Two women hang a banner reading ' Colombia without FARC'. 2013. AP Photo/Paul White.
On March, 30, after two years of rapprochement, the government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) set a negotiation agenda. This process will be brought to pass in parallel to that which the government is carrying out with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Havana, Cuba, since November 2012. These processes involve the two largest and long-standing guerrilla forces in the country; each process, in its own way, is counting on the active participation of former combatants and victims, citizens and communities.
In the case of the negotiations with the FARC, the idea of actively involving citizens has been emerging as a crosscutting issue for the implementation of the agreements that have been reached. The Ideas for Peace Foundation (FIP) has identified, so far, 64 references in these agreements to specific bodies and participatory mechanisms through which citizens will be able to put into effect and assess the results of the negotiations in Havana.
