken place at the community level and between some groups, comprehensive solutions to these deep rooted problems have proven elusive. Come join this conversation to learn more about the current situation within and between these two countries, and how different peace-building strategies might be applied to this complex context.

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For the past several years, the U.S. war on drugs has included a militarized approach to trafficking in Mexico and Central America. These policies have led to an increase in the use of torture, violence against women, human rights violations and extrajudicial executions. In addition, by every conceivable measure (reducing availability of drugs, decreasing crime and the power of drug cartels, increasing public security, effective use of taxes), they have been an abject and costly failure. We will outline current U.S. policies and open up a discussion around alternatives focused on prevention, rule of law and human rights.

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