Episode 16: War and Peace in Colombia with Louise Winstanley of ABColombia

Join us for a discussion of war, peacebuilding, and the problem of vested interests in Colombia and Latin America with veteran peace-maker and long-time human rights activist Louise Winstanley, the Programme and Advocacy Manager of ABColombia, a UK-based human rights organization.

Louise discusses:

• Right-wing tactics of repression in Latin America;

• Obstacles to documentation of evidence of atrocity;

• The ongoing dire situation of human rights defenders and environmental activists in Colombia, especially since the signing of the 2016 Peace Accord;

• The growth of right-wing neo-paramilitary groups;

• The history of the FARC and the political genocide of the Patriotic Union political party after its formation in the 1980s;

• The peace process that resulted in the Peace Accord in 2016 and challenges to its implementation;

• The disappointments of land reform;

• Links between multinational agricultural and mining corporations and paramilitary groups;

• The impact of Covid-19 on Colombia;

• The large-scale, nationwide social protests in spring 2021 that resulted in dozens of protesters killed by Colombian security forces;

• Police reform and the importance of peaceful protest in peacebuilding processes; and

• How we all can continue working for peace in situations of apparently intractable conflict.