Land Restitution and Prevention of Forced Displacement in Colombia

The armed conflict in Colombia, which has generated over three million internally displaced persons, has dramatic humanitarian consequences and raises serious issues regarding the protection of displaced peoples’ rights. The underlying reasons for the displacement often lie in the dynamics associated with territorial control and land seizures undertaken for strategic, military or purely economic purposes. Domestic and international legal provisions have established the victims’ right to the restitution of their homes and property as the “preferred remedy” in cases of displacement. However, policies dealing with displacement, both those of the Colombian government and of several international institutions, fail to take this sufficiently into account. A comprehensive reparation policy for victims must necessarily entail the reversion of lands, territories and goods seized in Colombia under the pretext of the internal armed conflict.

Transformación del discurso de la política nacional de atención y reparación a las víctimas en Colombia (2005-2012): una mirada desde el análisis narrativo de políticas públicas

El propósito de esta monografía es analizar la transformación del discurso de la política pública de atención y reparación entre los gobiernos de Álvaro Uribe y Juan Manuel Santos. Se estudia cómo las diferentes narrativas o relatos de política pública utilizan estrategias para poder influir en la formulación de la política de atención y reparación. Con base en el análisis narrativo de políticas públicas de Emery Roe, se construye una metodología particular para abordar este fenómeno. De esta forma, se logran identificar estrategias contextuales y discursivas que los relatos dominantes utilizan para posicionarse en el proceso de formulación de la política.

Protection of Urban Lands: Advances in Medellin’s Public Policy

The problem of land ownership protection in this country is an issue that must be faced by those who have as part of their responsibilities the recognition, the restitution and the reparation of victims of forced displacement. One of the points that must be analyzed is the protection of ownership of urban lands, a subject falling under municipal responsibility. The development of a public policy by the City of Medellín for the protection of such lands is a significant advance for the creation of protocols and for the return of rights to those who have adandoned their lands because of violence or who have been divested of their homes in urban areas.