Colombia peace tribunal charges ex-FARC members with anti-Indigenous crimes

What the report says

Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), the country’s transitional justice tribunal, has indicted 10 former members of the FARC over alleged abuses committed between 1996 and 2016 against Indigenous communities in the southeast of the country. Al Jazeera reports that the charges include war crimes and crimes against humanity, with allegations of torture, murder and forced displacement affecting five Indigenous groups.

According to the tribunal, former rebel commanders ordered subordinates to place landmines on Indigenous land and damage ecosystems that local communities depended on. JEP magistrate Catalina Diaz said the case was meant to bring accountability to communities that have long been overlooked. Indigenous leaders welcomed the move as a recognition that armed groups targeted not only individuals, but also their territory, language and cultural survival.

The case comes as Colombia continues to confront the legacy of more than five decades of internal conflict involving left-wing guerrillas, state forces, criminal groups and right-wing paramilitaries. The article cites Colombia’s Truth Commission as saying the war caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and more than 100,000 disappearances. It also notes that some former FARC members entered politics under the 2016 peace deal, while critics argue that many perpetrators have avoided meaningful punishment.

The report adds that the JEP can impose reparative, non-prison penalties, and that its future may face pressure under President Abelardo de la Espriella, whose allies have proposed budget cuts for the tribunal.