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On Wednesday 21 September, coinciding with the celebration of the International Day of Peace, ICIP presented the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2022 to the Basque associative network in favor of peace.  The ceremony took place in the auditorium of the Parliament of Catalonia and featured the participation of representatives of the 17 award-winning organizations and initiatives.

All of these civil society peace initiatives jointly received the award “for their contribution to the advancement of peace, the end of political violence and the creation of new frameworks of coexistence and reconciliation.” These award-winning initiatives include several organizations that have played a key role in advancing towards resolution of the conflict, such as the Permanent Social Forum, the now-dissolved Coordinadora Gesto por la Paz and Elkarri/Lokarri. Also included are organizations that work for peace education and the promotion of coexistence and human rights, through the Forum of Associations for Peace and Human Rights Education, where Gernika Gogoratuz, Baketik and Bakeola play an important role.

The award also recognizes the Gernika Peace Museum Foundation, Foro Ciudadano Donostia, UNESCO Etxea, the Fernando Buesa Foundation, Emagune, the Ahotsak women’s network, Eskubidez, the experiences of dialogues with victims such as Encuentros Ciudadanos-Memoria Lab, the Encuentros Restaurativos between ETA prisoners and victims, and the BatzART! initiative.

The ceremony was presided over by the first vice president acting as president of the Parliament, Alba Vergés, and ICIP president Xavier Masllorens, who highlighted “the work, so often hidden and discreet, of individuals, groups and organizations that strongly believe that good social coexistence is built one step at a time, and that have decided to support initiatives that build bridges, for a future free of hate and violence.”

In his speech, the president of ICIP also stated that “the ICIP Award is a wakeup call to public authorities so that they act with the responsibility and maturity that the circumstances require.”

In his speech, Jordi Armadans, journalist, activist and former director of FundiPau, the organization that submitted the winning candidacy, highlighted “the experience, testimony and extremely important work of the peace activists.” He praised the “difficult and arduous, but absolutely essential” activism of the award recipients and stated that “violence is not only criminal, but also absurd” and that “human rights are never the problem, but rather the solution.”

A plural and collective award

Representatives from the various award-winning entities and initiatives collected the award during the ceremony and Maria Oianguren, director of the research center for peace Gernika Gogoratuz, and Eneko Calle, member of the Permanent Social Forum, spoke on behalf of them all.

In their acceptance speech, the two representatives highlighted the plurality of the award-winning initiatives but at the same time “their shared commitment in favor of peaceful coexistence and the defense of human rights,” and the ability of all of them to build bridges between opposing actors and open spaces of reconciliation between people who differ. Oianguren and Calle expressed their gratitude for the award on behalf of a civil society that has contributed to a process “that is still incomplete” and of which “there are still many knots to untie” such as the “recognition of all the victims” or the fact that “all the accounts can be honestly told.”

In their joint speech they also defended the need to continue working to delegitimize the hegemonic culture of violence as a way to resolve conflicts and called on public administrations to promote policies in favor of peace.

At the closing of the event, the first vice president acting as president of the Parliament, Alba Vergés, highlighted the “courage” of the award-winning entities in “difficult moments.” She also pointed out that “they have been able to work together for a democratic solution” to the Basque conflict and that “they are still working to solve the pending issues with the same commitment.” Finally, she added that the ICIP Award “is an award for the whole of Basque society.”

There were approximately one hundred people in attendance at the ICIP Award ceremony including many representatives of the Catalan peace movement, members of the association of victims of terrorism UAVAT and members of Parliament.

The final report of the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition of Colombia was presented at the Parliament of Catalonia on 12 July.   It was a very emotional event, featuring victims of the Colombian conflict living in exile in Catalonia and followed by nearly 250 attendees.

The event, organized by ICIP in its capacity as Technical Secretariat of the Truth Commission in Europe, opened with music by Colombian singer-songwriter Marta Gómez and the opening remarks of the president of the Parliament, Laura Borràs, who highlighted “the commitment of the Parliament and the whole of Catalan society to the cause of peace.”

ICIP director Kristian Herbolzheimer then called attention to the three years of collective work of the Truth Commission and ICIP, which now comes to an end with the presentation of the final report: “After decades of armed conflict, Colombia is now paradoxically the leading international model for peacebuilding, while in Europe, we are once again amid polarization, bloc confrontation and war,” he pointed out.  The ICIP director also urged Catalan institutions and associations to maintain a strong commitment to the victims and to peace in Colombia.

