Category: Uncategorized

The ICIP Library will continue closed to the public due to the pandemic crisis of COVID-19 and will not open on its regular hours until next September 14th. However, during the month of July, the Library will allow users to return and borrow books on set appointments. To schedule an appointment please contact us by email at biblioteca.icip@gencat.cat .

All book loans have been extended automatically until September 14th.
The Library supports ICIP and researchers and experts in the field of peace, and is in permanent contact with similar centers and institutions from around the world. It is part of the network of specialized libraries of the Generalitat and is included in the University Union Catalogue of Catalonia (CCUC)

After evaluating all the entries submitted, the jury of the fourth edition of the ICIP Hip Hop for Peace Contest has announced the winners for 2019. This contest aims to promote creativity and to draw attention to the commitment of young people in the field of peace. In this fourth edition, the award-winning pieces cover topics such as the denunciation of bullying and racism, the vindication of the feminist struggle and solidarity with refugees.

The contest is aimed at youth between the ages of 12 and 25 and has two categories.

In Category 1, aimed at students in secondary school, senior high school and vocational training school in Catalonia, the winning video clips were:

-First prize: Tenim més d’una resposta (We have more than one answer), a video clip created by fourth-year secondary school students at Daniel Mangrané School in Jesús (Baix Ebre), winners of the recording and music production of a rap piece in a professional recording studio with artistic support. The piece is a cry for respect and tolerance and a rejection of violence regarding, for example, the refugee crisis.

-Second prize: Que bonic seria viure tots en pau (How nice it would be to live in peace), a video clip created by first-year secondary school students at Montagut School in Santa Susanna (Maresme), winners of a rap workshop conducted by a hip hop professional. In this case, the piece is a denunciation of bullying.

-Special mention: Hip-hop per la Pau (Hip Hop for Peace), a video clip created by students at Caparrella Secondary School in Lleida (Segrià). Special mention for technical quality and use of double-time in a piece that rejects war and violence, and the complicity of Western democracies.

-Special mention: Desahogo previo a la muerte (Venting before dying), a video clip created by students at Hug Roger III Secondary School in Sort (Pallars Sobirà). Special mention for technical and audiovisual quality; in this case, for a piece that describes a world of structural violence, including violence against women.

In Category 2, aimed at young people between the ages of 12 and 25 from youth, cultural, civic or socio-educational action centers in Catalonia, the winners are:

-First prize: Tot ho podem canviar (We can change everything), a video clip created by youth at the Salesians Sant Jordi Social Education Center in Girona (Gironès), winners of the recording and music production of a rap piece in a professional recording studio with artistic support. It is a piece that reflects the fight against racism and demands respect for differences.

-Second prize: Rap per la igualtat (Rap for equality), a video clip created by youth at the La Kampana Youth Center in Manresa (Bages), winners of a workshop conducted by a hip hop professional. The piece is a vindication of the feminist struggle and equality.

The Hip Hop for Peace Contest aims to draw attention to the commitment and creativity of young people in the field of peace culture. The contest receives support from the Department of Education, the Directorate-General for Youth and the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation. A total of 24 pieces were submitted to this edition of the contest.

The collaboration agreement between ICIP and the Commission for the Verification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition of Colombia, signed in May 2019 for an initial period of one year, has been extended until the end of the Commission’s mandate. The agreement grants ICIP the role of Technical Secretariat of the Truth Commission in Europe with the aim of facilitating the Commission’s work with victims living on the European continent, within the framework of the implementation of the 2016 Peace Accords.

Based on this agreement, ICIP offers technical and logistical support to the activities organized by the Commission in Europe, coordinates the working groups established in various European countries (nodes), and offers methodological support to the process of taking testimony from the victims of the Colombian conflict in exile. This will allow for the documentation of cases and contribute to the clarification of the truth, justice and the non-repetition of similar events. Over the last year, ICIP has supported the creation of new European nodes and thematic working groups, and has organized various meetings with them in order to share experiences and to delve more deeply into the action line dealing with victim recognition.

