Partisan violence exploded in Colombia in two particularly virulent outbreaks in the twentieth century. Between 1899 and 1903, the War of a Thousand Days claimed an estimated 100,000 lives. From 1946 to 1957, some 300,000 more Colombians died in what has become known as simply “La Violencia” (the Violence). Both outbreaks were the result of a bitter contest between the Conservative and Liberal parties.
Today, Colombia’s internal armed conflict has lasted for decades. This current violence emerged from practices of political, social, and economic exclusion that have given Colombia one of the highest rates of inequality of any society in the world.
Poverty, injustice, and the lack of opportunities for change led to the emergence of guerrilla groups, while paramilitary forces, and sometimes public security forces, aligned with political and economic elites to protect the status quo. For decades, Colombia has experienced widespread violence, including massacres, kidnapping, and serious human rights abuses. Access to land for the production and transportation of drugs and other lucrative commodities has accelerated the violence and caused more than five million Colombians to be displaced from their homes. The ensuing humanitarian crisis has spilled across Colombia’s borders and placed a burden on neighboring countries.
After 52 years of armed conflict, a peace accord between Colombia’s government and the country’s oldest rebel group has been agreed upon in August 24, 2016.Talks in Havana that President Juan Manuel Santos began with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) in 2012 have successfully addressed the toughest issues, and a plebiscite will be held on October 2, 2016 by the Congress of Colombia on moving forward with the peace accord.
An end to the conflict would leave Colombia with a massive task of reconciliation. The war has created 7.6 million registered victims, left more than 220,000 dead and uprooted over 6 million—the second-largest number of internally displaced people in any country, after Syria, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Post-accord challenges also will include reparations and land restitution to victims, reintegrating FARC ex-combatants into civilian life, implementing the peace terms locally, and addressing the socio-economic disparities and political exclusion that have long been at the root of the conflict.
