Meeting with Judge Gloria Amparo Rodríguez of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP)

By Luis-Miguel Gutiérrez et Claudia Pineda.

February 18, 2020 – 5 pm Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), Bogotá.

Meeting between the Chair’s research team and Judge Gloria Amparo Rodríguez (JEP):

• Gloria Amparo Rodríguez, Judge of the Tribunal for Peace (Review Section), Special Jurisdiction for Peace.

This meeting opens the possibility of a scientific collaboration between the Normandy Chair for Peace (CNP) and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace on peace, transitional justice and the environment.

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace was born from the peace agreements signed between the national government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) with the aim of judging and punishing the perpetrators of serious crimes committed in the Colombian armed conflict. Through Legislative Act 01 of 2017, the JEP was constitutionalized, giving it a fundamental place in the integral system of truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition.

After two years of operation, JEP faces multiple challenges in the implementation of the peace agreement and transitional justice in Colombia. One of these is the recognition of environmental conflicts in the context of the internal armed conflict, such as forced displacement, confinements and concrete environmental impacts due to agro-industrial, infrastructure and natural resource extraction projects. In its recent decisions, the JEP has taken a fundamental step in this area by recognizing nature as a victim in Colombia.

There is therefore an urgent need to reflect on the links between transitional justice, peacebuilding and environmental issues.

Judge Gloria Amparo Rodríguez, who wrote her thesis on environmental conflicts in Colombia, dealing with their relationship with the conflict, explained to the Chair team how the JEP has a territorial and environmental commission that deals with this issue of environmental protection, also existing an ethnic commission.

In this context, the Normandy Chair for Peace can converge with efforts in this field, and provide elements of analysis within the framework of its different research axes and, in particular, with regard to the comparative experience and implementation of transitional justice processes in other parts of the world.

In order to continue working with the PAC on future projects, the Chair will seek new points of convergence and proposals for collaboration to advance the issues mentioned above. From an academic and institutional point of view, the collaboration with Gloria Amparo and the JEP is extremely enriching for the work of the Chair, and the other lines of work of the CNP.