To date, fifteen working nodes have been set up in ten European countries (Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as in Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid, the Basque Country and Valencia, in Spain).
In this first work phase of clarification of truth, the various nodes have compiled a total of 300 testimonies in Europe, which should facilitate the writing of a plural story about the Colombian conflict and the recovery of individual and collective memory. The work carried out by ICIP also includes the publication of a series of videos on the work being carried out by the various European nodes.

Innovative and unprecedented mandate
The Truth Commission of Colombia has an innovative mandate that is unprecedented in other truth commissions. This mandate involves approaching the tens of thousands of people who had to leave the country during the five decades of armed conflict, searching for new life options, mainly in the Americas and in Europe. The objective for 2019 is to document the cases of a thousand victims in Europe.

The mandate of the Commission envisages a participatory process with the victims themselves, in order to promote their psychosocial healing and coexistence among victims of different armed actors. To accomplish this task, the support of social and institutional organizations in the European countries where these people reside is essential

This website with information on all the European nodes has been published for the specific work of the Truth Commission in Europe.

Given the impossibility of holding an awards ceremony for the 4th Hip Hop for Peace Contest due to the SARS-CoV-2 emergency, ICIP has released this video in institutional recognition of the work done by these young contest winners.

The piece features cultural activities coordinated by the Llobregat Block Party group and the participation of ICIP president, Xavier Masllorens; the director of the Catalan Youth Agency, Cesc Poch; and the director of the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation, Carme Gual. Several of the young winners along with well-known hip hop artists from Catalonia and from countries such as Colombia and Brazil also took part.

The ICIP Hip Hop for Peace Contest aims to promote creativity and draw attention to the commitment of young people in the field of peace. In this fourth edition, the award-winning entries address issues such as the denunciation of bullying and racism, the vindication of the feminist struggle and solidarity with refugees. The winning groups will be able to record their piece in a professional recording studio or participate in a rap workshop conducted by a hip hop artist.

The contest takes place annually and is aimed at youth in Catalonia between the ages of 12 and 25. It receives support from the Department of Education, the Catalan Youth Agency and the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation.

Democratic societies are immersed in a process of increasing politicization. Political mobilization around highly divisive matters has resulted in a questioning of the fundamental pillars of our political systems, as well as the polarization of the societies we live in. Antagonistic ideological projects are currently generating greater confrontation in societies that are seeing the emergence of new dividing lines due to socioeconomic disparities, migrations, rejection of traditional political institutions or the interrelationship between territories.

Such divisive dynamics often lead to an oversimplification of increasingly complex realities, in the form of populism, and they can give rise to processes of retrogression that endanger the foundations of liberal democracies. The slow, deliberate and constructive debate between antagonistic political positions increasingly becomes the first victim in a climate of constant polarization. Confrontation grows while the prospect for compromise dwindles. The democratic quality of our societies and institutions is degraded, and thus the possibility of advancing constructive dialogues that effectively address the current concerns of democratic societies.

In this context, ICIP, CIDOB, the Club of Rome and the Fundación Cultura de Paz are organizing a lecture series entitled “Polarization and Dialogue in Democratic Societies,” which will take place between January and May 2020, in Barcelona and Madrid. The series addresses the division surrounding Brexit, Trump or Salvini, as well as the situation in Catalonia, where social and political polarization surrounding the bid for independence has been increasing.

Session 1: “Conflict, Polarization and Dialogue in the United Kingdom: Brexit, Northern Ireland and Scotland.” Barcelona, 20 January 2020.

Session 2: “The Case of Italy: The New Conte Government as a Response to the Threat of Populism and Euroscepticism.” Madrid, 18 February 2020.

Session 3: “The Trump Era: Polarizing Factors and the Growth of Populism in the United States.” Barcelona, 16 March 2020.

Session 4: “Protest and Social Dialogue in the France of Macron and the Yellow Vests.” Madrid, 15 April 2020.

Session 5: “Catalonia Inwards: Dialogue as a Mechanism to Strengthen Internal Cohesion.” Barcelona, 11 May 2020.

Session 6: “Catalonia Outwards: Political Dialogue to Channel the Conflict.” Madrid, 25-26 May 2020.

The Colombian Truth Commission has an innovative mandate without precedent in other truth commissions, which involves working with people who had to flee the country during the five decades of armed conflict.