Recognition for victims of the conflictlicte

The institutional ceremony was conceived as recognition of victims of the Colombian conflict exiled in Catalonia and all the people who have worked for years to build peace in Colombia.  That is why the highlight was a conversation between Marta Liliana Ramírez, a victim of the conflict living in Catalonia who contributed her testimony to the Commission, and Helga Flamtermesky, an interviewer in the process of taking testimonies and member of the Catalonia Node in Support of the Commission.  During the conversation, Marta Liliana Ramírez, mother of a disappeared person, explained that giving testimony to the Truth Commission and feeling listened to has given her dignity.

The event also featured the participation of two members of the Truth Commission, Carlos Martín Beristain and Alejandro Valencia, who presented the main conclusions and recommendations of the final report, placing special emphasis on the chapter on exile: “Exile is oblivion; it is the consequence of many forms of violence.  And the report is a recognition of these ignored and invisible stories,” said Beristain.  The final report includes a series of recommendations to ensure a “more complete peace,” including reparation and dignification of the victims.

After their speeches, the two commissioners symbolically presented the report to Marta Liliana Ramírez and Dorys Ardila, a committee member for the follow-up of the Commission’s recommendations, who received it on behalf of all the victims in exile.

The documentary “Para volverte a ver,” produced by ICIP and Mandorla Films, was screened during the event.  The film narrates the contribution of the Colombian diaspora in Europe to the Commission’s work.  The documentary features four stories of life in exile, and two of its protagonists, Yanira Restrepo and Juana Sánchez-Ortega, were also present at the ceremony in the Parliament.

The ceremony ended with a performance by the musical trio Ensamble Ocasa which was met with big applause.

This event received support from Taula Catalana per la Pau i els Drets Humans a Colòmbia, the Catalonia Node and the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation.

The final report features 30,000 testimonies of the armed conflict

The Truth Commission of Colombia began its mandate in November 2018 to clarify the patterns and causes of human rights violations during the Colombian conflict, promoting the recognition of victims and contributing to coexistence.  The mandate will end this summer by disseminating the report in July and August.

The final report covers the events that took place in Colombia from 1958 to 2016 and are the result of a process of investigation and analysis based on a broad and pluralistic listening process that included victims, perpetrators, state security forces, businesspeople, ex-presidents, and other actors and sectors of civil society directly or indirectly related to the Colombian armed conflict.

The Commission has collected over 30,000 testimonies of the conflict, of which 2,000 are from exiles living in 24 different countries, including 800 in Europe and one hundred in Catalonia.

The Colombian armed conflict left a toll of nine million victims, of whom half a million were killed and 100,000 disappeared.  During the decades of conflict, one million people were forced to leave the country in search of protection.  Exile is almost always the last resort after other acts of violence.

Reception at the Palau de la Generalitat

On Tuesday, 12 July, the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Victòria Alsina, received Commissioners Carlos Martin Beristian and Alejandro Valencia at a meeting at the Palau de la Generalitat. The reception was also attended by the President and Director of the ICIP, Xavier Masllorens and Kristian Herbolzheimer, respectively; Marta Liliana Ramírez, a victim of the Colombian conflict exiled in Catalonia; and Dorys Ardila, a member of the committee following up on the recommendations of the Commission’s final report.

During the meeting, President Aragonès stressed the pride in “the support of the institutions and social movements of Catalonia to the peace process in Colombia”. They highlighted the work of the ICIP as the Technical Secretariat of the Truth Commission in Europe.

For her part, Minister Alsina reaffirmed the Government’s commitment so that Colombia “continues to be a priority country for Catalan cooperation, as it has historically been”.

The Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition of Colombia began its mandate in November 2018, intending to clarify the patterns and causes of human rights violations during the Colombian armed conflict, promoting the recognition of victims and contributing to coexistence. After more than three years of work, the Commission concludes this process in June 2022, presenting its Final Report and its subsequent dissemination, which will take place in July and August.

It has been an innovative mandate since, for the first time, a truth commission has included people living outside the country as participants. And ICIP has been a natural part of this process, acting as the Technical Secretariat of the Commission in Europe to accompany victims of the Colombian conflict in exile and promote their active participation.

