Colombia, a nation that has traveled a long and challenging road in its quest for peace, now shares its invaluable experiences and lessons learned with other countries through this South-South Cooperation initiative. Led by the Presidential Cooperation Agency (APC Colombia) in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the PROCASUR Corporation, this program aims to contribute to the creation of more just, inclusive, and peaceful societies by strengthening the capacities of partner countries to manage and resolve conflicts through comprehensive peace processes.
A model based on real experiences
Colombia reached a turning point in 2016 with the signing of the Peace Agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP), marking the beginning of a process to build a stable and lasting peace. This comprehensive model addresses crucial aspects such as truth, justice, reparations to victims, guarantees of non-repetition, reintegration of signatories, and rural development with a territorial approach.
Over the years, Colombia has made significant progress in implementing this model by strengthening institutional capacities, public policies, programs, and methodologies in core areas such as disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), transitional justice, victim reparations, and security sector reform. These experiences have also facilitated new spaces for dialogue and negotiation with other armed groups still present in the country.
Objectives of the program
The South-South Peacebuilding Cooperation Program has several specific objectives:
Enhance the capacities of national institutions and coordinating bodies responsible for leading comprehensive peacebuilding efforts, including transitional justice, DDR, victim reparations, and security sector reform.
Improve coordination, participation, and decision-making mechanisms among government, civil society, the private sector, and community stakeholders to achieve stable and lasting peace.
Engage conflict-affected communities as central actors in peace processes through decentralized and context-specific interventions.
Promote the exchange of experiences and lessons learned in conflict prevention and resolution.
The Learning Route Methodology
The heart of the program is the Learning Route, a dynamic and immersive methodology that combines local knowledge management with exchange among practitioners. This methodology ensures contextualized transfer of practical knowledge and leads to concrete action plans to innovate and improve peacebuilding efforts.
Tailored institutional strengthening of national entities and coordinating bodies in areas such as transitional justice, DDR, human rights and security sector reform.
Promote horizontal exchanges and mutual learning between counterpart institutions in Colombia and partner countries.
Comprehensive technical support for the contextualization and application of peacebuilding capacities.
Access to a wealth of resources, including multimedia case studies, tools and training programs.
Colombia’s South-South Cooperation Program is an innovative initiative that leverages Colombia’s experiences and lessons learned in peacebuilding to benefit other nations. Through an inclusive and participatory approach, the program strengthens institutional capacities, promotes regional integration and empowers local communities. The Learning Route methodology allows for a dynamic exchange of knowledge and the development of concrete action plans, tailored to the specific contexts of partner countries. This transformative model not only facilitates the transfer of best practices, but also fosters mutual learning and the co-creation of strategies to achieve lasting and sustainable peace.
