Comment By UN High Commissioner For Human Rights Michelle Bachelet On Colombian Truth Commission’s Final Report

Geneva, 28 June 2022

“I want to pay tribute to Colombia’s Truth Commission at a historic moment as it presents its final report today. I would also like to pay tribute to the victims, whose courage and persistence were the basis for the Commission’s creation.

The Truth Commission is one of the three institutions that make up the Colombian Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition created under the 2016 peace agreement. Since it started functioning in 2018, it has worked, at times in difficult circumstances, to shed light on five decades of atrocities and human rights violations committed during the country’s armed conflict. It has advocated for the rights of millions of victims – children, women and men who themselves have fought tirelessly to be heard, for their collective and individual stories of suffering and resistance to be made public, and for their rights to be acknowledged and restored.

The work of the Truth Commission has highlighted the causes of the conflict and exposed its painful reality.

Without truth, reconciliation is not possible. Without reconciliation, the risk of repetition remains real.

My Office will review the detailed contents of the report presented today with keen interest.

Transitional justice processes are among the most powerful instruments to overcome conflict and break cycles of violence and impunity. This is why my Office, building on the historic 2016 peace agreement between the Government and the FARC-EP guerrilla group, has been fully engaged in and collaborated with Colombia’s transitional justice process.

The UN Human Rights Office’s support in this area will continue, including for the Committee that will supervise the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations.

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