In the case of Europe, in May 2019, the Commission signed a collaboration agreement with the International Catalan Institute for Peace to act as Technical Secretariat, with the aim of facilitating work with Colombian victims, social organizations and institutions in the European countries where these people reside.

The centrality of the victims and their active participation in this whole experience means that the process of working with them can in itself constitute an act of recognition towards them and, at the same time, have the effect of healing and closing the wounds brought about by the conflict. Therefore, for ICIP as technical secretariat, this process with the victims is the main focus of the work, and has been conceived and addressed as an objective in itself.

In Europe, participation has been structured on three levels:

• Nodes or support groups for the Commission. There are 15 support groups in 10 countries: Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain (Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid, Basque Country and Valencia), France and South of France, Italy, Norway, United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland;
• Intermodal working groups or coordination spaces throughout Europe in relation to thematic areas: gender, psychosocial accompaniment, recognition of victims, relatives of victims of enforced disappearance, second and third generations in exile;
• Taking testimonies, for which some 90 people have been trained and have contributed to the work of clarification with victims living in European countries.

Specifically, in its role as Technical Secretariat in Europe, ICIP has the following duties:

• Accompany, advise, facilitate and coordinate the interviewers, the nodes and the working groups in Europe.
• To serve as a liaison between the initiatives in Europe and the Commission.
• To inform the Commission on the processes of participation in Europe and to make proposals to strengthen them.
• Assist the Commission in the logistical and methodological organization of activities and events in Europe.

The mandate of the Colombian Truth Commission is to contribute to the clarification of the events that took place within the framework of the Colombian armed conflict for over 50 years; to promote the recognition of the victims and the responsibilities of those who participated directly and indirectly in the conflict; and to promote coexistence in the territories in order to guarantee non-recurrence.

In addition, in a way that is unprecedented in transitional justice processes, the Commission works directly with the Colombian community living abroad, as an actor-subject deserving attention and participation. According to the Commission itself, at least 500,000 Colombians living abroad have requested international protection, and this does not include the second generation or people who left the country without requesting protection status.

The Commission recognizes the importance of including the experiences and voices of this Colombia living outside Colombia in the story of the country that is being shaped. It has therefore generated a territorial deployment at the international level that has involved processes of support for the Commission in 23 countries in Europe, North America, Central America, the Andean region and South America.

In Europe, the work has been guided by ICIP, in its role as the Commission’s technical secretariat, and participation has basically been structured on three levels:

• Nodes or support groups for the Commission;
• Internodal working groups;
• Interviewers for the taking of testimonies.

In this process, the Commission has trained around 90 people to take testimonies from victims of the armed conflict residing in Europe, in order to contribute to the clarification of the facts through a unique methodology with a psychosocial approach.

To promote this support network, one of the main methodological concepts in the process has been to create spaces for participation and coordination among diverse actors: victims of various armed actors who are not organized, organizations of Colombian victims, peace and human rights activists, organizations in host countries, and people from the arts world and from academia, among others.

Along these lines, in Europe, there are 15 support groups in 10 countries: Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain (Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid, Basque Country and Valencia), France and South of France, Italy, Norway, United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland. These nodes are spaces for the convergence of people and organizations that meet to join efforts and previous experiences in memory and peacebuilding in support of the Commission’s mandate.

In addition, there are intermodal groups, as coordinating spaces throughout Europe in relation to specific thematic areas: gender, psychosocial accompaniment, recognition of victims, relatives of victims of enforced disappearance, and second and third generations in exile.

On 26 September 2016, the Final Agreement to End the Armed Conflict and Build a Stable and Lasting Peace, between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo), was signed.

As a result of the Peace Agreement, a series of Transitional Justice mechanisms were created that are part of a Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparations and Non-Recurrence. One of these instruments is the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Recurrence, which formally began its work with a three-year mandate in November 2018.  The objectives of the Commission are as follows:

• To clarify the patterns of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law violations; the causes and factors of persistence, impacts and forms of resistance; as well as the relationship between drug trafficking, paramilitarism and land dispossession in relation to the internal armed conflict.
• To promote the recognition of the victims as important subjects for the transformation of the country; the voluntary acknowledgement of responsibilities by the perpetrators (direct and indirect); and the recognition by society that these violations must not be repeated.
• To contribute to coexistence in the territories, providing an opportunity to regain trust, to learn to engage in dialogue with opponents and to relate to each other peacefully.

