“Colombia is a peace laboratory.  This is an opportunity to show our experiments.”  With these words, Ana Maria Mondragon, Deputy Judge of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace and an Aspen Institute Colombia Fellow, welcomed a cohort of Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) Fellows who, last month, gathered in Calima, Colombia, to immerse themselves in the country’s complex narrative of peace, justice, reconciliation, and hope. 

Each Fellow in attendance was called into this experience with a commitment to bring insights back to their home countries of South Africa, Rwanda, Palestine, Costa Rica, and the US. Over three days, the group heard from extraordinary individuals—negotiators, victims, perpetrators, former combatants, and Colombian citizens—from all sides of the conflict who are shaping Colombia’s journey toward lasting peace.

Over the past several decades, Colombia has embarked on bold experiments unique to its context, many of which are rooted in the ongoing commitment of opposing actors agreeing to sit at a table in dialogue and see each other’s humanity. While the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian state and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) marked a pivotal step, the work of building a just and thriving future remains a living, evolving process.

Of course, Colombia’s peacebuilding process is far too complex to distill into a single blog post. What follows is an attempt to share insights from leaders at the heart of this ongoing and challenging journey.

Transformation Beyond Agreements

Although the Peace Agreement with the FARC was a milestone in Colombia’s history, the country has had many other attempts for peace. The 2016 Peace Agreement is commonly emphasized because of its innovations including new institutions, like The Truth Commission and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (more on these entities below), and principles like centering victims in the agreement.

Several speakers reminded us that peacebuilding is not a one-time event but an ongoing process requiring deep transformation. The 2016 Peace Agreement was just the beginning of a long and complex journey. Addressing the root causes of conflict—like land inequity, rural underdevelopment, and systemic poverty for example—remains critical. And depending on who you’re talking to, these root causes may be different. The defined starting point of the conflict is also varied. 

Frank Pearl, one of the lead negotiators for the peace process on behalf of the state, highlighted the polarizing nature of the 2016 Peace Agreement. He acknowledged that while the agreement slowed violence, it also exposed the deep divisions within Colombian society. Frank shared the reality that peace agreements do not instantly dissolve the wounds of war; instead, they mark the starting line of a much longer race toward reconciliation and justice. Sustaining dialogue among diverse actors who represent different perspectives on how the country got to where it is, from former combatants to community leaders, business people and policymakers, is vital for positive progress.

Former FARC member Tanja Nijmeijer brought another perspective to this complexity. After more than a decade as a guerrilla fighter and a negotiator during the Havana peace talks, Tanja’s view on violence and reconciliation evolved. “The land problem is at the root of the conflict in Colombia,” she said, emphasizing the importance of tackling systemic inequities to sustain peace. 

Centering Victims: The Work of the Truth Commission

Father Francisco De Roux, who led Colombia’s Truth Commission, shared learnings from the commission’s work that gave voice to victims of the conflict that spanned more than 60 years. Colombia, a country of 50 million people, has borne unimaginable losses during this time. The estimated number of victims is staggering:

• 148,000 Colombians killed, with roughly five civilians killed for every combatant.
• Approximately 7.7M people displaced.
• Roughly 170,000 people kidnapped, with an alarming 90% of kidnapping victims killed when rescue was attempted through arms instead of negotiation.
• Around 80,000 people forcibly recruited by guerrilla or paramilitary groups.
• Nearly 1M children orphaned by the violence.

Father De Roux emphasized the transformative power of centering victims to seek a deeper kind of truth, stating, “Stop having meetings. Put your hands on the bleeding.” For over three years, his team dedicated themselves to this mission, spending 1,200 consecutive days listening to the testimonies of victims across the country. The Commission’s final report documented the pain and loss as well as the resilience and hope that emerged from these stories.

This painstaking process underscored an essential truth: binaries—victim and perpetrator, good and evil—rarely hold up under close examination. Instead, these stories remind us of the cyclical nature of violence and the shared responsibility to break it. By honoring the voices of victims, Colombia’s Truth Commission sought not only to document history but also to foster understanding, empathy, and the possibility of reconciliation.

Justice as Restoration

Deputy Judge Ana Maria Mondragon, of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), spoke about Colombia’s innovative approach to transitional and restorative justice. Unlike many truth and reconciliation efforts that focus solely on truth-telling, Colombia’s process integrates accountability and restoration. Perpetrators from both sides—state and guerrilla—are invited to acknowledge their crimes, confront victims, and engage in reparative actions. Justice, as Ana Maria framed it, is a process of rehumanization, not merely punishment.

Restorative justice has taken tangible forms: perpetrators working to rebuild communities they once harmed or creating monuments to honor victims. This multidimensional approach seeks to both repair individual lives and restore damaged ecosystems and communities.

Growing “Critical Yeast”: Buenaventura’s Transformation

Buenaventura, Colombia’s largest port city, was once ranked among the world’s most violent cities, plagued by gang violence and crime. However, through trust-based, confidential dialogues, the city has achieved a significant reduction in violence, falling out of the top 50 in terms of murder rates. Fellows spent a day in the port city to learn about the transformational work of community groups like Grupo Calima, who have been facilitating confidential dialogues in the Cauca region with community members from all sides of the conflict since the peace agreement was signed. These dialogues have proven effective in building deep relationships between opposing actors, humanizing them to one another—an act that has ultimately saved lives.

