Publications

Despite the promises of Colombia’s Victims Law, land restitution on the Caribbean Coast has barely begun.   LAWGEF’s and Lutheran World Relief’s September 2012 report, Still a Dream: Land Restitution on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast, shows the tremendous obstacles that face implementation, including the lack of protections for returning communities, as well as the pressures that are causing small farmers and Afro-Colombian communities to continue to be pushed off their lands.  As Colombia’s peace negotiations advance, the ability of the government to deliver on its promises to victims of violence is essential to the construction of a just and lasting peace. The report provides recommendations to the Colombian government and international community on how to fairly, effectively and safely advance land restitution and reparations.

Read our publication:  Still a Dream: Land Restitution on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast
Lea nuestra publicación: Aun un Sueño: Restitución de Tierras en la Costa Caribe Colombiana

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In A Cautionary Tale: Plan Colombia's Lessons for Mexico and Beyond, we seek to draw human rights and strategic lessons from a dozen years of U.S. policy towards Colombia that are relevant for U.S. policy toward Mexico and beyond. They include a reminder that the United States must first “clean its own house,” showing the political courage necessary to take on the U.S.-based drug demand, arms trafficking, and money laundering that do Mexico, Colombia, and Central America so much harm. We call for a strategy that, instead of relying overwhelmingly on militaries, helps partner countries strengthen their civilian capacities, particularly those of dysfunctional justice systems. Policymakers are sometimes tempted to discuss solutions to Mexico’s out-of-control violence by bringing up Colombia as a “model.” In A Cautionary Tale we explain why we must learn from, not repeat the mistakes of Plan Colombia.

Read our publication: A Cautionary Tale: Plan Colombia's Lessons for Mexico and Beyond
Lea nuestra publicación: Un Relato Aleccionador: Las Lecciones del Plan Colombia para la Política Exterior Estadounidense hacia México y Otros Países

No Relief in Sight: Land and Violence on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia  is a report by LAWGEF and Lutheran World Relief documents how rural communities are still beset by violence. The report highlights how powerfully paramilitary successor groups have intensified their violent grip, and how inadequate governmental policies are to protect individuals and communities at risk. It suggests how difficult it will be to safely implement a positive plan by the Santos Administration to return land to a subset of Colombia’s 5 million displaced persons. Colombian authorities have as yet no effective protection plan in place for rural communities that would return under the new law.

Read our publication: No Relief in Sight: Land and Violence on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia

The Human Cost: Cubans and Cuban Americans talk about their lives and the U.S. embargo is a condensed version of a longer work by Dr. Mercedes Arce Rodriguez. It translates the debate about the U.S. embargo on Cuba into a human lexicon. In the stories told by Cubans on the island, Cubans living in the United States, and Cuban Americans, we hear what the U.S. embargo means for their daily lives. Some of the stories are painful tales of family separation, or tragic accounts of children denied access to medicine. Some reflect the psychological hardships and insecurity that many Cubans feel. Some recount the frustration people feel with the U.S. government, with the Cuban government, and with the bureaucratic red tape involved in overcoming the barriers between the two countries.

Read our publication: The Human Cost Part 1 (PDF), Part 2 (PDF)