Bogotá (BLAZETRENDS).- The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, and the president of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) of Colombia, Roberto Vidal, signed a work plan in Bogotá, which includes exchange of experiences and technical collaboration.
“We have made progress in signing this work plan that includes the exchange of experiences, technical collaboration, support from the Court teams to the JEP teams, the possibility of visits by our teams to The Hague for the exchange of international experiences, but also the establishment of a permanent liaison for the ICC in Bogotá, in the JEP”, said Judge Vidal at a press conference with Khan.
This plan also develops the cooperation agreement signed by the Colombian State and the ICC Prosecutor’s Office in 2021, when the international organization closed the preliminary examination of the case for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the armed conflict in Colombia.
“At the conclusion of the preliminary examination, one of the central elements that could build the convictions for the ICC on the will and the capacity of the Colombian State to comply with its international obligations was the existence of the JEP and the activity of the judicial branch in Colombia” added Judge Vidal.
The JEP, which is a transitional court to judge crimes against humanity, was created by the peace agreement signed by the Colombian government and the demobilized FARC guerrillas in November 2016 to put an end to more than half a century of armed conflict.
The ICC praises the JEP
Khan, for his part, stressed that the JEP is investigating 11 macro-cases and said that Vidal informed him that some of the decisions that arise from these cases “will be publicly known in the coming months.”
“Attention is focused on victims who were previously invisible (…) the fundamental issue is that people who have been made invisible in this country today have the opportunity to come to the JEP to tell their stories,” said the ICC prosecutor.
He also stressed that it is “remarkable that more than 80% of the stories that the victims have told have been validated by the perpetrators.”
“I will remain committed to Colombia, which has a truly vibrant civil society. Protection is given to so many marginal groups and I have been able to see first-hand the enormous progress that the Prosecutor’s Office and the JEP have made, ”he said.
However, he warned that it does not mean that the problem of justice and the armed conflict has been resolved, but rather that the process is “in the middle of the river.”
“We must have the strength to swim and reach the other shore. Sometimes the currents can be very strong, but that is where the force can help us ”, she assured.
The meeting with the president and the magistrates of the JEP is part of the prosecutor’s visit to Colombia, which began on Monday with the meeting he had with President Gustavo Petro and in which Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva was also present.
Khan’s agenda will continue this Wednesday with his participation in the panel “Roadmap towards justice in Colombia” organized by the Foreign Ministry itself.