In this capacity, ICIP has facilitated the creation of 15 working groups (nodes) in ten European countries, which have become spaces for participation, sharing experiences, and coexistence and dialogue among victims of the Colombian conflict living in Europe.

Additionally, several internodal groups have been created to address a range of thematic areas: gender, psychosocial support, recognition of victims, family members of victims of enforced disappearance, and second and third generations in exile.

Testimonies: Treasures of collective truth

For working with the Colombian exile community, 90 people were trained as interviewers and chroniclers, most of them victims and women, and a total of 822 testimonies were taken in Europe (2,000 worldwide).

This collection of testimonies has given visibility to life stories, silences, emotional impacts, coping, resilience and contributions to host societies and has also promoted transformative listening and self-recognition of the victims.

Recognition of the victims

Another aspect of ICIP’s work as Technical Secretariat of the Commission in Europe is the creation of spaces for the institutional recognition of exiled victims. The process, coordinated with the Catalonia Node in Support of the Commission and with the support of the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation, includes promoting institutional proclamations and approving resolutions by municipal governments and social organisations.

Lleida became the first city in the world to approve a resolution recognising its Colombian exiled and migrant community. On 30 July 2021, the local city council recognised “the contributions of civil society organisations in Lleida towards a sustainable and lasting peace in Colombia and support of the migrant and exiled community.” Subsequent resolutions of recognition were approved in June 2022 in Sabadell and the Barcelona Municipal Council of International Cooperation.

Documentary: ‘Para volverte a ver‘

In this work area, ICIP, together with Mandorla Films, has produced the documentary Para volverte a ver, which narrates the contribution of the Colombian diaspora in Europe to the work of the Commission through four testimonies. The film will premiere in Lleida on 8 July, as part of the Cinemón film festival. It will also be screened in Barcelona at the presentation of the final report to be held at the Catalan Parliament on 12 July.

This short documentary was produced with the support of the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation. More information about the film and its creation process can be found on the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Para volverte a ver.

ICIP, the Barcelona City Council and Taula per Mèxic are preparing the forum “Journalism and Peacebuilding in Mexico: Protecting journalists, guaranteeing freedom of the press,” which will be held in Mexico City on 20-21 June.

The event’s purpose is to reflect on the needs facing critical journalism in Mexico and create a meeting place for professionals exposed to constant risks and threats.

With eleven journalists murdered since the beginning of the year, Mexico is today one of the most dangerous countries to exercise freedom of the press, one of the fundamental pillars for building peace.

The starting point for the forum organization is the “Barcelona protects journalists from Mexico” temporary shelter program promoted by the Barcelona City Council and Taula de Mèxic. This program aims to facilitate staying in the Catalan capital of journalists who are threatened for freely practising their profession. That is why the conference will feature the participation of several journalists who are part of the program and will address the importance of protection mechanisms and psychosocial support for threatened professionals.

The “Journalism and Peacebuilding in Mexico” forum will be held at the Centro Cultural Bella Época and features the collaboration of various associations of Mexican journalists, such as Artículo 19, CIMAC and Periodistas de a Pie, as well as the Aluna Acompañamiento Psicosocial organization.

A peacebuilding perspective

Participants include prominent communication professionals who have long become essential actors in advocacy, social transformation and peacebuilding in a country, Mexico, where severe human rights violations occur. Their role is crucial in researching, documenting and analyzing the multiple instances of violence, identifying those responsible for these acts of violence, and raising awareness of citizen and community responses that challenge them and propose alternatives.

The forum will kick off on Monday, 20 June, with an institutional welcome by representatives of ICIP, the Barcelona City Council and Taula per Mèxic. Participants on the first day of the forum include the general director of the Mechanism for the Comprehensive Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists of Mexico City, Tobyanne Ledesma Rivera and the representative in Mexico of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Guillermo Fernández-Maldonado. The keynote speaker will be Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker Daniela Rea.

Several roundtables will be held on Monday 20 June and Tuesday 21 June with the participation of journalists from Mexico, as well as from Colombia, El Salvador and Catalonia. The issues that will be addressed include the current situation of critical journalism in Mexico, the challenges of investigative journalism in violent contexts, the contribution of journalism to peacebuilding, psychosocial support for journalists under threat, and the instruments of comprehensive protection for communication professionals at risk.

You can access the program of the forum (in Spanish) here. 

