Support, Don’t Punish
The 26th of June, the United Nations celebrates the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
Read MoreThree Lessons from the Elections
With Santos, the mandate for peace, democracy and hope rose to victory. Since mandates must be fulfilled and hope easily turns into disappointment, the goverment has just a short period of time to extract the lessons from the election and begin to make changes.
Read MoreCourts and Forced Displacement: International Lessons from the Colombian Paradox
Forced displacement does not only occur in places where the state has collapsed. It also happens in national contexts where the State does have the institutional capacity and favorable judicial frameworks to protect human rights.
Read MoreThe Victims’ Moment In Havana
The new peace agreement between the government and the FARC is a historic event, but it is just the beginning of a negotiation that affects us all, especially the millions of victims. What was agreed upon, what is missing and what are the biggest challenges pending?
Read MoreThe Other “Paisa” Country
In the last electoral round, Óscar Iván Zuluaga won in almost every territory from Cartagena to Caucasia and from the central mountain range to the top of the western mountain range.
Read MoreThe Protests about Water and the Silence.
Amidst the presidential elections, the mobilizations over water and the environment have begun to grow, revealing the government’s profound silence.
Read MoreCritical Juncture
Social scientists use a concept called “critical juncture” that shows how much is at play in next Sunday’s elections, despite what those who are promoting abstention or blank voting say.
Read MoreLet’s Talk about Religion
I want to argue for the importance of talking about religion as part of advocacy work. Not just to defend the freedom to practice it, not just in the context of religious war, and not just because religious organizations might be strategic allies. But rather, because faith in a God or gods is often a crucial part of the social worlds in which we work.
Read MoreFive Decisive Differences
There are at least five differences that separate the republican right of Santos and the extreme right of Uribe. The first one, is the peace process.
Read MoreThe Lesser Evil
In his opinion piece last Sunday, William Ospina said that if he had to choose between two evils, Santos and Zuluaga, he prefers Zuluaga because he is the lesser evil.
Read MoreAn unhealthy emergency
THE USE OF THE “SOCIAL EMERGENCY” (a judicial instrument) to address the serious problems of the health system, many of them structural, is very unhealthy for the Colombian democracy.
Read MoreExpiration of terms: a misguided debate
The angry reactions to the release of soldiers due to the expiration of terms are dangerous and obscure other more serious problems.
Read MoreSick democracy
PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO health is one of the most crucial and sensitive issues there is in contemporary societies. That’s why it arouses so much controversy and interest in public opinion.
Read MoreReferendum sentence
The referendum has its days counted. Carried by the weight of its own vices, it is in freefall in the Constitutional Court while fulfilling the only law that it has not infringed: that of gravity.
Read MoreMaster’s and PhD degrees
In Colombia, agreements to ensure academic mediocrity without leaving the oratory of excellence are common. Especially now that obtaining master’s and PhD degrees became fashionable.
Read MoreAnalysis announced by Rodrigo Uprimny in his op-ed.
The flaws and legal misunderstandings of the Inspector General’s concept regarding presidential re-election.
Read MoreThe Inspector General and electoral guarantees
IN MY PREVIOUS OP-ED I criticized the Inspector General’s concept in regards to the re-election referendum due to his analysis of the breach of the funding caps in the collection of signatures. Several readers asked me to discuss other defects of the concept.
Read MoreStudents as informers
I AM convinced that one of the worst faults of our society is indifference, if not complacency, when facing criminals.
Read MoreHaiti and global prevention of disasters
There is something that can be added to the reflections and actions that have derived from the Haitian tragedy: the lack of coordination to meet the victims’ needs and the sense of lawlessness on the island.
Read MoreYoung informers, students at risk
Rodrigo Uprimny, Dejusticia’s Executive Director, is quoted as a source in explaining the situation resulting from President Uribe’s announcement of students as informers.
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