Some 5.5 million Colombians have been displaced, killed or hurt in the conflict, and the government believes personal compensation will help heal the scars of war, as peace talks move ahead in Havana
BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Paula Gaviria has what must be one of the hardest jobs in the Colombian government – the task of compensating millions of victims of a 50-year-old conflict involving government troops, rightist paramilitary groups and leftist guerrillas.
But Gaviria, a lawyer who heads the government’s victims’ unit, is not deterred by the herculean demands of a role that includes coordinating dozens of state entities and controlling a multi-billion dollar budget.
She is responsible for implementing what is known as the victims’ law, historic legislation passed in 2011 that offers up to $12,000 to victims and families of those who have died in the violence inflicted by all sides in the conflict.
The law is seen as the centrepiece of government efforts to heal the wounds of war and lays the groundwork for peace as the government and top commanders from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) hold peace talks in Havana.
Gaviria is acutely aware that the way the government deals with demands for justice will be key to reconciliation and the prevention of new bloodshed.
“The government recognises the rights of victims,” she told Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview. “We’re aware that this process starts with acknowledging their pain and suffering and implementing a series of programmes that allows victims reparation in an integral way, including justice, truth and the guarantee that human rights abuses won’t happen again.”
FORCED DISPLACEMENT
Nearly 80 percent of the 5.5 million war victims on the government’s victims register are people who have been driven from their homes, sometimes at gunpoint, because of fighting between government troops, leftist FARC rebels and right-wing paramilitary groups.
Also on the list are relatives of those who have disappeared, been killed or kidnapped, civilians killed and injured by landmines and other devices, victims of sexual abuse, children born after their mothers were raped by members of armed groups, and youngsters forcibly recruited as child soldiers. Victims can file incidents dating back to 1985.
So far, over 115,000 people have received financial compensation under the victims' law – but Gaviria emphasises that the help she offers goes way beyond handing victims a cheque.
“Reparation is not just about money,” she said. “Reparation involves generating confidence in the state and in the victims themselves to move forward and rebuild their lives.”
The law, says Gaviria, also gives families the right to know what happened to relatives killed or missing during the conflict and provides victims with health services, education and humanitarian aid.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE UNDER-REPORTED
Over the decades, sexual violence has been a defining feature of Colombia’s conflict, carried out by both paramilitary groups and FARC rebels as a way of imposing social and military control in an area.
In a landmark 2008 ruling, Colombia’s Constitutional Court concluded that “sexual violence against women is a habitual, extensive, systematic and invisible practice in the Colombian armed conflict.”
Yet only 3,000 of Colombia’s 5.5 million registered victims are women and girls who have suffered sexual violence, mostly at the hands of paramilitary groups, Gaviria says.
“Sexual violence is hugely under-reported. It’s a challenge to get more women to come forward to report incidents of sexual violence. It’s a taboo that’s slowly being broken down,” she said. “Women still feel shame and fear. They still don’t have faith in government institutions…”
Victims of sexual violence are entitled to $10,600 in compensation along with medical care and help from psychologists, Gaviria said.
SLOW PROCESS
Few doubt Gaviria’s zeal in defending victims’ rights.
But critics say more needs to be done to implement the law faster and more effectively, as millions of Colombians are still waiting for compensation and justice.
“It’s the large volume of cases that’s the biggest challenge of my job,” Gaviria said. “And how to give a personalized service to each victim and ensure that the state impacts in a positive way on the life of every single victim.”
Many officials at the local government level and people living in rural areas still do not know what the law entails, analysts say.
“More needs to be done to communicate about what the law offers and how it works,” said Gaviria, adding that victims can file claims until 2021. Gaviria and her team must decide within 60 days of receiving a claim whether the claimant should be placed on the victims’ register.
So far this year, they have added 800,000 names to the register.
Gaviria said that more local officials and judges are being trained in the victims’ law. Television commercials, a free hotline and over 80 government-run centres across the country are helping to make people aware of the law and helping them make claims where relevant, she added.
One major challenge is that although peace talks are under way, there is no ceasefire, and the number of victims is rising by the day.
Last year alone, nearly 100,000 people were displaced, according to government figures.
“It’s a long and complex process. But we’re committed to helping victims and providing them with justice,” Gaviria said.
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