Armed Conflict and Human Rights in Colombia

Abstract

Colombia, a country in South America with a population of around 44 million, is considered to be one of the oldest and most stable democracies in the region. However, alongside democracy in Colombia, there is also an armed conflict, which some consider to have begun at the end of the 1940s. The fact that Colombia has maintained its democratic tradition while experiencing so lengthy a period of armed conflict, in which there have been so many victims and deaths, has resulted in international bodies such as the United Nations and humanitarian and ecumenical organizations devoting particular attention to the human rights situation in Colombia. As social organizations, churches and national and international ecumenical organizations facing this situation, we have the challenge to strengthen the work of support and accompaniment to those who are working in the defence of human rights, seeking justice and creating conditions to overcome the armed conflict by means of dialogue and political negotiation.