YouSaid · the spoken record

De Roux

lines on the record
13
first
2020-02-13
most recent
2020-02-13
sittings or episodes
1
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “Without such international support, an end to the wars in the countries being considered in this debate would not have been possible, and neither would the peace and transition in Colombia have been possible, which saw the presence of the United Nations Verification Mission and the mission of the Organization of American States, the constant solidarity of the community of nations and the united and decisive support of the Security Council. The peoples who are moving towards a greater peace on the path of transitional justice place their trust in the Council and are profoundly grateful to it.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  2. “Transitional justice is a process involving a high level of ethics at the international level to address the core issue of the human tragedy at hand, absent any interest related to political or military intervention. It is implementing the sum of lessons learned with regard to best practices in order for restorative justice to prevail over criminal justice, safeguard the sentences dictated by this justice of peace and place the interests of people above all other issues.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  3. “(spoke in Spanish) Fortunately, when the process of comprehensive transition is already in the hands of society, especially young people, no one can stop it, as peoples will not give up on peace once they have experienced the joy of living free of terror. Fifthly, with regard to the Security Council, the Council and the international community must play a vital role in ensuring transitional justice. Peace is the responsibility of a nation’s citizens, but the cases that call for transitional justice involve extreme ruptures in the human experience. Ensuring transitional justice is therefore incumbent on the world community, as we are dealing with dynamically and externally interrelated conflicts that no country can manage alone.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  4. “It demands political will within Governments, which must not only comply with the totality of the agreement but go even further, until all political violence is quelled. When new Governments fail to sign State agreements, lack clarity about supporting what was agreed and create doubts about the transition that has been set in motion, the polarization that existed during the war is re-intensified within society. In such contradictory situations the energy and audacity needed for transition are jeopardized, and the very programmes involving former combatants and communities established by the Administration in order to demonstrate that it favours peace are weakened. (spoke in English) In that regard, the intense diplomatic activity of the Security Council is of the utmost importance.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  5. “Thousands of communities throughout the world are in need of reconciliation to prevent children in the future from having to experience the violent clashes that their grandparents experienced during the conflict. My fourth point concerns comprehensive transition. That is the process by which the State and the rebels strive to fully comply with the signed peace agreement. Comprehensive transition demands assuming responsibility for the lives of the ex-combatants and reintegrating all of them into society with dignity. It demands that the process of cultural, economic and political change in the structures and dynamics that gave rise to the conflict be carried out with foresight and determination over a period of several years.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  6. “Such events are taking place in Colombia today, and tomorrow I will travel to Medellín to participate in one of them. Former FARC fighters asked for forgiveness last week for the terrorist bombing attack in which they killed 36 people and injured 196 others in a prominent social club in Bogotá 17 years ago. In order to ensure non-repetition, processes for coexistence are also needed in communities divided by war. Such is the case in the small town of Riachuelo, in my country, which is seeking reconciliation after paramilitary troops sexually abused the children of the local high school, and the community became divided in the face of the brutal and overwhelming power of the armed troops.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  7. “Lastly, there is a third type of truth, for which the Search Unit for Missing Persons in Colombia is responsible. The Unit assists families in dealing with the aftermath of the most cruel and concrete way to break someone — to make him or her disappear forever. In Colombia, seeking that truth is a tremendous feat, as more than 100,000 people are missing. Thirdly, non-repetition is the legacy of truth commissions and their contribution to transition. Several programmes are employed to ensure that armed conflict never recurs. That legacy continues with State entities and institutions, civil society and stakeholders who were in the war. In order to ensure non-repetition, public events acknowledging the dignity of the victims and the acceptance of responsibility by those accountable are required. South Africa set the example.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  8. “It is truth that starts with the testimony of victims from all sides, seeks to determine the reason for the events and the violence that took place and calls for reflection in the quest for an overall understanding of the tragedy, with the aim of building a new future, whether in Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, Sierra Leone or Mali. It is a truth without political or economic interests. It seeks the greatest possible independence and condemns no one individual but holds itself accountable to public ethics. It also listens to the various parties to the conflict and compares and contrasts their opinions and interpretations. Truth of that kind does not seek to increase the number of accusations or fuel hatred but rather to overcome social divisions based on the painful but liberating truth.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  9. “The victims participate in the sentencing, while punishment is not based on revenge but on the rehabilitation of victims and perpetrators. One such example in my country is the sentence requested by the victims for former guerrillas to tell the truth and acknowledge their part in the killing by the FARC of 11 deputies of an Assembly of one of our territories. The perpetrators were sentenced to eight years of restricted freedom and must build a school, with their bare hands, for 2,000 children. The second type of truth is moral, historical and social truth. The Truth Commission is responsible for truth of that kind. It is a truth that is not built but, instead, uncovered. It comes to light and cannot remain shrouded in secrecy.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  10. “With transitional justice, not only are reparations made to the victims; they are recognized as citizens, with full political and social rights in their countries and the world. Secondly, the truth has become the gateway to transitional justice and the basis for the collective building of a shared future in countries divided by war. Transitional justice has been improved and has distinct institutions that form a system that operates on the basis of three kinds of truths. The first is legal truth, which, in Colombia, is unveiled by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, tasked with ensuring that there is no impunity. It is a truth that determines those who are guilty under the law, as well as their sentences. It is built with the testimonies of the victims and victimizers.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  11. “First, the victims of armed conflict are the raison d’être of transitional justice, which allows itself to be influenced by the pain of human tragedy in the quest for solutions that bring about coexistence and reconciliation. During the conflict in Colombia, which lasted 50 years and ended in November 2016, nearly 240,000 civilians died and almost 9 million were recognized as victims. The victimized communities continue to clamour for an end to the war now, from all sides. Transition in all countries undergoing it begins with a ceasefire and peacemaking and develops into the long and difficult process of peacebuilding, in which the most important protagonists are the victims.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  12. “Yet it is the most sacred and most important activity in the work of the United Nations, because it brings together victims around the world — along with their own understanding of the very nature of being a victim — and future generations, which have the right to live in dignity. Peace between the State and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), thanks to those who brokered the peace agreement and thanks to transitional justice, has brought about vital positive changes in Colombia and given our society new hope despite all the difficulties. I will touch on five points — victims, truth in transitional justice, non-repetition, comprehensive transition and the role of the Security Council and of the international community.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source

  13. “Mr. De Roux: I would like to express my gratitude to the Security Council and to the Belgian people for inviting me to take part in today’s debate on the issue of transitional justice, which is so important to us. (spoke in Spanish) On behalf of the victims and Colombia’s Truth Commission, I would like to begin by saying that transitional justice is the most comprehensive, dynamic and promising peacebuilding instrument at the disposal of victims around the world and of peoples who have endured gross human rights violations during situations of internal armed conflict. It is currently the best international response to tragic wars waged against humankind. It has a very small budget as compared to the money allocated to military operations and used in business transactions.”

    2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723 (2020) · source