ICIP and the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition of Colombia are preparing a documentary about the role of the diaspora of Colombian exiles in Europe.  The film, Para volverte a ver (To See You Again), is a production of Mandorla Films, an independent audiovisual company that specializes in documentaries.  The film will be released in July, a few weeks after the Truth Commission presents its final report on 28 June.  This documentary short has the support of the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation.

The production of Para volverte a ver began at the beginning of 2022.  The idea of ICIP and the Commission was to portray the experience of several Colombians living in Europe who have given their testimony to the Commission from abroad, an innovative process that aims to inspire other truth commissions around the world.  According to Sílvia Plana, coordinator of ICIP’s Memory, coexistence and reconciliation area, the objective of the documentary is to show “the importance of the active participation of the diaspora in peacebuilding, as a transformative process both on a personal and collective level, based on the specific and unprecedented case of the Truth Commission of Colombia.”

After a public call for proposals, the production company Mandorla Films was chosen to carry out the project.  The production of the documentary began in February and filming took place in Denmark, Switzerland and Catalonia in March and April.  The film’s four main characters, Yanira Restrepo, Juana Sánchez, Wilmer Torres and Lizethe Álvarez, live in these countries.

The shooting of Para volverte a ver was completed during the meeting of nodes that ICIP organized in Barcelona in April.  The meeting was attended by commissioners Carlos Beristain and Lucía González, who also appear in the film.

Juana Sánchez, another one of the exiles featured in the documentary

The characters

Para volverte a ver compiles the testimonies of four Colombian exiles: Yanira, Juana, Wilmer and Lizethe.

Yanira is a farmer who lives in Catalonia.  She was forced to go into exile and leave Colombia 20 years ago after being persecuted by paramilitaries, guerrillas and the Colombian government.  She was a member of the M-19 guerrilla group.

Juana is a writer and amateur cook living in Barcelona.  Her father was the victim of a kidnapping by the FARC.  She has published a novel about her life story: her past and her experiences with her father.

Wilmer was born into a peasant family.  His grandfather was a peasant leader and his mother later followed in his footsteps to become a respected leader and human rights defender.  After years of persecution against her family, she decided to take Wilmer and his brother to Geneva, where she was a refugee.

Lizethe is a trans woman who fled Colombia after receiving several threats and realizing that her life was in danger.  After seeking asylum in several European countries, she found love and moved to Copenhagen, where she was able to start a new life.

A moment during the shooting of “Para volverte a ver” in Geneva, Switzerland

The production company

The production company behind this project is Mandorla Films, an audiovisual company headed by Nicolás Braguinsky Cascini and Juan Pablo Aris Escarena.

Braguinsky, a literature graduate and documentary filmmaker, is a creator of audiovisual content specializing in human rights, who has worked for various agencies of the United Nations, as well as for academic institutions such as York University and the University of Buenos Aires.  He has also worked for NGOs such as Civitas Maxima, CCPR, Wayamo Foundation and Geneva Call, among others.  Aris holds a PhD in social anthropology, and has extensive experience in ethnographic research in over ten countries and three continents.  The two of them have been working together since 2017 on projects that apply audiovisual techniques to scientific research and social projects.  Their productions include Solidarity Crime (2020) and Beyond Impunity (2021).

Para volverte a ver will premiere on 12 July at an event to be held at the Parliament of Catalonia during which the final report of the Truth Commission of Colombia will be presented.

For more information about the documentary and its creation process, you can follow the profiles of “Para volverte a ver” on Facebook and Instagram.

After evaluating the 23 valid candidacies received, the ICIP Board of Governors has decided to grant the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2022 to all the civil society peace initiatives of the Basque Country “for their contribution to the advancement of peace, the end of political violence and the creation of new frameworks of coexistence and reconciliation.”  These initiatives include several groups and NGOs, some of which have played a key role in advancing towards resolution of the conflict, such as the Permanent Social Forum and the now-dissolved Coordinadora Gesto por la Paz and Elkarri/Lokarri.

