SOCIAL STRUGGLES, HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE PEASANTRY 1988-2012

SPECIAL REPORT SOCIAL STRUGGLES, HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE PEASANTRY 1988-2012

Center of Research and Popular Education / Peace Program (CINEP/PPP)

August 2013

Informe Especial CINEP/ Programa por la Paz. Luchas sociales, Derechos Humanos y representaci贸n pol铆tica del campesinado 1988-2012. Agosto de 2013

Special Report

CeCwCenter of Research and Popular Education / Peace Program (CINEP/PPP) General Director Dr. Luis Guillermo Guerrero Guevara General Information system Alejandro Angulo Novoa, S.J. Institucional Advocacy and Communication Project Laura González Pérez This report was prepared by: Team Social Movements Martha Cecilia García Velandia Álvaro Delgado Guzmán Leonardo Parra Team land and territory rights Diana Victoria Márquez Pinzón Zohanny Arboleda Mutis Javier Lautaro Medina Bernal Dana Barón Romero Sergio Andrés Coronado Delgado Team Conflict and State Víctor Barrera Ramírez Team Institucional Advocacy and Communication Project Jennipher Andrea Corredor Sánchez Team General Information system Ana María Restrepo Rodríguez Alejandro Cadena Benavides Team Intitucional Human Rights and Political Violence Data Bank Vladimir Támara Támara Center of Research and Popular Education / Peace Program (CINEP/PPP) Carrera 5 No. 33 B – 02 Teléfono (57–1) 245 61 81 Fax (57–1) 287 90 89 Bogotá D.C. – Colombia cinep@cinep.org.co www.cinep.org.co

Informe Especial CINEP/ Programa por la Paz. Luchas sociales, Derechos Humanos y representación política del campesinado 1988-2012. Agosto de 2013

SOCIAL STRUGGLES, HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE PEASANTRY 1988-2012* EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This special report addresses one of the critical problems facing the nation: the political recognition of peasants.

In order to arrive at a better understanding of the political and social dynamics of the peasantry in Colombia, the report presents data on the trends in social struggles led by the peasant sectors, the dynamics of the human rights violations and breaches of International Humanitarian Law of which they are victims, and some characteristics of the State’s process for addressing the needs and demands of these social groups. The social mobilization currently being carried out in the country, in which peasants and other social sectors are vigorously expressing themselves, constitutes an invitation to recognize the links and relationships between the processes of victimization, the development of the social struggles, and the formulation of public policies aimed at these social sectors.

This report is a call for deepening the process for the political recognition of the peasant sectors, based on the historical debts owed them by the national and regional governments, the serious and systematic violations of their human rights, and the need to implement public policies that respond to their needs and the needs of the entire population. The report also emphasizes the fact that the political recognition of these sectors will necessarily entail the construction of institutional designs and public policies with the effective participation of peasant communities.

The report presents information about peasant social struggles and violations of their human rights during the period 1988-2012. The persistence of the reasons for the social struggles and the emergence of new demands in the mobilizations make it possible to understand the dynamic nature of these sectors and their capacity to formulate proposals for the solution of structural problems – the high concentration of land ownership – as well as for the implementation of sectoral and/or territorial policies.

In terms of human rights, the peasantry constitutes one of the most victimized social sectors in the context of the political violence and armed conflict in Colombia. According to CINEP/PPP’s Human Rights and Political Violence Data Bank, 17,559 peasants were victims of human rights violations and breaches of International Humanitarian Law between 1988 and 2012. In recent years, many of these victimizations have occurred during protests led by peasant organizations. It is necessary to overcome the stigma of social protests and to understand the development of the struggles and social demands that motivate them in order to address and overcome the structural elements that generate them.

While this report places an emphasis on the social struggles and victimization of the peasant sectors, lack of political recognition is also a reality for other rural sector populations, such as indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian communities. Thus, it is necessary to recognize the historical debts owed to the rural peasant, indigenous and AfroColombian sectors, whose main expression in the country is the continuing failure to implement agrarian reform policies. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that these sectors have remote possibilities of participating in and influencing regional and national planning processes and the formulation of rural development policies. This report presents data showing the lack of opportunities for participation, the possible relationship between this situation and the unsatisfied demands of these sectors, and the expression of this in the persistence of the social struggles in certain regions of the country.

