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OAS Permanent Council Hears Presentation on Land Restitution Process in Colombia

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) today received a presentation on the implementation of the Land Restitution Law in Colombia, a process that aims to return land to those owners who had theirs taken away or were forced to abandon it due to armed conflict, and that has the support and backing of the Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP/OAS) of the hemispheric organization.

The presentation of the subject was given by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia, Juan Camilo Restrepo, who explained that it deals with "the return in particular of those who have been robbed of their lands by violent forces in recent years." The magnitude of the problem, he said, "is immense:” "Close to 6 million hectares, which would correspond to ten percent of the non-forested territory of Colombia, were subject to processes of dispossession by violence or by forced abandonment in which frightened farmers had to leave their land." According to estimates, he added, close to 300,000 families were affected in the last quarter century.

Minister Restrepo stressed that the law is part of "a transitional justice system," is valid for ten years and represents "a contribution to the solution of the conflict." The state applies what is known as the "reversal of the burden of proof," he said, according to which the victim is helped by the government to find the evidence needed for the return of their lands.

During the beginning of the implementation of the law, which has been in operation for "six or seven months," the Minister emphasized that the cooperation of the OAS has been "of immense value, a tremendous support." "It has provided reassurance to the claimants to see the institution of the OAS by our side on all these land processes, which sometimes involve fear and difficulty for the victims," said Minister Restrepo, who also mentioned the role played by the Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP/OAS).

The Permanent Representative of Colombia to the OAS, Ambassador Andres Gonzalez Diaz, introduced the item noting that the Colombian people "face the challenge of breaking one of the most enduring and perhaps most complex conflicts in the contemporary world." To solve the problem, said Ambassador González Díaz, means confronting one of its structural factors, "unequal land tenure," which continues to generate conflicts in Latin America. "Hence," the Colombian diplomat stressed "the importance of sharing with you the unprecedented experience of one country on the path to the recovery of lands to return them to the farmers dispossessed by violence and injustice."

In other business, the regular meeting of the Permanent Council elected by acclamation as a new member of the Board of External Auditors of the organization Wilson Vallejo Bazante, of Ecuador, and thanked the departing member from The Bahamas, Terrance Bastian, for his work. The Council also agreed on the composition of the Style Committee for the special General Assembly to be held on November 15 at the headquarters of the OAS in Washington, DC, and which must the organization's budget for 2013. The Committee shall be composed of Brazil (Portuguese), the United States (English), Haiti (French) and Chile (Spanish).

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The video of the event will be available here. The B-roll of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-401/12