Also included are entities that work for peace education, and the promotion of coexistence and human rights, through the Forum of Associations for Peace and Human Rights Education, where Gernika Gogoratuz plays an important role.  Finally, the award honours the dialogue initiatives led by victims, such as the Citizens-Memory Lab Meetings or the Restorative Encounters between prisoners and victims of ETA

The winning candidacy was presented by the Catalan organization Fundipau, which emphasized that “in the context of the tenth anniversary of the end of ETA and the evolution of Basque society towards a level of coexistence, peace and reconciliation – still very precarious, but unimaginable just twenty years ago – we believe it is necessary to recognize, highlight and applaud the role of civil society.”

The Basque peace process features the singularity of not having a peace agreement.  The leading role in the rejection of violence, the promotion of social and political dialogue initiatives, and the defence of the rights to truth, memory, justice and guarantees of non-repetition have fallen on the associative fabric – a fabric as diverse in its perspectives, priorities and strategies as society itself.

The ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2022 will be presented in a ceremony at the Parliament of Catalonia in September, on the International Day of Peace.

The following are some of the initiatives featured in the winning candidacy:

Foro Social Permanente (2016 – present)

This initiative, consisting of 17 civil society organizations, was created in 2016 – five years after ETA’s definitive end to armed activity – to address fundamental issues for the transition to peace in the absence of a formal negotiation table: ETA’s disarmament, the recognition of all the victims of the conflict, the need to put an end to the exceptional nature of the penitentiary measures applied to ETA prisoners, and the construction of a critical memory with which society as a whole can identify.

Coordinadora Gesto por la Paz de Euskal Herria (1989-2013)

Gesto was founded with the aim of expressing a rejection of violence and defending, above all, the fundamental right to life.  It took to the streets for the first time in 1985, using silence as its gesture to dissociate itself from the violence that was taking place in the Basque Country and Navarre – mainly against the ETA attacks, but also against the attacks perpetrated by GAL and the illegal actions of the police forces.  This pioneering initiative generated an ethical awareness in a very polarized context where gestures for peace could be questioned by certain sectors of society.  In 2011, after ETA’s announcement of an end to armed activity, Coordinadora Gesto por la Paz announced its dissolution.

Elkarri (1992-2006) / Lokarri (2006-2015)

Elkarri was founded in 1992 with the aim of promoting “mobilization in favour of a peaceful solution to the Basque conflict or problem through dialogue.”  It promoted meeting places to facilitate social and political agreements and focused on the recognition of all the victims of the conflict.  In 2006, the association became known as Lokarri in order to reinforce its commitment to a negotiated solution to the Basque conflict.  Lokarri was the promoter of the Aiete Conference, in October 2011, which preceded ETA’s announcement of an end to violence.  In 2015, Lokarri was dissolved after considering that the peace process in the Basque Country was irreversible once the objectives of the end of ETA violence and the legalization of Sortu had been achieved.

Gernika Gogoratuz – Centro de Investigación pro la Paz (1987- present)

Gernika Gogoratuz (Remembering Gernika) is a Peace Research Center created in 1987, the 50^th anniversary of the Bombing of Gernika, and carries out its work in the field of memory and the culture of peace.  Its goal is to contribute to peacebuilding in the Basque Country and worldwide.  The centre features a specialized library with 6,200 volumes.

Foro de Asociaciones de Educación en Derechos Humanos y por la Paz (2007 – present)

This is a network of associations whose aim is to contribute to the culture of peace and the promotion of human rights.  It comprises some twenty organizations, including Baketik, a foundation established in 2006 to promote social and personal change, in an ethical sense; Bakeola, an organization dedicated to promoting coexistence; and the Fernando Buesa Foundation, established in memory of and in tribute to Fernando Buesa, assassinated by ETA, with the aim of keeping his example – in favour of the culture of peace, democracy and social progress – alive.

Encuentros restaurativos (Restorative Encounters) (2011-2012)

The so-called Restorative Encounters were meetings between people who had suffered the direct violence of ETA – either as direct victims or as family members – and people who had committed violence and who at the time were serving prison sentences.  The encounters stemmed from the desire of some inmates of the Nanclares de Oca prison to reach out to their victims as part of their internal process of separating themselves from the practice of violence.  Between 2011 and 2012, a total of 14 meetings between victims and perpetrators were held, with the support of the Directorate for Victims of Terrorism of the Basque Government and the Department of Penitentiary Institutions.

