In 2016, the Colombian government and FARC guerrillas signed a peace accord to end fifty years of conflict. In January 2017, talks officially launched between the Colombian government and the last remaining major guerrilla group, the ELN. Yet the situation remains dangerous for many communities in the countryside, for demobilized combatants, and especially for human rights defenders and Afro-Colombian and indigenous leaders. Will the Trump Administration support efforts to consolidate peace in Colombia? What are the challenges to ensure a just and lasting peace? Come hear U.S. and Colombian advocates discuss the opportunities and risks ahead.
Speakers:
Luis Gerardo Acero Barrios, Corporación Acción Humanitaria por la Convivencia y la Paz Del Nordeste Antioqueno; Cristina Espinel, Colombia Human Rights Committee; Lisa Haugaard, Latin America Working Group; Andrea Fernandez Aponte, Latin America Working Group. With support from Mennonite Central Committee and Peace Brigades International.