Colombian court rejects challenge to Farc peace talks
Colombia's constitutional court upholds law that was prerequisite for negotiations to end five-decade civil war
The court ruling came as Colombia's president, Juan Manuel Santos, announced that his government was also preparing for peace talks with the Farc’s smaller counterpart, the National Liberation Army. Photograph: Fernando Vergara/AP
A Colombian high court has upheld a law that allows peace talks with Marxist Farc rebels, rejecting a challenge based on the constitution that could have jeopardised efforts to end five decades of war.
The legal framework for peace, which was approved in congress last year, modified the constitution and laid the foundation for the punishment of war crimes, reparations for victims and eventual peace with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
"The constitutional court considered that to reach stable and lasting peace, it is legitimate to adopt transitional justice measures like the mechanisms of selection and ranking" of crimes, the court said a statement read by its top judge, Jorge Iván Palacios.
The court's decision came on the same evening that Colombia's president, Juan Manuel Santos, announced his government was ready to prepare for peace negotiations with the Farc's smaller counterpart, the National Liberation Army (ELN). The announcement had been expected after the ELN met Santos's pre-condition for talks by freeing a Canadian hostage it had held for seven months.
Though the legal framework for peace is a prerequisite for talks with the rebel movements, the reform has been harshly criticised by the opposition and human rights groups as an inadequate law that offers a "backdoor amnesty" for war crimes and may force victims to turn to the international courts for redress.
Gustavo Gallón, a lawyer with the Colombian Commission of Jurists, filed the legal challenge to three phrases in the text of the law that he said would allow congress members to choose which cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes could be investigated and punished, leading to impunity for many.
Supporters of the reform argued that any change to its wording could weaken the scope of the entire law, throwing negotiations in Cuba between the rebels and the government into doubt.
The law became the foundation that drew the Farc, Latin America's biggest rebel group, into peace talks late in 2012. At least 200,000 people have been killed in Colombia's internal conflict.
Only members of the Farc and ELN stand to benefit from the law. It excludes criminals involved with drug cartels or former paramilitary groups.
Santos argued that it was unrealistic to attempt to investigate and punish all violations and war crimes during the conflict and called the court's ruling an important step towards ending decades of violence.
"For this process to be successful depends in large part on the justice system, and that we find the middle point between justice and peace that enables us to put a definitive end to this conflict which has been bleeding us for 50 years," he said.
Opposition leaders, however, argue that the law would allow rebels responsible for war crimes to benefit from soft prison sentences or walk away free. Santos's predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, said it violated international treaties because it would effectively pardon crimes against humanity.
The 8,000-member Farc has been weakened by a decade-long US-backed offensive, but a recent rash of attacks against oil installations and heavy military combat losses have proven it is still a force to be reckoned with.
The two sides have already reached a partial agreement in Havana on rural development, the first issue on a five-point agenda. They are now negotiating the terms under which the rebels would be incorporated into the political system. They also will seek agreement on the drug trade, reparation of victims and ultimately an end to the conflict.
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