Memoria Lab Encuentros Ciudadanos (Citizen Encounters) (2013-2018)

Memory Lab is a citizen participation program for the social construction of memory in the Basque Country that emerged in 2013, one and a half years after the definitive end to ETA’s armed activity.  The initiative was created by three organizations with extensive experience in the culture of peace and human rights: Gernika Peace Museum Foundation, Bakeola and Gernika Gogoratuz.   From the outset, the program was based on social laboratory logic with a dual purpose: to promote the social construction of memory and to foster social relations based on nonviolent coexistence and respect for civic pluralism, and sustained by democratic values.

Other initiatives featured in the global candidacy include the Gernika Peace Museum Foundation, Argituz, Ahotsak, emaGune, UNESCO Etxea, Eskubidez, Bakea Orain, Denon Artean and Foro Ciudadano Donostia.

ICIP Peace in Progress Award

The ICIP Award has reached its eleventh edition this year.  The purpose of the award, established in 2011, is to publicly recognize people, organizations or institutions that have worked for, and contributed to, the promotion and building of peace in a prominent and extensive manner.

The award consists of public recognition, a sculpture, called Porta del Sol, created by Nobel Peace Prize winner, artist and activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, and an economic endowment of 6,000 euros.  The presentation of the award takes place annually at an institutional ceremony at the Parliament of Catalonia.

Previous recipients of the ICIP Peace in Progress Award include Julienne Lusenge (2020); Collectif de Familles de Disparu(e)s en Algérie (2019); Cauce Ciudadano, Mexico (2018); Arcadi Oliveres (2017); Peace Brigades International (2016); Joan Botam (2015); Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (2014); Jovan Divjak, Bosnia (2013); Madres de Soacha, Colombia (2012); The Struggle of Conscientious Objectors and those who refuse military service, represented by Pepe Beúnza (2011); and the Parliament of Catalonia (2011, extraordinary edition).

Previous recipients of the ICIP Peace in Progress Award include Julienne Lusenge (2020); Collectif de Familles de Disparu(e)s en Algérie (2019); Cauce Ciudadano, Mèxic (2018); Arcadi Oliveres (2017); Peace Brigades International (2016); Joan Botam (2015); Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (2014); Jovan Divjak, Bosnia (2013); Mares de Soacha, Colòmbia (2012); The Struggle of Conscientious Objectors represented by Pepe Beúnza (2011); and Parlament de Catalunya (2011, extraordinary edition).

ICIP has presented a new monograph of the digital magazine Peace in Progress dedicated to violence in non-war settings. The publication coincides with the release of the new digital version of the magazine, a completely revamped platform with a new design that makes it easier to consult all the issues published so far. This latest issue, the number 40, is entitled Violence in non-war settings.

Over the past four years, ICIP has made an effort to focus on these high-intensity situations, which are not related to extremism or classical warfare. They are situations that do not necessarily occur in authoritarian regimes but happen in “failed states” or in the poorest of all, something devastating to millions of people around the world. It is violence linked to organised crime, human trafficking, violence against defenders of the land and the environment, violence against women, and migration crises. This kind of violence is often associated with Latin America, but it is a reality in many other parts of the world.

With the publication of this issue, ICIP wants to contribute to broadening the views and knowledge on these multiple dimensions of violence, making it visible and at the same time giving tools to the people and groups who work to deal with it. Ours is a peacebuilding look that seeks to understand this violence’s dynamics and to know its actors based on a multidimensional reading of the phenomenon.

The authors

The monograph consists of 8 articles and an interview. The authors participating are: Ana Glenda Tager (Alianza por la Paz), Roger Mac Ginty (Durham Global Security Institute), José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez (Autonomous University of Tlaxcala, Mexico), Carolina Ricardo (Instituto Sou da Paz ), Mohamed Daghar (ENACT), Esperanza Hernández Delgado (La Salle University, Colombia), Jordi Mir (Pompeu Fabra University) and Sabina Puig (ICIP).

The monograph also includes an interview with Mary Kaldor, an expert in war, peace and security studies. The coordination was carried out by Sabina Puig, head of the ‘Violence in non-war settings’ area of ICIP.

On May 12, ICIP will hold a virtual magazine presentation on Twitter. The session will feature the participation of the authors Carolina Ricardo and José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez.

New design

With the release of this issue, the 40th edition, the magazine launches a new digital platform completely renewed and integrated into the ICIP website. The team responsible for the new design is Whads.

The renovation aims to open a new stage to consolidate the magazine’s trajectory and increase its scope and projection.

