Law 1448 of 2011: a turning point for violence in Colombia

Abstract

The year 2012 represented, for Colombia, a decisive break in the concept of the conflict.  On the one hand, due to the consideration of the existence of an internal conflict and, on the other hand, because of the beginning of the public phase of the negotiation process with the FARC-EP guerrilla.  Law 1448, known as the Victims and Land Restitution Law, is a regulation whose initial purpose is to give an important place to victims through reparation, restitution and guarantees of non-repetition.  Through a qualitative approach and by means of documentary review and analysis, an explanation will be sought as to whether or not this law marked a change in the identification of the violence in which Colombia has been immersed for more than fifty years.  Thus, this document will first discuss the violence in Colombia; then, the objectives of Law 975 of 2005 or Justice and Peace Law will be contrasted with the Victims and Land Restitution Law; next, the way in which the victims of the armed conflict are recognized by one of the main actors will be presented: the guerrillas, and, finally, the arguments of the detractors and supporters about the existence of an armed conflict in Colombia will be addressed, to conclude that Law 1448 represents an important turning point in the consideration of the conflict in the country.