The political recognition of peasants also requires their reparation as victims of serious, systematic human rights violations, and a consolidation of democracy that enables them to participate in and effectively influence the formulation and implementation of agrarian and rural development policies that directly affect them. The recent * CINEP/Programa por la Paz respectfully addresses the gender perspective and recognizes diversity in all of its expressions. This report does not use inclusive language so as to facilitate its reading and production, and not in disregard of the gender perspective in our approach

Informe Especial CINEP/ Programa por la Paz. Luchas sociales, Derechos Humanos y representación política del campesinado 1988-2012. Agosto de 2013

formation of a negotiating committee to overcome the crisis in the Catatumbo region, the reactivation of the roundtable dialogue in southern Bolívar, and the formation of an intersectoral roundtable on rural development for Montes de María are exercises of political recognition that must be deepened and replicated on a priority basis in those regions of the country in which social struggles have endured over time, or in which there have been systematic violations of the human rights of these sectors. The recognition of special rights for peasants can help consolidate the political recognition of this sector, something that is necessary for the construction of a sustainable and lasting peace.

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Informe Especial CINEP/ Programa por la Paz. Luchas sociales, Derechos Humanos y representación política del campesinado 1988-2012. Agosto de 2013

SOCIAL STRUGGLES, HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE PEASANTRY 1988-2012 RECOMMENDATIONS To the National Government: •

Promote the adoption of legal and institutional mechanisms that foster and strengthen the recognition of peasants, indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians as political actors, including the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security.

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Promote a differential peasant approach in the implementation of victims’ reparations and land restitution policies.

This differential approach will favor the protection the cultural, social and economic relationships that peasants have with the land and the territories.

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Promote the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peasants by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

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Adopt policies for the protection and promotion of peasant family farming and agro-ecological production systems.

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Implement preventive controls and guidelines to protect the human rights of peasants, indigenous peoples, AfroColombians and other citizens who participate in social protests. In particular, reconsider the manner in which the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) deals with social protests.

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Recognize social organizations’ agrarian and rural development legislative and public policy initiatives, particularly the Land and Rural Development Bill developed by the Agrarian Unity Roundtable (Mesa de Unidad Agraria).

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Support the protection and self-protection strategies of peasant organizations, indigenous peoples and AfroColombians, who face risks related to their claims for rights to land and territory.

To the International Community: •

Promote the adoption of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peasants by the General Assembly of the United Nations within the framework of the declaration of 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming.

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Assist the Colombian government in the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security.

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Promote actions to support the consolidation of coordinated work among institutions that will foster the nonstigmatization and full recognition of the rights of peasants in Colombia.

Informe Especial CINEP/ Programa por la Paz. Luchas sociales, Derechos Humanos y representación política del campesinado 1988-2012. Agosto de 2013

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To Local Governments: •

Invite peasant, indigenous and Afro-Colombian organizations to participate in the design of municipal and departmental rural development policies.

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Rigorously implement international guidelines and national legal frameworks, ensuring full respect for the rights of peasants.

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Promote opportunities for meetings and dialogue with peasants and other citizens in the territories to address their expectations and needs.

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Respect and protect the legitimate right to engage in social protest, and coordinate the provision of assistance by military and police authorities rather than stigmatization and the use of force against such expressions.

To Civil Society:

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Promote opportunities for discussion and socialization of the land and rural development public policy proposals developed by social organizations.

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Facilitate and participate in regional dialogues that include the participation of multiple actors involved in the implementation of land and rural development policies.

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Encourage the open and pluralistic knowledge of peasant communities, based on the recognition of diversity and the richness of their participation in the social, political, economic and cultural life of the country.

Informe Especial CINEP/ Programa por la Paz. Luchas sociales, Derechos Humanos y representación política del campesinado 1988-2012. Agosto de 2013

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