Colombia Peace Talks. Ramon Espinosa / AP/Press Association Images. All rights reserved.
In the first agreements reached in Havana, the Colombian government and the FARC have openly expressed their intention to promote citizen participation in the process of peace building. The issues on which agreement was reached - comprehensive rural reform, political participation, illegal drug trafficking, and the victims - highlighted the importance of citizen involvement. The agreements recognized that the “construction of peace is a matter for society as a whole that requires the participation of all, without distinction, including other guerrilla forces which we are inviting to join in” (General Agreement, 2012, page 1).
The agreements consider the contribution of communities in issues ranging from the drawing of local plans and programs – like the Development Plans with a Territorial Focus - as well as the surveillance, monitoring and control of their execution. They regard citizen participation as a complementary control mechanism of public administration and the system of political representation. Consequently, the peace process gives the strengthening of democracy a chance through the direct involvement of citizens.