Based on articles, lectures and debates, Peace in Progress magazine offers a broad and multifaceted look at issues affecting peacebuilding. The aim is to contribute to the public discussion and provide content, diagnosis and proposals.

The magazine has published monographs on dialogue in polarised societies, drugs and violence in Latin America, missing persons, and the need to reorient security from feminism.

Check the new magazine here.

On Thursday, February 24, we woke up to the news of the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

At around 6 a.m. Moscow time, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine; minutes later, there were the first missile attacks in various parts of the country, including Kyiv.

Putin has launched a war that, in addition to the humanitarian, economic, political and environmental consequences, will have a disastrous impact on peace-building efforts, not only in Ukraine but in Europe and on a global scale, according to ICIP’s statement that we published the same Thursday.

Given the situation’s complexity, we offer a collection of articles and texts of opinion from a pacifist perspective.

• “Reclaiming universal jurisdiction“, by Sabina Puig (ICIP)

In this article, the author reclaims to rehabilitate the principle of universal jurisdiction in order to investigate the crimes of war in Ukraine and guarantee the victims their rights to truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition. As the author says, “if the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocides of the last decades had been prosecuted more vigorously, then the victimizers would probably not feel so strongly that in war, everything goes and that excess does not entail consequences”.

• “Reflections on the Russian invasion from a pacifist perspective“, by Pablo Aguiar (ICIP)

During this time of war, Aguiar defends moving towards institutional architectures that guarantee the security of all the countries of the European continent and that guarantee peaceful management of conflicts. Because the alternative is to increase military spending and to move closer, perhaps fatally, to a new war. 

• “Security in times of war“, by Sandra Martínez (ICIP)

Militarism alone has never translated into positive conflict management; on the contrary, it has trapped, displaced or worsened them in the medium and long term. So, what kind of security are we talking about in these days of the offensive in Ukraine? From whom and for whom? In this article, the head of the “Alternatives of Security” area of the ICIP claims the need to seek mechanisms for solidarity and shared security to prevent violence and the arms race.

• “How do we respond to Putin’s war?“, by Kristian Herbolzheimer (ICIP)

In this article, ICIP’s director explains that the debate on whether or not to supply weapons is a perverse dilemma because either answer entails the death of thousands of people. 

• ‘Putin might be winning the military battle but he has lost the moral one’, by Kristian Herbolzheimer (ICIP)

In this interview, Herbolzheimer talks about the dimension of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, something “beyond what was thinkable for anybody,” the ICIP director said. “Where we are right now, there are no good options, all options are bad,” he told this media outlet.

• “War in Ukraine: Peace Frameworks and Initiatives“, by Kristian Herbolzheimer (ICIP)

In this article, the director of ICIP writes about the historical references of understanding between the parties to the conflict. He also writes about the diplomatic and social initiatives of dialogue that have been deployed for years in the region, since of a local and European framework.

• “What would real peacebuilding in Ukraine look like?”, by Almut Rochowanski (WILPF, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom)

This article covers the initiatives of relaxation and dialogue that have taken place in recent decades to address the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and advocates a peace-building strategy focused on people, human security and feminism.

• “It’s time to ask: what would a Ukraine-Russia peace deal look like?“, by Anatol Lieven (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)

In this article published in The Guardian, the author calls for a dialogue solution to end the war and points out some of the issues that should be on the table.

• “A Just Peace for a Besieged Ukraine“, by Fernando Travesí (ICTJ)

More than 4 million Ukrainians are now refugees; another 10 million are internally displaced, and a rising but still undetermined number have been killed, are missing, or are wounded. The real question is what just peace means for Ukrainians.

• “War in Ukraine: Do Negotiations Stand a Chance?“, by Initiative Mediation Support Deutschland (IMSD)

With the atrocities against civilians in Butcha and other Ukrainian cities reported in early April, the violence and inhumanity of the ongoing war have entered a new degree of visibility. For some, this means negotiations are completely discredited; for others, negotiations are even more imperative.

• Seven points on the war and dialogue. From Ukrainian mediators and dialogue facilitators

This document was developed by Ukrainian mediators and dialogue facilitators in May 2022 to convey their voices and professional opinion to prominent actors in the international sphere of conflict transformation.

As an element of analysis and reflection, we also share this thread shared by the director of ICIP.

