Paris Papers n°3

Paris Papers n°3 :

The European Union in Colombia : Learning how to be a peace actor,

Author : Dorly Castaneda

The Colombian conflict is one of the oldest armed conflicts in the world with more than 50 years of violence. International attention for its resolution came only towards the end of the 1990s when the Colombian government was holding peace dialogues with the guerrillas (FARC -Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, and ELN-National Liberation Army). In this post cold war context, a pacific resolution seemed possible with the direct support of the United States (US), neighbouring countries, international organizations, European countries and the European Union (EU). All these different international actors came in with their own understandings of the conflict, its causes and parties, and of the role the international community could play in ending the violence. After three years of dialogues, the process failed and the international community found itself divided among those supporting an open confrontation and those supporting the research of a pacific resolution of the conflict. By then the global context had transformed dramatically with the 9/11 attacks.