The Role of the Victims’ Delegations in the Santos-FARC Peace Talks

Abstract

This chapter explores a series of complex interrelated factors that shape the relationship between victimhood, transitional justice and peacemaking/peacebuilding, within the context of the recent peace process between the government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC-EP (2012–2016), in Colombia. The chapter explores the role that victims may assume in contexts of peacemaking/peacebuilding, examining the formal participation of the so-called victims’ delegations in the aforementioned negotiations. Based on interviews with the victims’ delegations, the research analyses how, if at all, victims may shape formal peacemaking and thus mould how we understand peace, justice and truth. The chapter ultimately asks whether, by taking victims’ demands into account, negotiations are moulded by a victim-centred approach and thus responsive to victims.