Putin's war will change many things. There is a certain militaristic euphoria in the West. A🧵of pacifist reflection: 👇

— Kristian Herbolzheimer (@KristianHerbolz) February 28, 2022

Recommended reading

As a complement to the analysis of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the figure of Putin, you can also consult the extensive catalogue of the ICIP Library. You can see an example of the vast bibliography we have on the subject in the photo.

Representatives of the different European working groups (‘nodos’ in Spanish) supporting the Truth Commission in Colombia have participated in a meeting from April 7 to 10 at the UNESCO House in Barcelona.

The meeting, convened by the ICIP as Technical Secretariat of the Commission in Europe, brought together around fifty representatives from the ‘nodos’ of Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

This is the fourth meeting of this type organised and the first held in person in the last two years after the previous activities were carried out virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting had the support of the Catalan Agency for Cooperation to the Development (Agència Catalana de Cooperació al Desenvolupament – ACCD).

According to one of the meeting organisers, ICIP technician Sílvia Plana, it has served to “meet again and strengthen our collaboration and trust. Likewise, we have been able to take stock of what the more than three years of support process for the Commission from abroad have implied and coordinate efforts for the presentation and socialisation of the final report that the Commission will deliver on June 28,” she explained.

Commissioner Lucía González Duque and Commissioner Carlos Martín Beristain also participated in this meeting to set the scene for the presentation of the report and coordinate the Commission’s legacy strategy abroad.

According to Martín Beristain, “the meeting has made it possible to articulate the work with the groups in exile and the people who have helped us weave the work from abroad. Now we hope that the final report will be a boost for the transformation that Colombia needs”, he assured.

At the meeting, the participants also talked about the systematisation of the process that has been used in the last three years to collect the testimony of the victims of the Colombian conflict exiled in Europe. At the same time, the role of the groups in exile and their legacy has been reflected upon once the commission concludes its mandate.

The meeting also served to commemorate the National Day of Memory and Solidarity with the Victims of the Armed Conflict in Colombia on April 9. The ICIP organised a commemorative act with the participation of the institution’s director, Kristian Herbolzheimer; the Director-General for the Catalan Agency for Cooperation to the Development, Josep Desquens; and the two commissioners attending the meeting.

During the act, two of the victims’ representatives, Adriana Quintero Úsuga and Albeiro Moya Mena, read a statement approved by all those present. You can read the text of the declaration here (in Spanish).

The Colombian singer-songwriter resident in Barcelona, Marta Gómez, was in charge of closing the activity by interpreting some songs.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, various rallies and demonstrations have been organized in Barcelona and elsewhere in Catalonia.

On Wednesday, March 2, Barcelona said: “No to war”.

The massive outcry that made the city vibrate 18 years ago against the US attack on Iraq has now been revived by another unilateral intervention, the Russian Army against Ukraine.

The anti-war platform Stop the War (Plataforma Aturem la Guerra) organized the rally with the support of more than 300 entities.

According to the Guardia Urbana, the concentration brought together 3,500 people.

In the protest, the journalist and activist David Fernández and the actress Cristina Brondo read the manifesto published by the platform.

The manifesto expresses itself against “the current military aggression of the Russian government against the Ukrainian population” and expresses solidarity with the citizens of Ukraine.

“Beyond the shows of solidarity and declarations of condemnation, it is necessary to take action to stop the violence. We are facing the worst eco-social crisis in history, and wars aggravate this situation because they generate destruction and greater pollution, events incompatible with life. We need our governments to act to stop the escalation of warmongering before falling into a war of devastating proportions,” says the manifesto.

The Aturem la Guerra Platform was born with the war in Iraq in 2003. On February 15 of that year, the city starred in one of the largest demonstrations in the world against the war in Iraq.

The Ukrainian community is protesting

On Sunday, March 6, the Ukrainian community living in Barcelona called another demonstration in Plaça Catalunya.

Several hundred people (about eight hundred, according to the Guardia Urbana) rallied to demand an end to the war that began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and for NATO to establish an exclusion zone in the area that prevent flight of planes from Russia.

The protesters, who carried Ukrainian flags and numerous banners calling for an end to the war and a no-fly zone, observed a minute’s silence for the victims of the war.

Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona has become the daily meeting point for Ukrainians since the outbreak of the war. People with Ukrainian flags gather every afternoon and several camp in the area at night.

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