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Regional Peace Co-construction in Nariño, Colombia: Achievements and Challenges
The Centre for Policy, Conflict and Co-Operation Research (CPCCR) hosts a practitioner talk on the Colombian peace process: Following over half a century of conflict, the Colombian government is now pursuing a 'Total Peace' strategy, which involves negotiating with all armed and political rebel groups including the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissent groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Peace negotiations have also involved efforts towards reconciliation, including assistance and reparation for victims of conflict.
In this seminar, Andrei will share his first-hand experience of negotiating as part of the Colombian government’s delegation in Nariño with the guerrilla group Comuneros del Sur. He will discuss the achievements so far to build lasting peace, while also sharing the challenges inherent in fostering inclusive dialogue and navigating complex regional dynamics.
Following the presentation, there will be an opportunity for attendees to participate in a Q&A.
To book your space, email clemens.hoffmann@stir.ac.uk.
Speaker: Andrei Gómez-Suárez
Andrei Gómez-Suárez (PhD University of Sussex) is part of the Colombian government’s delegation in a peace process in Nariño, living in Edinburgh but spending part of each year in Colombia. He is visiting academic at the University of Edinburgh and co-founder of peacebuilding organisation Rodeemos el Diálogo (ReD, or Embrace Dialogue).
He has lectured at the Universities of Bristol, Oxford, Sussex, and Winchester and has done consultancies for Conciliation Resources, the International Organisation for Migrations, and in Colombia for the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, the National Centre for Historical Memory, and the Ombudsman’s Office.
His books include Genocide, Geopolitics and Transnational Networks: a Con-textualization of the Destruction of the Patriotic Union in Colombia (Routledge, 2015), El Triunfo del No: la Paradoja Emocional detrás del Plebiscito (Icono, Colombia, 2016), and We are not made of sugar: a childhood memoir from Colombia (forthcoming, Fuller Vigil 2025).