The Final Agreement ending the conflict between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) was signed in September 2016. From a peacebuilding perspective, signing an agreement that ends a conflict is only the first step in a long process to build lasting peace. In order to adjust to the new challenges derived from the post-conflict scenario, the National Police of Colombia created the Police Unit for Peacebuilding – UNIPEP –, which seeks to enable a peaceful transformation of conflicts, as part of its institutional policies.
Working with the Colombian National Police contributes to the non-recurrence of armed violence and reduces the emergence of new forms of violence and criminality. For this reason, supporting the Colombian National Police has been strategically valuable for Interpeace and local partner, Alianza para la Paz. A partnership between UNIPEP, Interpeace and Alianza para la Paz, gave rise to the Peacebuilding Model of the National Police, launched on May 2017. Building on this participatory research process, our partnership in Colombia is working with the Police on addressing gender-based violence (GBV) and the recurrence of social protests.
In the post-conflict context, Interpeace and Alianza para la Paz seek to increase the capacity of the State, specifically the National Police (with the leadership of UNIPEP) to prevent violence and transform conflict. Particularly the programme aims to prevent and address gender-based violence in territories that are highly affected by armed conflict amid a low institutional presence of the State, as well as build capacities in the National Police to prevent and manage violence emanating from social conflicts.
