The Limits of a Peace Agreement (The Havana Agreements)

Abstract

After many years of internal armed conflict in Colombia, the “Final Agreement for the Termination of the Conflict and the Construction of a Stable and Lasting Peace” (Havana Agreements or the Agreement) was signed in 2016 in Havana, Cuba. The Havana Agreements arose because of different previous attempts aimed at reducing violence and generating lasting peace for that country. In this work, point 5 of the Agreement is studied, which refers specifically to the “Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict: "Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition" including the Special Jurisdiction for Peace; and Commitment to Human Rights." It is maintained that the negotiators made an important effort so that the commitments assumed were in line with international standards of respect to human rights around what is known as “transitional justice” processes. The main question that this work aims to answer is, did they achieve it? The conclusion maintains that, unless there is some important change, especially in the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, if some victims turn to the inter-American human rights system, there is a risk that the Agreement itself will be challenged in the future by the Court.