Critical mass has long been understood as a proven method for social transformation. Get enough people to agree on something and change happens. However, when it comes to peacebuilding, especially when there is great diversity of opinion on the root cause, truth of what happened, and varied experience with the conflict, it is nearly impossible to get a critical mass to agree on what’s needed. 

Instead, Manuel Ramiro Muñoz, Director, Institute of Intercultural Studies, Javeriana University said they were trying to grow “critical yeast,” through these dialogues. “Critical Yeast” theory, coined by sociologist and professor of peace studies John Paul Lederach, posits that gathering a small amount of the right people, people who have the relational capacity to create common understanding within their groups, can create exponential growth toward peace.

Grupo Calima as well as the dialogue groups in Buenaventura are intentionally made up of people beyond just state and military actors, but also business people, victims of violence, indigenous community leaders, leaders in the Afro-Colombian community, and others with informal, but influential leadership within their communities. And in turn they’ve seen sustained transformation in their community, rather than flash-in-the-pan moments of agreement. Dialogues between rival groups in Buenaventura mediated by Bishop Rubén Darío Jaramillo have led to specific agreements, including an initial truce now lasting nearly eight months.

The experiences of Grupo Calima and the broader Buenaventura community underscore the vital role of local dialogues in making peace possible at the community level.

Sustaining Leadership: Care for One’s Self

Engaging in peace and conflict resolution is a demanding journey that requires resilience and sustained commitment. When Frank Pearl was asked what advice he would give his younger self, he said, “If you want to be in service, you need to take care of yourself.” This insight highlights the necessity for leaders to prioritize self-care to maintain the energy and clarity needed for effective service.

The Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) and its Fellowship programs recognize this imperative. By providing spaces for leaders to step away from their daily responsibilities, engage with peers dedicated to a better future, and reflect deeply, these programs offer renewal and inspiration. Such opportunities are vital for sustaining moral courage, ensuring that leaders return to their missions refreshed and equipped to continue their efforts. In the relentless pursuit of peace, taking moments to pause, reflect, and rejuvenate is not a luxury but a necessity. 

Peace Takes Courage

Colombia’s peace process challenges us to rethink the paradigms of conflict resolution. It teaches us that peace is not merely the absence of war but a continual effort to build trust, repair harm, and nurture systems that allow communities to thrive. It is a process that recognizes the humanity in everyone, even those who have caused immense pain. Or, as members of the Grupo Calima effort powerfully put it, “Only you can take off your enemy’s mask.”

Interactions throughout this experience in Colombia underscored the importance of listening deeply, working across divides, and committing to long-term transformation. This work takes courage. It is no easy task to sit across from your “enemy” and try to understand them. But this act is becoming all the more necessary for a world grappling with division. It also requires us to confront the “other” within and make peace with the darker parts of ourselves, for that will allow peace at the societal level. These principles can be applied on the personal, community, national, and international level. 

Peace is never a finished project—it is a shared responsibility that requires tending and commitment. Who in your life could you extend your hand to and try to find common ground—common humanity—again? 

The gathering Restorative Justice and Peacebuilding: An Immersive Experience in Colombia, was co-hosted by Aspen Institute Colombia and the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) in partnership with the McNulty Foundation in November 2024. The program brought together a diverse group of AGLN Fellows to explore Colombia’s innovative approaches to restorative justice and peacebuilding. Amid a nation emerging from over five decades of conflict, the experience delved into the transformative power of dialogue, truth-telling, and reconciliation.

Held in Calima and Buenaventura, Colombia, the gathering connected participants with victims, perpetrators, community leaders, and judicial figures at the forefront of Colombia’s peace process. Through firsthand interactions, attendees explored themes of restoration, healing, reparations, forgiveness, and justice, gaining a deeper understanding of what it takes to build peace in the face of profound division. These immersive sessions provided a window into Colombia’s journey and actionable insights for fostering reconciliation and strengthening democracies globally.

This gathering grew from a talk at the 2023 Resnick Aspen Action Forum where Ana Maria Mondragon and Frank Pearl, alongside other leaders driving peace and justice initiatives, shared their experience leading in Colombia. Watch the discussion here. 

About the Host Programs

The Aspen Global Leadership Network is a community of nearly 4,000 Fellows from across the globe, united by a shared commitment to making a positive impact on society. Through curated experiences and gatherings like this one, the AGLN supports values-driven leaders as they tackle the most pressing challenges of our time, fostering reflection, connection, and action.

Aspen Institute Colombia – an International Partner of the Aspen Institute – brings together thought leaders and changemakers to address Colombia’s most critical issues and advance innovative solutions. Rooted in the Aspen Institute’s principles of values-based leadership and dialogue, Aspen Colombia serves as a catalyst for sustainable change within the country and beyond.