Colombian peace process
Negotiations and agreements aimed at ending Colombia’s armed conflict, most notably the 2016 peace accord between the government and FARC.
2016 Colombian peace agreement: The agreement signed by Colombia’s government and FARC in 2016 to end their armed conflict. It is the central negotiated outcome of the broader peace process.
Colombian conflict: The prolonged armed conflict among the Colombian state, guerrilla groups, paramilitaries, and other armed actors. The peace process sought to end this wider and evolving conflict.
Juan Manuel Santos: Colombia’s president from 2010 to 2018, who led the government’s peace negotiations with FARC. He launched the negotiations and championed the agreement through its political setbacks.
2016 Colombian peace referendum: A nationwide vote on the initial peace agreement, rejected by a narrow majority on October 2, 2016. The rejection forced renegotiation and exposed the accord’s fragile public legitimacy.
Pastrana peace process: The 1998–2002 peace negotiations between President Andrés Pastrana’s government and FARC. Its collapse provides a direct precedent for the later Havana negotiations.
Special Jurisdiction for Peace: A transitional justice tribunal created by Colombia’s 2016 peace agreement to investigate conflict-related crimes. It established a route to accountability and conditional sanctions for serious crimes.
FARC: A Colombian Marxist-Leninist guerrilla organization founded in 1964 and demobilized under the 2016 peace accord. FARC was the government’s principal negotiating counterpart in the Havana talks.
Rodrigo Londoño: A former FARC commander, known as Timochenko, who signed the 2016 accord for the guerrilla organization. He represented FARC in the final negotiations and oversaw its transition into politics.
Common Alternative Revolutionary Force: The political party formed by former FARC members after the organization’s demobilization. The accord enabled FARC’s transition from armed rebellion into electoral politics.
Demobilization: The organized disbanding of armed forces or groups and their transition out of military activity. The peace process combined demobilization with political, justice, and rural reforms.