In addition, it has the mandate to work with the Colombian community living abroad, as an actor-subject that deserves attention and participation.  According to the Commission itself, of the more than five million Colombians living abroad, at least 500,000 have requested international protection, which does not include the second generation or people who left the country without requesting protection status.

The degree of involvement and participation of the diaspora in the Colombian Truth Commission is unprecedented in transitional justice contexts. This work with victims abroad has led to the creation of support groups for the Commission’s work (also called nodes) in 23 countries worldwide, 10 of them in Europe.

The pandemic of COVID-19 is directly, or indirectly, affecting millions of people across the planet. Although the challenge is shared around the world, each country, each community and each person experiences is it from their own circumstances and uncertainties and, thus, the futures they face are different. Wherever it is present, COVID-19 is disruptive to social dynamics and public policies. This disruption may provoke additional threats to peace and security. However, it could also generate reflections and responses that could construct new realities that are supportive, sustainable and just.

The series “Covid Impacts on Peace and Security” aims at sharing reflections on the consequences of the pandemic around the world from a peacebuilding perspective.

On 28 March, the Colombian guerrilla group ELN announced a unilateral cessation of activities during the month of April as a humanitarian gesture in light of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This announcement followed the appeal made to that effect by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The ceasefire officially ended on Thursday 30 April.

In view of this situation, ICIP and the Fundación Ideas para la Paz (Ideas for Peace Foundation) of Colombia have developed infographics that analyze the background of the ceasefire, its implications and possible future scenarios for the country.

The ICIP has announced the call for nominations for the tenth edition of the ICIP Peace in Progress Award. This prize aims to publicly recognize individuals, entities or institutions that, in an outstanding and extensive manner, have worked and contributed to the promotion and building of peace.
The deadline for submitting nominations is July 1st. Submission of applications can be registered electronically, provided that a digital compatible certificate is available, or at any administrative register of the Spanish state, and at an embassy or consulate outside Spain.
The ICIP Peace in Progress Award consists of public recognition, a sculpture created by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, artist and activist, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, called Porta del sol, and 6,000 euros.
In previous editions, the award was granted to the Coalition of Families of the Disappeared in Algeria (2019), the Mexican organization Cauce Ciudadano (2018), the activist Arcadi Oliveres (2017), Peace Brigades International (2016), the Capuchin friar Joan Botam (2015), WILPF (2014), the ex-general Jovan Divjak (2013), Madres de Soacha (2012), and the struggle of conscientious objectors and “insubmisos” (people who refuse to do military service or any substitute social work) represented by Pepe Beúnza (2011). The same year, 2011, in an extraordinary edition of the award, the Parliament of Catalonia was honored for representing the continuity and legacy of the institutions “Pau i Treva” and “Consolat de Mar.”

The call for entries for the fifth edition of the ICIP Hip Hop for Peace Contest was launched in September. The contest aims to give visibility to the commitment and creativity of young people in the field of peace culture.
As in previous editions, the contest has two categories. The first one is open to students in secondary school, vocational training school and senior high school in Catalonia; the second category is open to young people between the ages of 12 and 25 who participate in youth, cultural, civic or social-educational action centers or organizations in Catalonia. In both cases, participating groups must have at least three members.

To participate, groups must compose a hip-hop piece with original rhymes and make a video recording of its performance lasting no more than four minutes. The lyrics of the songs must be related to the celebration of diversity; coexistence in urban areas or schools; criticism of violence; the denunciation of human rights violations; solidarity with people who are trapped by, or fleeing, armed conflict; or the role of youth in peacebuilding.

The deadline for submitting videos is 1st February 2021, coinciding with the commemoration of the School Day of Nonviolence and Peace (DENIP).

The contest is being organized in conjunction with the Department of Education, the Directorate-General for Youth of the Generalitat of Catalonia, and the Catalan Agency for Cooperation to the Development.