Colombia’s 2011 Ley de Víctimas

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Colombia’s Ley de Víctimas (2011), widely regarded as a model in human rights law, mandates a comprehensive program of state-sponsored reparations to victims of gross human rights violations. Central to this program is the category of “symbolic reparation” which seeks to ensure the preservation of historical memory, to restore the dignity of the victims, and to guarantee the non-repetition of violence. Nevertheless, no clear understanding currently exists of how to define or apply symbolic reparations. Presented by the Symbolic Reparations Research Project in partnership with the Cultural Agents Initiative at Harvard University (SRRP-CAIH), this panel addresses the definition and practice of symbolic reparations.

Sub Track

• Art, Architecture and Visual Culture

Chair

• Robin Adele Greeley, University of Connecticut

Individual Presentations

• “Memorialization between the spectacular and the sacred. The case of the Colombian Palace of Justice.” - Fernando J Rosenberg, Brandeis University

• A Friendly Solution in Villatina vs. Colombia - Ana Maria Reyes, Boston University

• Collective Victims and Claims of Justice in Colombia: An analysis of the Collective Reparation Program in Colombia - Simone Souto Pitta

Discussant

• Doris Sommer, Harvard University